Kevin Strickland to turn on the lights for the Kansas City Mayor’s Christmas Tree

Kevin Strickland will turn on the lights for the Mayor’s Christmas Tree on Friday at Crown Center.

Strickland, 62, was released Tuesday from the Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron after serving more than 40 years, the longest wrongful conviction in Missouri history.

In a tweet Thursday night, Mayor Quinton Lucas said, “We are honored to have Kevin Strickland turn on the lights for the Mayor’s Christmas Tree. ...God bless him. Please join us to show our love for him.”

The 100-foot-tall Mayor’s Christmas Tree is one of the tallest in the nation and a symbol of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund, which is dedicated to assisting people of Kansas City during the holiday season.

The Chiefs’ Tyrann Mathieu originally was scheduled to flip the switch on the tree but had to cancel his appearance due to schedule changes, said Kristi Ernsting, a spokeswoman for the event.

The program begins at 5:30 p.m. at Crown Center Square and is free.

This story was originally published September 25, 2021 at 8:51 PM.