A western Michigan neighborhood is celebrating the fortieth anniversary of its beloved singing Christmas tree.
The Mona Shores Singing Christmas Tree, which incorporates a 180-student highschool choir and stands 15 rows tall, belted out 19 vacation tunes at a Muskegon theater this week and was set to carry out two extra reveals on Saturday.
The 67-foot-tall tree is adorned with 25,000 LED lights and a great deal of greenery.
“The Singing Christmas Tree is 100% a spectacle,” mentioned Shawn Lawton, who has directed the Mona Shores Excessive College Choir and overseen the annual present for 3 a long time.
The towering tree-shaped construction has a hierarchy, with freshmen close to the underside, sophomores and juniors within the center and seniors above them.
The very high, simply beneath the star, sometimes is reserved for the “tree angel,” a scholar chosen by Lawton who “is not your top singer” however has “all the heart.”
This yr’s decide is senior Makenzie Aney, who makes use of a wheelchair and performs on the base of the tree, near the entrance of the stage.
“It makes me real happy and excited and joyful,” Aney mentioned of being chosen this yr’s tree angel.
Aney and her fellow singers aren’t alone as they run by way of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Noel,” and different vacation favorites. A 50-member Mona Shores Excessive scholar orchestra surrounds the tree and a small military of fogeys and different volunteers makes certain all goes easily, each on the bottom and within the tree.
The Singing Christmas Tree has been a vacation must-see for space residents for a few years. However it more and more attracts followers from different states and even nations, with movies of previous performances viewable on-line.
“It’s become a bucket list item for a lot of people,” mentioned Lawton, who’s marking his closing vacation season accountable for the efficiency.
The 58-year-old is retiring on the finish of the college yr. His successor is Brendan Closz, a Mona Shores graduate who sang within the tree, as did his three brothers, and is co-directing the choir this yr to assist ease the transition.
“Being a part of (the show) has been such a reward,” Lawton mentioned. “And I am going to really miss that.”
