Its almost time for the infamous and beautiful City of Chandler Tree Lighting Ceremony
It’s a Tradition
In 1957 it all began when Chandler resident Earl Barnum had this great idea of a tumbleweed tree after he saw one in Indiana built out of cone-shaped chicken wire with pine boughs stuck in the holes.
It took a lot of help to start the first tree. At the time no one knew it was the beginning of a great Christmas tradition, In fact, Chandler is the only city in the southwestern United States that has such a tree.
Members of the City’s Park Operations Division gather tumbleweeds from outside the City. Every year it gets a little harder to find the tumbleweeds due to chandlers’ growth. So, the Park crews must start collecting the tumbleweeds earlier and earlier each year. Nearly 1,000 tumbling tumbleweeds are collected each year and are used to build a 25-foot tall wireframe.
The tumbleweeds are sprayed with 25 gallons of white paint, 20 gallons of flame retardant and dusted with 65 pounds of glitter. The tree is later dressed up with approximately 1,200-holiday lights that give it a glamorous look, day or night. The lighting of the Tumbleweed Tree draws a very large crowd from all over the state.
They expect more than 12,000 to watch the Mayor and members of the City Council flip the switch.
Its a sight to see for sure! The Tumbleweed Tree Lighting Ceremony and the Parade of Lights (starting at 7 p.m.) help to bring our community together to kick-off the holidays.
