The Del Ray Menorah and Christmas tree lightings are happening this Sunday (Dec. 5) night on Mount Vernon Avenue, but Santa Claus won’t be making an appearance due to COVID-19.
It’s the 11th straight year that Mike Anderson and Bill Blackburn of the Homegrown Restaurant Group selected and cut down the tree at the Naughty Pines Nursery in Maryland, and donated it to the Del Ray Business Association. Additionally, BMC Smoot donated a flatbed truck and a driver to haul the 30-foot-tall tree to Del Ray, and Mike Dameron of Windmill Hill donated his cherrypicker crane to put it in place on Tuesday (Nov. 30).
Over the weekend, volunteers also decorated street signs and poles with pine and jingle balls on Mount Vernon Avenue.
“Mike and I are big into traditions,” Blackburn told ALXnow. “It’s really fun to see del ray transform into the holiday season, and it’s all done privately by volunteers, businesses and citizens. There’s no bid or city dollars spent on decorations.”
The Menorah and tree lighting is free to attend, and will includes holiday caroling. It will be at 6 p.m. on Sunday at the Pat Miller Neighborhood Square. The Avenue will also be lined with luminarias to honor the late Nancy Dunning.
Additionally, the Del Ray Candy Cane Bar Crawl, which raises funds for Neighborhood Health, is on December 10.
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