"O' Christmas Tree...thy leaves are so unchanging"

The weather was beautiful today! A grand change from yesterday. Because it was beautiful, I decided to head downtown, yes on Black Friday, amongst the throngs of people to see the annual lighting of the Christmas Tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square. I've often seen the tree lit, but have never seen it being lit. I parked and rode the Max down. Good thing I did, as I soon realized (as I'd predicted) that traffic was even more insane than normal downtown. I walked to the square and surveyed the land. Had time to head into Pioneer Square mall to join those throngs of people and got something warm to drink. Headed back to the square and picked a place to sit. Because it was dry there were lots of people sitting and waiting. Shortly the events began. The Patrick Lamb Band performed and then there was the countdown to the lighting. It is beautiful!

Tree pre-lighting!

Tree post-lighting!

Mrs Claus made an appearance (so did Santa, but he was too far away to get a picture of)!

Grand start to the Christmas season!