The City of Newport will hold its annual holiday tree lighting ceremony on Friday, Dec. 6, on the City Hall front lawn beginning at 5:30 pm. Following the tree lighting, a brief reception will be held inside City Hall featuring hot chocolate, cider and cookies. The ceremony and reception are open to all members of the community. This year’s city tree is a 25-foot tall noble fir that was generously donated by Starker Forests in Philomath, which donates holiday trees to several communities throughout Oregon.
Newport Mayor Jan Kaplan and City Manager Nina Vetter will assist with the tree lighting, which will feature for the first time a lighted three-foot crab as the tree topper, created by Newport Signs in partnership with the Newport Chamber of Commerce, in recognition of the commercial crabbing industry that has played an important role in Newport’s history and the community. The Oregon Coast Chorus chapter of Sweet Adelines, a women’s barbershop chorus, will add their special brand of cheer through song.
“The holiday season in Newport is a magical time of year, and I’m excited to share the tree lighting ceremony with the community. We wanted to do something special this year, and we felt it was a perfect opportunity to pay tribute to an industry that is such an important part of the Newport community,” Vetter said. “I invite all community members to join us at City Hall for this ceremony and to ring in the festive season.”
The Port of Newport hosts the largest commercial fishing fleet on the Oregon coast, a large amount of which is dedicated to crabbing. Much of the commercially harvested crab is processed in Newport, available locally, and shipped around the world, helping to establish the city as the Dungeness Crab Capital of the World.
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