Chicago Politics

2025 Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony 11.21.25

Description

Mayor Johnson attends the 2025 Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony.

Transcript

0:00 Without us grown, I've seen his elk caught the tree, should I wait for his ride? I'll continue on this circle, search of our...

3:50 If you sing along with me...

7:57 Everybody, Chicago, make some noise for your Chicago made grand prize winner Mara Love. I'm going to get to know you better a tree. How much fun together isn't right.

8:39 Whoa, very special.

10:05 Hello, Chicago. How are we feeling tonight? Let's hear it. We're ready to light up the night. All right. Okay, look at this crowd. Thousands and thousands of our new closest friends here tonight, live with us here in person. And to all of those who are watching at home, your favorite restaurant, your favorite bar, this is your official welcome to the 112th annual City of Chicago Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.

10:35 I'm Erica Sargent. Yes, and I am Joe Donlan. It is an honor to be here with our CBS Chicago family, sharing this night with you and your family for the love of Chicago. Let's hear it. All right. So there are lots of places to see. We have viewing stations in Millennial Park, Millennium Hall, and there's food. There's all kinds of stuff and great entertainment coming your way real soon. Oh, yeah. We're going to introduce one of those acts very soon. ones that we feel like we've gotten to know pretty personally before we do that though we're

11:09 celebrating all sorts of holiday traditions christmas of course with our christmas tree kwanzaa we're also celebrating hanukkah and the winter solstice and tonight's tree lighting ceremony features performances we already got a little preview of this you tried your hand uh juggling yes earlier tonight a magical sir christmas christopher stoynev we also have Now, get this, Joe. The all-female Chicago band Mariachi Serenas.

11:40 And as you can probably see from behind me here, the Leo High School Boys Choir Fresh Season of America's Got Talent. All right, a couple of quick notes here. After we light the tree, and for all of you over there who think the tree lighting is actually at 6, it's not. The show starts at 6. We'll light the tree at about 6.25 or a little bit after. But we want to just quickly give a shout-out. The DJ Mike P, what a job he did, huh?

12:11 He had us all dancing. Talk about the party before the party. Yes. Thousands, we were dancing along with the DJ tonight, ready to get this started. Right, Mara Love did a great job too. Let's hear it from Mara, the Chicago Main Showcase winner. So stick around for the fireworks and also the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus. That's coming up after we light the tree. All right, so should we get to our first performance? All right, so these are boys that we got to know very well over the last few months you probably did as well as they performed

12:42 on americans got talent making it all the way to the finals yes in our book they are of course the winners without further ado let's take it away a big round of applause for leo high school music choir

15:00 It's an honor to hear you.

18:56 It's an honor. We normally only have to watch you on TV. Now we can see you in person. What's your name real quick? Blake Moore. Blake, tell me what it was like to be on America's Got Talent. How has this ride been? How do you sum it up? It's been amazing seeing all the people and all the people that's celebrating us. Like right now, everybody congratulating me and congratulating the choir on being an AGT. I want to thank you to Dr. Rawls and Ms. Horton and everybody for just supporting us in Chicago. Thank you. yeah did did you get to meet simon cowell a lot

19:29 okay tell us the real deal how was he he's better in person than he seems on tv all right well listen we appreciate the leo high school choir another round of applause because believe it or not congratulations on all your success i know there's much more actually they have another performance. We're lucky to have them tonight because they're running off to another show, but it's great to have them. All right. Now we'd like to welcome Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs.

20:00 and Special Events Acting Commissioner Kenya Merritt to the stage. Kenya. Thank you so much, Erica and Joe. Good evening, Chicago. My name is Kenya Merritt and I am the Acting Commissioner for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. There is truly no place like Chicago during the holidays, right? Our city comes alive with the energy that's in this park tonight, from the sparkling lights

20:32 and our world-class cultural experiences to our holiday markets and celebrations throughout all of our 77 neighborhoods. We know that art and culture are at the heart of this season, and tonight marks our official kickoff with performances that reflect Chicago's incredible creative spirit. So throughout the holidays, guys, we want you to enjoy all of the free experiences that we have here in Millennium Park, as well as the Chicago Cultural Center.

21:04 Don't forget to check out our ice rink. Don't forget to pick up your gifts from our holiday market. And don't forget to grab a bite at Millennium Hall. You don't want to miss the food that's there. And none of this will be possible. We've got to give it up for our partners. A special thanks to McWilliams Electric Company for lighting this year's tree, Taylor Electric Company for the twinkling lights along Michigan Avenue, and the Millennium Park Foundation and the Prisker Foundation who have always been helpful and supportive for our programs.

21:44 And last but not least, a huge thanks to Allstate for powering our holiday market. Let's give it up for our sponsors, guys. Okay, we're going to keep this show on the roll. Next, I'm going to bring up a magical surf Christmas, Christopher Stoynov. Come on up. Thank you guys for being here tonight.

26:30 25th through the 30th. You can get your tickets at Broadway in Chicago. It features juggling, aerialist, contortionist, something for everyone. It's a great show for sure. You just got a great sneak peek. All right, up next, Chicago's first all-female mariachi band. All right. I think you know them. So they're going to be performing a medley. These songs are El Niño del Tambor, peces in el rio and mi burrito sabanero please welcome mariachi serenas all right ladies we

27:07 can't wait to hear you tonight without further ado we'll step back and give you the stage everybody tuned up Thank you.

33:46 to champion Chicago's people, our neighborhoods, and the cultural heartbeat of our great city. A mayor who believes deeply in the power of community, creativity, and collective joy. Under his leadership, we are ensuring that moments like tonight remain accessible, inclusive, and rooted in the spirit of our city. Please join me in welcoming a true advocate for Chicago's families, its future, and its festive traditions, Mayor Brandon Johnson.

34:32 This evening, as we break in the holiday season, there's nothing like Chicago during the holiday seasons. Are we with us together, you all? And so I want to thank Kenya Merritt and the entire DK's team for putting this entire celebration together. And so as we come together as a city... This is a moment where we bring in joy and love and warmth, and it doesn't matter the attacks that are coming against our city, we will always stay united, black, brown, white, Asian, immigrants from around the world that call Chicago their home. Are you with me, Chicago?

35:20 We want to thank the Mason family for this incredible tree. It's a 68-foot Norway spruce, and we want to thank the entire tree lighting family. Are you all ready to bring in the holiday season? Well, let me hear you make some noise as we bring in love, joy, laughter, and peace in the greatest freaking city in the world, the city of Chicago. God bless you all. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. Stick around. We're

35:55 about to flip the switch on this. But up next. Oh, this is a good one. Special guest, special guest. Guess who's here, boys and girls. Santa Claus, all the way from the North Pole. Let's say hi to Santa. Santa, Santa. What do you want to say to the city of Chicago? Have we been naughty? Have we been nice? What a beautiful crowd. Hello, Chicago. Yeah. So don't worry if

36:29 you've had a rough year, we've still got a little time to turn things around. Okay. A little bit over a month. We've got you covered. Okay. We feel good about that. So Santa, do you have any advice for the kids? You know what? I've been getting a lot of letters from parents. And the thing is, we're getting up a little too early on Christmas morning. I know you're excited, but listen, if you wake up and the time says four o'clock, it's a little too early. If you wake up and the time says five o'clock, it's a little too early. I'm still making deliveries at that time, okay?

37:06 So what time should they wake up, Santa? Six, seven. Oh, no, you didn't. Oh, parents, do you agree with that? Oh, Santa, you did not. Well, because you're going to help flip the switch. But first, we want to talk a little bit about the Christmas tree. All right, we're celebrating the 112th year for this ceremony. That's pretty incredible.

37:37 Yes, it is. It's the city's first official Christmas tree that happened way back, Christmas Eve 1913. Mayor Carter H. Harrison, Jr., and it at the time was on top of the Chicago Athletic Association. That's interesting. Right down the street. But since 2015, it's been right here at Millennium Park. So since 2009, the city has been taking applications for the Christmas tree that is lit up every year downtown. And every year people donate their tree or try to get their tree donated. And this year's tree is spectacular.

38:08 It is. The Mason family, they really gave us a gift. We do have something special on the tree this year. Almost 200 spheres or orbs. You'll see that light up soon. 39,000 feet of lighting, nearly 8 miles. That's what that is, 8 miles of glimmering lights. It is going to be spectacular when we light that tree up. All right, let's bring out the Mason family. How are you? Good. Are you the spokesperson for the family? okay honest question do you miss your tree uh yes very much but i'm excited to share it with

38:44 chicago oh how nice is that all right so let me come around here why did you decide to donate this tree i mean it was such a beautiful presence now here but of course at your home you know it's such an amazing tree and we're just so excited to share it with the city of chicago it's been such an important part of our family's lives and it's got us so many great memories and we're just happy to be here sharing it with everyone out there tonight we hope it brings you as much joy as it's brought us oh that's wonderful thank you so much whose idea was it to try to to try to do

39:18 this all right oh i think it was a group idea group everyone was on board okay we want you to gather over here. We've got Santa, we've got the Mason family, and we'd love for you to help us flip the switch on this tree in just a moment, right Joe? Yes, absolutely. So it's very important for us to just get together quickly here before we do for a photo op. So move on in here, guys. Move on in here. Where are we looking?

39:52 I think that's it. All right. Who's going to put their hand on the switch? All of us. Let's do it. Let's count down here. Are we ready? Now let's all count down together. Everyone out there. You're ready. Here we go. Ten. Nine. Seven. One. she was busy tonight i guess thank you all so much for coming we have so many people to thank

41:46 for putting this party together they did such a great job another round of applause for dj mike p the leo choir mara love christopher stoylev the mariachi serenas mayor johnson The Mason family, Santa. So don't go anywhere because the party continues with the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus. Have a great night.

42:17 Happy Holidays, everybody. Happy Holidays, Chicago.

58:02 check check check chicago make some more noise one more time for the chicago gay men's choir you can catch their upcoming performance holly dolly christmas december 5th 6th and 7th make sure you check these guys out they are doing a crazy good job make some more noise for them please right now so chicago my name is dj mike p and we are about to have a big huge christmas party right here on michigan avenue you cool with that say yeah come on

58:46 I need to see you moving out there, come on, my fingers are freezing, but I'm doing this for you guys, come on, what's up, yeah, yeah, yeah, you sing it, when I hide, when I'm getting

59:21 What do you say? Come on. The energy from you guys, okay?

1:00:50 My hands are freezing. Come on. Let's go. Can I see some lights out there?

1:01:29 Let me see some lights out there. Old school dance, please.

1:02:06 Can I see some phone lights out there? Let's vibe Chicago. Shout out, D-Case. Woo! CBS in the building.

1:05:00 there chicago listen i play some old school can i play some new school real quick just real just one song for the new school tiktokers my tiktokers put a hand up like this where you at a couple tiktokers let me see we're gonna have some fun real quick okay tiktokers i see y'all make some

1:05:52 noise out there one time chicago you having a good time say yeah out of town is anybody from out of town out here any out of town let's put a hand up okay so is if you're from out of town put your hand up like this one time please listen to chicago this is how we do let's go greatest city in the world right here we vibing come on and the party's here on the you're born and raised in

1:07:23 chicago put a hand up like this one time please i said if you're born and raised in the greatest city in the world put a hand up like this right now so you know we love our house music right let me see it's time for the percolator come on it's time for the percolator let's go it's time for the percolator let's go it's time for the percolator let's go south side north side quick we got a

1:08:26 very important message someone lost their bag and their id please listen up kelly janet we have your id and we have your bag okay listen chicago you got an option Do you want Mariah Carey all I want for Christmas or the cha-cha slide?

1:08:59 Mariah Carey, make some noise. The cha-cha slide makes some noise. Okay, wait, one more time. Mariah Carey, make some noise. The cha-cha slide. The cha-cha slide it is. Come on. Wait, hold on. We're going to do this right. Hold on. Let me shout out D-Case. Thank you, D-Case, for having me. My name is DJ Mike P. I need everybody to face me right now. Who knows when the next time we'll be able to do the cha-cha slide in the middle of Michigan Avenue.

1:09:29 Let's do this. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Come on, y'all. Wait. Let's go. This is something new. The Casper Slide Part 2. Featuring the Platinum Band. Come on. And this time, we're going to get funky. My God. Let's go. Let's go. Funky. Everybody hands up like this. Everybody clap your hands. Clap, clap, clap your hands Clap, clap, clap your hands Clap, clap, clap your hands

1:10:00 We're going to do the basic step To the left Take it back now y'all One hop this time Right foot, let's jump Left foot, let's jump Cha-cha real smooth Turn it out Left foot, let's jump Cha-cha now y'all Now it's time to get funky

1:10:31 To the right now Take it back now, y'all One hop this time One hop this time Right foot, two stumps Left foot, two stumps Slide to the left Slide to the right Criss-cross Criss-cross Cha-cha real smooth Turn it out, foot left stumps

1:11:45 Clap your hand Chicago, I love you so much My name is DJ Mike P Enjoy your holidays and Merry Christmas Shout out DK's Brandon Johnson our mayor make some noise for yourselves out there

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