The 76th annual tree lighting ceremony took place on Wednesday evening, December 3, 2008 at Rockefeller Center in New York.

My friend, Cathy and I were lucky enough to attend the ceremony.  It was a great show – with live appearances by Jamie Foxx, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick, Jr, David Cook, Rascall Flatts, Neil Boyd, Rosie O’Donnell and the Broadway Kids and surprise guest Kristin Chenoweth.

The performances by Beyonce, Faith Hill, The Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears were pre-taped.

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors filled the surrounding streets to watch the 72 foot tall tree lit up with 30,000 energy efficient LED lights.   Not only does hundreds of thousands sound like a lot of people – try walking down the street with that many people.  Security was tight and getting a really close look at the performances was definitely a challenge. 

Thankfully, we were successful and were able to see the show and get some great photographs of the performers.

Here are some of my photos – I will post more about the show and the performances later.  I am off to the city again for another adventure!!