Community Holiday Tree Arriving in Downtown Santa Barbara

Community Holiday Tree Arriving in Downtown Santa Barbara
Tuesday, November 22 at 8am

SANTA BARBARA, CA. – Join the Downtown Organization as we welcome the arrival of the Community Holiday Tree on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 to be placed on State Street right on time for the holiday season!

The 45’ Douglas Fir Community Holiday Tree is sponsored by the Downtown Organization and is graciously donated by Southern California Edison. The Downtown Organization would like to thank Southern California Edison for delivering the tree to Santa Barbara and the City of Santa Barbara’s Public Works and Parks Departments for the installation just north of the intersection of Victoria and State Streets.

The tree is expected to arrive on State Street at 8am Tuesday morning and be installed from 8:30 to 10:00am. Thanks to the South County Energy Efficiency Partnership (SCEEP) a partnership between local governments and Southern California Edison, for the first time, the tree will be strung with new energy efficient LED lights! “LEDs save up to 90 percent of the electricity that is needed to power conventional painted or ceramic coated bulbs. The low electricity use of LEDs means less carbon emissions and less money spent on electricity” said Patricia Bartoli-Wible, Local Public Affairs Region Manager for Southern California Edison. Another benefit is LEDs are encased in hard-to-break plastic versus the more fragile glass of incandescent lights, and because the LED is electronic, it lasts up to 10 times longer than incandescent highlight light strings.

The official lighting of the tree will take place on Friday, December 2nd at 6:30pm by the Holiday Prince and Fairy at the beginning of the 59th Annual Downtown Holiday Parade. This magnificent tree will shine brightly and efficiently through the holiday season.

For more information on the community tree or the 59th Annual Downtown Holiday Parade, please contact the Downtown Organization at 962-2098 ext. 22.

For interviews or photo opportunities contact Linda Howard, Southern California Edison Northern Region Public Affairs at 805-654-7345.

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