The winter holiday season arrived in Culver City on Dec. 1 with 25 tons of snow, a 22 foot tall tree, and more than two thousand revelers all ready to celebrate the season.
The snow was brought in by the Downtown Business Association to create a special area for sledding, just a short drop downhill in the plaza by the Culver Hotel, and early in the evening the line for children to sled was blocks long, down Culver Boulevard as far as Rush Street.
In the plaza, the stage was set in front of the tree for speeches, dancing and singing with performers of all ages contributing to the evening. Darrel Menthe, President, Downtown Business Association, was the event emcee, introducing both Sylvia Bianchi, the Executive Director of the DBA, and Dr. Daniel Lee, Mayor of Culver City.
The performers at the event, in order of appearance, included Culver City’s All Elementary Schools’ Choir, Beyond Pre-K in Spanish Singers,Kūhai Hālau O Kapualaniokekukui Hula, El Marino Language School Japanese Choir, Dee-Lightful Productions Musical Theater, Culver City Middle School Choir, Culver City High School Vocal Ensemble and the renowned Culver City High School Academy of Visual and Performing Arts Jazz Combo, who performed as a soundtrack to the later part of the evening.
The tree will be lit every evening through the holidays, so even if you missed the event, you can still come and enjoy the holiday spirit all over downtown.
Judith Martin-Straw
