North Arlington has a tree lighting ceremony every year on Ridge Road. The town recreation commission, council,  and mayor organize this event for the citizens of the town. This year’s ceremony took place on Thursday, December 5, 2024 and it was the 90th annual tree lighting ceremony. The event started at 6:30 with a stage set up in front of the high school, and as people were arriving, the town council was getting ready. In front of quite a large crowd, the mayor started talking. He welcomed everyone and asked if the attendees would like the tree lit before or after the performances. The majority of people wanted to do it before, so the tree was lit early in the ceremony.

After the tree was lit, the performances began. Our elementary school band directed by Mr. Correa performed first. The High School band then followed putting on an amazing performance directed by Mr. Fedorenko. Afterwards, the dancers from Art of Dance rendered an amazing choreography as well. The middle school band and Queen of Peace choir followed them. The kids from Next Step School of Dance also followed multiple numbers. Next, attendees enjoyed the songs performed by our elementary school choir. Then,  teenage girl, Arwen Monzon, sang a beautiful song. The last performance of the night was a lyrical dancer who performed a solo on stage. As the performances came to an end, snow was released and Santa came to visit.

These performances were cherished by those who came out on such a cold night. Everyone was bundled up and luckily had a place to go to escape the cold. The Senior Center was open for everyone to sit and take a break. In the center, there was free popcorn and hot chocolate being offered. There was also a representative from Tru Fruit offering free samples of their fruit. It was very accommodating and made the night even better. The ceremony was indeed worthy of attending and it made a cold and windy night very fun for the kids.