Snap o’ the day: Mall Christmas tree

"One of the best we've ever had," says city spokesperson Ric Barrick of the Downtown Mall's traditional Christmas Tree in Central Place. It's a 20-foot Norway Spruce donated by Albemarle County resident Gail Trevillian, and it went up yesterday. Indeed, the tree cut an almost perfect triangular figure as city workers began stringing it with lights today.

In 2000 the City paid $20,000 for a tacky 20-foot artificial tree that was destroyed by vandals. Within hours, a donor came forward and offered a live tree to take its place. Since then, it's been a city tradition to use donated live trees on the Mall.

In other Mall tree history...three Novembers ago, a 50-foot Deodora Cedar that had served as the city's official Christmas tree for many years, along with 20 smaller trees, was cut down to make way for the Transit Center and the amphitheater, much to the dismay of former Delegate Mitch Van Yahres, founder of the Van Yahres Tree Company.

"Originally, when they planned the amphitheater and that center, the tree wasn't considered," he told the Hook. "Those little trees could have been saved. We think of ourselves as being so sophisticated, but that was as brutal a thing as could be done."

This year's tree's "Grand Illumination" is scheduled for November 23 at 6pm. Beforehand there'll be candlelit caroling and a holiday market on the Mall's east end. There will also be face painting, ornament making, hot apple cider, chestnut roasting, and snow for the kids... uh, snow for the kids?

"It's magic," jokes Barrick. "Actually, the Downtown Business Association has a machine we put on the roof. It's pretty cool."