The downtown Edmonds tree lighting — an annual favorite on the Saturday after Thanksgiving — has been canceled for 2020.
“Due to COVID restrictions, the chamber will not be holding the traditional Tree Lighting Ceremony,” said Greg Urban of the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. “ Instead, we are working with our community partners to bring more safe, social distance activities to our community during the holiday season.”
The tree lighting ceremony joins a long list of 2020 events canceled by the virus, including the Edmonds Kind of Fourth of July celebration, Taste Edmonds, the Classic Car Show, and Halloween trick or treating.
These free events are sponsored each year by the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce.
“As of now, the plan is to have our community holiday tree on a timer, so it lights up every day at 5 p.m.,” Urban said. “This will allow people to visit and experience their own little tree lighting any day of the week.”
Visit www.EdmondsHolidays.com to see other events happening in downtown Edmonds for the holidays. And you can support the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce at www.SupportEdmonds.com to ensure the events that make Edmonds special return in 2021.
Good grief. Is there nothing that will not be cancelled! And when will it be safe to do anything again according to the ECC ? This entire thing has become a very bad joke that is killing the socio-economic structure of Edmonds and across our state and nation, and at this point is lacking in statistical evidence that it should continue.
“And when will it be safe to do anything again according to the ECC?”
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Why are you putting this on the ECC? Snohomish County is in Phase 2 (social gatherings of five or fewer “non-household” persons per week, with those gatherings involving social distancing of 6′ or more). You somehow think that the ECC is in control of Phase 2? You think that this is somehow all their fault?
Have a Merry Christmas. /s
Sad, but definitely expected. With cases on the rise in Snohomish County and the State, it would be almost assured that a close quarters event like that would lead to a spread of cases in our community.
Lighting the tree is definitely a fun tradition, but it is definitely not worth killing someone to go to it.
We all need to take a breath, and do what we need to do to protect the economy and health of our community. If people are knowingly setting up super spreader events or purposefully not wearing masks to try to make a political point, the only thing they are doing is publicaly showing their malice and hate towards their own community, and preventing local business from recovering by pointlessly spreading the virus.
This Christmas, let’s light up the lights on our houses and all throughout downtown, let’s support our local businesses, let’s tell our families and neighbors that we love and care for them, and let’s spread Christmas cheer and not death.
Sad to see another event cancelled. Maybe we can encourage individual homes to decorate more this year so we can bundle up and walk around our neighborhoods or drive to get some of the season cheer. Small group for some old-fashioned caroling that would encourage our neighbors to come out and wave.
I’ll still be there waiting for the timer to go off at 5 to light up the tree!
Merry Christmas!
This announcement was expected, given the large crowd for the tree lighting ceremony each year. I was happy to read that the tree will be on a timer and will light up every day at 5:00 p.m.
Sorry for the nay sayers, but canceling a crowd-gathering event is a completely sensible step.