Garland Cancels Christmas Tree Lighting

Garland (WBAP/KLIF) – The city of Garland has announced it will not hold a public tree lighting ceremony at its annual Christmas on the Square event. the city’s announcement says the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution” due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic. Garland’s Christmas on the Square lighting event usually involves children’s choirs and other festivities, including the lighting of around 100,000 Christmas lights. However, the city stresses the holiday season has not been called off. To celebrate the Christmas season Garland officials have announced plans to stream virtual programs on three separate evenings. The first program of the “Made Fresh & Local: A Garland Christmas” will stream at 7 p.m. on Dec. 3, and include a 30-minute presentation. At 7 p.m. on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, the second program will last an hour. On Christmas Day, Dec. 25, there will be two encore presentations, the first for an hour starting at 8 a.m. and the second for half an hour starting at 7 p.m. The programming will air on Garland’s CGTV, Facebook, and YouTube channels.