We wanted to take this opportunity to apologize to our readers who attended the “Tree Lighting Ceremony” on Friday. We here at the Downtown Bellevue Network were jazzed up to attend on Friday night, and thought this could become quite the annual event in the future complementing Snowflake Lane.
This, “Tree Lighting” was anything but exciting. First off the event was scheduled to start at 6pm, and surely didn’t start anytime near then. Secondly, the “sound system” they used was a portable karaoke machine that looked as if it was from an elementary school and made by Fisher-Price.
The event was thrown together, and had no organization to it whatsoever. Nobody was relaying messages of what was going on, or when we could expect the “Tree Lighting” to take place.
After much anticipation, all hope for anything good was lost, when it was realized that the “Tree” they were lighting up was similar to a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree (which was actually a tree with only branches). The 50,000
promised lights that were on the tree… have been there for months. This was no special event, but just a “turning off and on” of already existing red Christmas lights, which have been present on this tree since September.
Next time you want to “alert” the media and get the word out about an event, make sure it is something worth hyping up, because this was surely not.
Thanks for reporting back on this. To me, the tree on the NW corner of 106th and NE 8th St which is all lit up with white lights seems like a much more appropriate Cristmas Tree. Maybe next year they can switch to that tree. Or if they want to make it a bigger thing, they can do a big tree in Downtown Park.
This tree is pretty sad looking to begin with. The red lights make it look more appropriate to Halloween than to Christmas.
kemper should shut down the fountain for xmas and put a giant tree right there in front of the mall on B-Way.
The Galleria, probably doesn’t have the funds to put on a worthy event. All of their retail space is empty.
1. The Galleria needs to go!
2. That tree represents Bellevue poorly!
3. Great post.
Hellevue needs soul.
don’t hate…probably jealous cuz you can’t afford anything here
lol….thats pretty funny.
They had a tree on the spot of the fountain last year at Bel Square. I assumed they were going to do it again this year but guess not.
Haha. Saw this last night. Would say it might have 50,000 lights. Small ones, but it could. It’s like me putting up lights on a tree outside my place and sending out a press release out!
Weak!
Must Bellevue always upstage its previous performance? Christmas lights are pretty. They don’t need to be bigger and better every year.
Anyway, we’re nowhere near Christmas yet. Christmas doesn’t start until December 24 at sundown, and it lasts for 12 days — all the way through January 5!
I’m surprised that retailers haven’t capitalized on this fact by urging “consumers” to keep buying gifts for their loved ones for all 12 days.
It’s not that it has to be “bigger” or “better,” it just has to be good! To be frank, this sucked. Lame.com Why make it an official event if you’re not actually going to DO anything?