The 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has been selected from West Stockbridge, Mass.
The 74-foot Norway Spruce, weighing about 11 tons, will be cut down on Nov. 7, arrive in New York City two days later and be lit at a star-studded ceremony on Dec. 4.
“The process (for this year’s tree) began in July 2020. I came from getting gas after staying overnight tree searching. I saw the beautiful Norway Spruce as I drove down the road, and it was right in front of me,” Rockefeller Center head gardener Erik Pauze said in an interview.
“I knocked on the door and met Earl Albert. I asked if he would someday consider donating the Tree to Rockefeller Center. His answer was immediately yes.”
Meet the 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree 🎄 This year’s Tree comes from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Weighing about 11 tons and standing 74 feet tall, The Tree will arrive on Saturday, 11/9. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates: https://t.co/prpPHsQ78o pic.twitter.com/SbrEp1Rjm9
— Rockefeller Center (@rockcenternyc) October 28, 2024
Pauze has selected Rockefeller Center trees for decades, but this year’s tree is the first to come from Massachusetts since 1959, according to the tree selectors at Rockefeller Center. Last year’s tree was from Vestal, N.Y., and 2022’s was from Queensbury, N.Y.
“I would drive by every so often to check in on the tree,” Pauze said. “In the spring of this year, I decided to call Earl and ask if I could start feeding it and watering it. I came up quite often to feed the tree, and every time I got out of the car, I smiled and knew it was the right one for Rockefeller Center.”
The tree will be wrapped in 50,000 LED lights and topped with a Swarovski crystal star on Dec. 4 in a televised ceremony. It will remain standing until mid-January, after which it will be brought down and milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity.
