Then, Frosty and Rudolph came on to the stage to applause.

And finally, Santa and Mrs. Claus, accompanied by a wooden soldier, came on to the stage to applause.  It was a grand evening, and everyone had a great time.  Here's our video report:

After the tree lighting, the party continued in the street as the costumed characters, and Santa, mingled and took pictures. 

The kids had a terrific time -- kudos to the WBID for everything, the tree, the lights, the ceremony -- it was a wonderful evening and  great time was had by all.

Here are some more pictures of the crowd -- keep scrolling for pictures of the tree! 

Such great smiles.  As Assemblyman Miller commented, Woodhaven is a small town in a big city, and this was one of those small town night spent under small town lights.  Our pics of the tree were a bit dark during the ceremony -- so we came back about 90 minutes later and, using the tripod, were able to get a few nice ones.

As outlined in this previous report, the tree was prepped earlier in the week.  Usually, that means making sure the lights work -- but this year they went and took down all the old lights, and replaced them with all new strands.  This is a homegrown 100-foot tree -- it isn't easy or cheap to decorate.  And they did a real nice job. 

Many thanks to all of Woodhaven's business owners, and the members of WBID -- well done! 

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com