Downtown Dazzle: Music Center Tree

The splashy plaza is about to host an equally festive fir.

You're on the bus, you're in a car, you're pedaling by on your bike, when suddenly: light.

Not a traffic light, though those are important to heed (of course). And not a street light, though such illumination does help us make our way around the city after sundown.

Rather, you notice a new and different light up some stairs you pass nearly every day, stairs that lead to a plaza, in a spot that is already known for a good amount of year-round sparkle: the Music Center Plaza.

Indeed, we speak of the place where free dancing nights shimmy all summer long, and the 280-jet fountain keeps things ooh-and-aah-y throughout the calendar.

And come late November? The Music Center Plaza becomes the temporary home of one very tall and notable tree.

That tree will be grandly lit on the evening of Monday, Nov. 28, as is tradition (well, the actual date can vary, but count on it happening right after Thanksgiving weekend). 

The "grandly" part is enhanced by live chamber music from the Brass Pacifica and a performance by the Antelope Valley Master Chorale.

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Nearby Grand Park will also get in on the "grandly" end of things, lending illumination and beauty via its freshly placed holiday decoration.

And does the 45-foot tree have a tall neighbor in City Hall, which it shall face all December long? While the historic civic building is notably taller than the Christmas tree, both have a majestic verticality and both mirror each other nicely in wide-shot photographs.

So if you catch a blur of new lights while cycling/driving/riding by Music Center Plaza after Nov. 28, just know it is one of the region's most regal and area-apt trees, a symbol that fits well with the visual wonders of the cultural destination.

The free-to-see lighting starts at 5 o'clock on the 28th, and "(h)ot chocolate for everyone!" is the jubilant final invitation to anyone who wants to attend.

Grand Park, free cocoa, and a sparkly tree next to those glittery-of-droplet fountains, all with the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and City Hall and the Department of Water & Power starring as the iconic backdrops?

It's as if local LA cheer got multiplied by some merry calculator, by like 100.

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