Let the holiday festivities begin, six days before Thanksgiving. Detroit's 65-foot Norway spruce at Campus Martius comes aglow with 20,000 LED lights just after 7 p.m. Friday.
The 2019 lighting ceremony drew a typically huge crowd. (Photos: Downtown Detroit Partnership)
Partying starts at 5 p.m. and rolls until midnight with food trucks, free entertainment, figure skating by two-time Olympic medalist Ashley Wagner and performances by local skating clubs. Horse-drawn carriage rides start at 6 p.m. ($10/person, $40/group).
Live music artists are:
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Cam Anthony, 20-year-old past winner on "The Voice"
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Blues singer Thornetta Davis, winner of over 30 Detroit Music Awards
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Ryan Neal, a Detroit singer, songwriter and hip-hop producer
Nearby in Cadillac Square are gift and decor vendors at Downtown Detroit Markets and refreshments at Cadillac Lodge's heated tent, shown at left. Visitors can buy holiday cocktails, hot cocoa and appetizers.
And in a sign of the times, still: Free Covid shots be available for free, as will masks.
