Bonnie Hunt at Christmas Tree Lighting in Chicago

November 4, 11:13 AMChicago Community Life ExaminerChristine Nyholm

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Christmas Tree at Santa's House at Daley Plaza in Chicago, Illinois 2008
Christine Nyholm

Bonnie Hunt will join Mayor Richard M. Daley for the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in the City of Chicago on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at Daley Plaza in the City of Chicago is one of the highlights of the festive holiday season. This year the Christmas Tree is being illuminated on the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 4:00 PM. The popular Christkindlmarkt (German Christmas Market) will open the following day, on Thanksgiving Day itself.

Bonnie Hunt, host of the popular “The Bonnie Hunt Show”, will join Mayor Richard M. Daley and Underwriters Laboratories CEO Keith Williams in lighting this year’s tree on Daley Plaza.

Presented by The City of Chicago and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) the 96th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony is a highly-anticipated event drawing people of all ages to the heart of Chicago’s downtown “Loop.” Holiday Music will begin at 4:00 p.m. with the CPS All-City Elementary Youth Chorus and the holiday season officially commences at 4:30 pm., when the switch is flipped and the lights on the giant tree shine bright in Daley Plaza.

The Christmas Tree in Chicago will be much smaller for 2009. In previous years the official tree was about 85 feet high and consisted of 113 trees attached together. In a cost cutting measure, the city has accepted the donation of a 55 foot high blue spruce, so the tree will not tower so high over Daley Plaza.

Homegrown Chicagoan Bonnie Hunt is a versatile and accomplished writer, director, producer and an Emmy®, Golden Globe and SAG Award-nominated actress, earning critical acclaim in film, television and theater. Now in its second season, “The Bonnie Hunt Show” was the winner of the Gracie Award for “Outstanding Talk Show” by the Foundation of Women in Radio and Television after only one season. Hunt has also appeared in many films such as “Rain Man”, “The Green Mile”, “Jerry McGuire”, “Cheaper by the Dozen” and “Return to Me”, which she wrote and directed. To promote holiday safety,

Bonnie Hunt is teaming up with Underwriters Laboratories to help share tips on how to keep the holidays safe and bright. For a list of safety tips visit www.safetyathome.com.

Once again, Mayor Daley is pleased to welcome back presenting sponsor Underwriters Laboratories (UL) the trusted source for product compliance and safety this holiday season. By seeing a UL Mark on any product purchased, families can trust that those products have met UL’s Safety Standards. “UL is proud to, once again, be the presenting sponsor and official safety partner of the City of Chicago’s annual Christmas tree lighting,” said Underwriters Laboratories CEO Keith Williams. “As a company deeply rooted in the Chicago landscape for more the 115 years, UL is pleased to provide the new star and lights for the tree to help make our city safer and lot brighter this holiday season.”

Christkindlmarkt is a German Christmas Market at Daley Plaza

Having the tree lighting ceremony on Wednesday is a change from previous years. Until 2008 the tree lighting ceremony was traditionally held on the day after Thanksgiving. The popular Christkindlmarkt, or traditional  German Christmas Market, opens on Thanksgiving Day. Therefore the Chriskindlmarkt will not be open during the tree lighting ceremony. The German Market in Chicago is the largest Christkindlmarkt outside of Germany. The 14th annual Christkindlmarkt runs from November 26 to December 24, 2009.

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