COVID-19 keeps Santa Claus from Fort Worth’s Sundance Square, but Christmas tree shines
November 27,2020
See full Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by Luke Ranker here.
The thousands of holiday fans that flock to downtown Fort Worth each season will have to view the annual Sundance Square Christmas tree from a distance.
Santa Claus won’t be making an appearance this year either.
The changes are meant to prevent large crowds from forming in the Sundance Square plaza as the COVID-19 pandemic counties to alter regular life. Sundance Square chose to keep the plaza closed to avoid spreading coronavirus, but the tree is still viewable form the perimeter of the plaza, the company said in a statement.
The plaza typically welcomes anywhere from a few hundred to around 3,000 visitors a day during the holiday season, Sundance Square spokes Bryan Eppstein said. The annual lighting ceremony can attract up to 5,000 people, but that event was canceled this year.
The Christmas tree has been a staple of downtown Fort Worth since Amon Carter started the tradition in 1947. It is the centerpiece of the downtown holiday season along with the Parade of Lights.
This year the parade, which draws thousands to downtown, was held virtually Nov. 22 with broadcasts on KTXA-21 and on YouTube and Facebook.
The 55-foot Blue Spruce arrived from Michigan on Nov. 16 and was decorated over the course of a week before being lit this week. It features more than 12,000 LED lights and withstood tornado-force winds Tuesday night.
Lights will shine from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. until Christmas Epiphany on Jan. 6.
Location Mentioned: Sundance Square Plaza