A West Michigan community is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its beloved singing Christmas tree.
The Mona Shores Singing Christmas Tree, which features a 180-person high school choir and stands 15 rows high, performed 19 holiday tunes at the Muskegon Theater this week and was scheduled to perform two more shows Saturday.
The 67-foot-tall tree is decorated with 25,000 LED lights and lots of greenery.
“The Singing Christmas Tree is 100 percent a spectacle,” said Sean Lawton, who conducts the Mona Shores High School Choir and has directed the annual show for 30 years.
The towering tree-shaped building has a hierarchical structure, with first-year students at the bottom, second- and third-year students in the middle, and upperclassmen above them.
The top section, just below the star, is usually reserved for “wooden angels,” and the students Lawton chooses are “not first-class singers” but are “at heart.”
This year's selection is senior Makenzie Annie, who uses a wheelchair and performs at the base of a tree near the front of the stage.
Annie said of being chosen as this year's Tree Angel, “I feel really happy, excited, and happy.''
Annie and her fellow singers aren't alone as they ride through “Hark!” “Herald Angels Sing,” “Noel” and other holiday favorites. A 50-member Mona Shores High School student orchestra surrounds the tree, and a small army of parents and other volunteers make sure everything goes smoothly both on the ground and at the tree.
The Singing Christmas Tree has been a holiday must-see for area residents for years. But with videos of past performances available to watch online, fans are increasingly coming from other states and countries.
“For a lot of people, this is a bucket list item,” said Lawton, who is in his final performing holiday season.
The 58-year-old will retire at the end of this year. His successor is Mona Shores graduate Brendan Cross, who, like his three brothers, sings in the trees and is co-directing the choir this year to ease the transition.
“It was very rewarding to be a part of (the show),” Lawton said. “And I’m going to really miss that.”
