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Faneuil Hall Tree Lighting Kicks Off Holiday Season In Boston

BOSTON (CBS) - It's officially the holiday season at Faneuil Hall. Thousands turned out for the annual Holiday Spectacular and Christmas tree lighting on Tuesday night.

The show featured Brynn Cartelli of Longmeadow, Mass., winner of the 14th season of The Voice, the Mayor's Community Gospel Choir, a special visit from Santa and the kick-off of the New England Patriots Holiday Toy Drive. The show was hosted by WBZ-TV's Lisa Hughes and David Wade.

Mayor Marty Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker joined Santa and Mrs. Claus to help flip the switch to light the 60-foot tree.

The lighting is a tradition for many families.

"It's the big lighting of the tree, the lights are great, the music's great, everything is great," said Jessica Siler of Duxbury. "It's Faneuil Hall, it's Boston, where else would you rather be."

Joyce and Ronald Meiss enjoyed the lighting so much last year they came back for more. They're from Pittsburgh and are cutting it close catching their flight just to see the lights turn on.

Faneuil Hall tree
Christmas tree lit up at Faneuil Hall after Holiday Spectacular (WBZ-TV)

"We liked seeing the tree how it danced to music it was great," said Ronald Meiss.

"It was just beautiful," said Joyce Meiss. "It was just a real good feeling, real good feeling."

This year's Blink! show features six holiday favorites including "All I Want For Christmas" by Mariah Carey and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by The Jackson 5. Performances run from 4:30-10 pm daily through January 1.

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