Downtown Santa Barbara gets into the winter spirit early with the arrival of the State Street holiday tree on Tuesday. The 45-foot tree’s saga began several miles outside Fresno where Southern California Edison brought it down as part of its annual reforestation initiative. Consumer Fire Products stepped up to sponsor delivery of the tree, which could weigh as much as 12 tons, when Edison let the Downtown Organization know that it could provide the tree but not deliver it.
Tuesday’s 8 a.m. tree arrival will see one of Specialty Crane’s tall orange hoists lift the tree into place at State and Victoria streets. Lights will officially blink on when the 62nd Annual Downtown Santa Barbara Holiday Parade begins on December 5 at 6:30 p.m. Grand Marshal Alan Thicke has signed on to lead this year’s “Winter Nights & Holiday Lights” parade.