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Stephen Montoya
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Stephen Montoya
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Stephen Montoya
The sounds of Christmas music filled Sundance Square, and the plaza’s iconic giant mirror cowboy hat gleamed in the crisp November air, set aside from its usual spot in the center of the square. Even with Thanksgiving still over a week away, Fort Worth was already feeling festive — and nothing signaled the season quite like the arrival of this year’s Norway spruce. Towering 86 feet tall, the tree is now the tallest live Christmas tree in Texas, standing 11 feet higher than this year’s Rockefeller Center tree and ready to take its place as the centerpiece of Cowtown’s holiday celebrations.
Stephen Montoya
The spruce traveled more than 1,200 miles from Michigan, a journey that took four days and was delayed multiple times due to snowstorms in the north. By Thursday, the towering tree finally reached Sundance Square, where it spent the night before its installation the following morning. Standing near it as crews trimmed, cut, and hoisted the massive evergreen into place was awe-inspiring — and a little eerie. The creaking and cracking of the wood under its own weight reminded onlookers that this was no ordinary decoration, but a living symbol of the season.
Over the next several weeks, volunteers — dubbed Fort Worth’s “elves” — will decorate the spruce with hand-painted ornaments crafted by local artists, adding a distinctly Cowtown touch to the holiday tradition. The city’s festive calendar kicks off with the Parade of Lights on Sunday at 6 p.m., followed by the official tree lighting and holiday concert on Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m.
The 79th Annual Fort Worth Community Christmas Tree has arrived, keeping the city’s tradition alive and bringing a sense of seasonal magic to the heart of the city.
