PORTLAND, Maine — The holiday tree in Portland's Monument Square is back, and for the second straight year, you can enjoy its beauty at any time, day or night.
The nonprofit Portland Downtown has a 24/7 live "tree cam" set up overlooking Monument Square so that visitors locally – and across the globe – can enjoy the illuminated tree and its surroundings throughout the holiday season.
The tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m.-5 p.m. on Nov. 26. According to organizers, the actual lighting of the tree will happen at dusk that evening (around 4 p.m.).
According to a release from the City of Portland, the 40-foot Balsam Fir originally came from Pownal. Patricia Olsen, who lives on Epping Street in the Riverton area of Portland, donated it.
“City staff noticed the tree last summer while doing tree work in the area,” Jeff Tarling, the city of Portland's arborist, said. “The tree was originally dug up in Pownal, Maine, and transplanted in the backyard of the donor along with two others. Richard Olsen, the late husband of the donor, planted the tree in the early 1980s; it was a gift from his sister, Althaea White. Fifteen years ago, the Olsens offered us a smaller Blue Spruce for Monument Square but the tree had a double top making the tree infeasible to move.”
According to organizers, a Hood truck will also offer free eggnog at the tree lighting ceremony.
Organizers also ask that people who attend the ceremony wear a mask and practice social distancing.
