Sarah Smith Elementary Chorus to Perform this Thursday at Macy's Great Tree Lighting

Students in the Sarah Smith Elementary School chorus will join an impressive lineup of musical talent, including country singer Brett Eldridge, television and Broadway star Megan Hilty, and Judith Hill from season four of “The Voice,” when they perform at the 66th annual Thanksgiving night lighting of the Macy’s Great Treein Atlanta, Georgia.

The Great Tree Lighting has been an Atlanta tradition since 1948, when Rich’s – now Macy’s – department store erected a large tree atop its downtown Atlanta store, lighting it Thanksgiving night.  After sunset, the shimmering 70-foot-tall, eastern pine tree was visible for miles beyond downtown Atlanta, making it a source of wonderment for people throughout metro Atlanta.

For more than 50 years, the Great Tree Lighting ceremony was considered the largest Christmas-time attraction in the Southeastern United States; parents around the South brought their children to Atlanta to experience the attraction and to listen to Christmas carols sung by various celebrities and local groups. The tradition continues today at the Great Tree’s new Lenox Square home.  And since only the best talent performs at the famed ceremony, an invitation to sing at the event is quite an honor for the elementary school chorus.

You can support APS’ Sarah Smith singers by attending the Thursday evening tree-lighting event, or by watching the festivities from home.  The Thanksgiving Day show will take place at Lenox Square on Thursday, November 28th from 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., with a pre-show starting at 5:15 p.m.   A crowd of 45,000 is expected at the live show, and WSB-Channel 2 will air the event across the state to a projected 500,000 viewers.  Earlier that afternoon, Channel 2 news anchor Jovita Moore will host a show featuring the group, which will air on Channel 2 Thursday afternoon.

Atlanta Public Schools proudly salutes Sarah Smith and each member of the school’s 140-member chorus for their hard work and talent, and being invited to participate in such a notable event.