‘Tis the Season of Joy. And parties. Well… Maybe not just yet. But soon will be. Besides, you gotta take into consideration the fact that the Rockefeller Christmas tree has arrived. And Paris Hilton has announced her New Year’s eve party plans.

Few days back, the Rockefeller Christmas tree arrived , a monster 8 ton 72-foot Norway spruce from Hamilton, NJ.  Did you know that the search for a suitable Rockefeller Christmas tree is conducted by helicopter? The copter swings over Connecticut, Vermont, Ohio, New Jersey, and even Ottawa, Canada to locate a tree between 75-90 ft tall. Once located, the tree is supported by a crane while it’s being cut down, and then moved by the crane to a telescoping trailer.

This year’s tree from Hamilton NJ was planted by Joseph and Mary Varanyak in their backyard 77 years ago. Seems Mary always knew the tree was destined for New York and the Rockefeller Center. Touching story. Here’s the official Rockefeller Christmas Tree website. Oh, and they’ve gone green with solar panels powering the lighting.

The tree will be lit on Wednesday, Dec 3,  with performances by Beyonce, Tony Bennett, the Jonas Brothers, Harry Connick Jr., David Cook and Rosie O’Donnell, and will be on display through January 9, 2009.

Speaking of celebs, seems hotel trasher and chief of the blonde bimbo brigade Paris Hilton has decided to spare the Los Angeles hotels the agony and trepidation of waiting to see which one them gets the honor of getting destroyed by the Hilton hurricane for a New Year’s eve party. Apparently, she’s headed for the land of Oz, where she and rocker boyfriend Benji Madden will host a New Year’s Eve party at a secret Sydney location.

Photo by A. Belani via flickr (creative commons).

Posted on November 17th, 2008 by Thomas
Filed under: NYC, News