Community members packed Bay Tree Park Sunday night for an evening of holiday cheer in a winter wonderland as Red Bay celebrated its inaugural Christmas tree lighting.

The evening included performances by the Red Bay children’s choir, community choir and Red Bay High School Marching Band.

Excitement filled the air as attendees counted down the seconds until a giant on/off switch was flipped to initiate the Christmas season and light a tree that filled the front of Bay Tree Park.

“I found out that if you want to see some excitement in Red Bay, just put a gigantic Christmas tree in the park,” said Red Bay Mayor Charlene Fancher.

The night began with the Red Bay band filling the air with Christmas cheer before the children’s choir, directed by Red Bay band director Mark Gajewski, lifted their voice in traditional Christmas songs.

The children’s choir was followed by the community adult choir, directed by Phoebe Harrison, singing a variety of songs – from Christmas songs celebrating the birth of Christ to well-known tunes for the crowd to sing along to.

LaVelle Mills served as the grand marshal for the event, with the honor of lighting the Christmas tree.

The tree lighting ended with Bay Tree Park filling with community members singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as Christmas joy filled the air.

“We really want to thank you all for coming out tonight to this,” Fancher said. “I had hoped we would have a big crowd for this, and we certainly did.”