Stories from New York

Rockefeller Center announced the tree on Monday, October 26. The Norway spruce is about 75 years old, 50 feet wide, and weighs roughly 11 tons. It was donated by Rebecca Decker of West Edmeston, a small town in upstate New York, and found by Erik Pauze, Rockefeller Center's head gardener, who has chosen the tree for more than 30 years.

The tree will be cut on Thursday, November 5, and arrive at Rockefeller Plaza on Saturday, November 7. Its arrival is a public event this year, Meet the Tree Day 2026, back for its second year, with a holiday workshop from Care Bears and FAO Schwarz, meet-and-greets with six Care Bears characters, photo opportunities, and arts and crafts on the plaza.

Once it goes up, the tree will be dressed in more than 50,000 multicolored LED lights strung across five miles of wire, topped with the 900-pound Swarovski star designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. The star holds more than three million crystals across 70 spikes.

The lighting ceremony is Wednesday, December 2, broadcast live as Christmas in Rockefeller Center from 7 to 10pm. Performances begin around 8pm, the countdown starts at 9:57pm, and the lights switch on just before 10pm. Public viewing is free.

The tree stays on display through January 9, 2027. When it comes down, it will be milled into lumber and donated to Habitat for Humanity. The first tree went up in 1931, when construction workers pooled their money for a 20-foot balsam fir, and the first official lighting followed in 1933. The scaffolding is expected to come down before Thanksgiving, so the last days of November are the quiet window to see the tree fully decorated, star in place, before the lighting night crowds arrive.

The fair runs November 12, 2026, through January 3, 2027, across Herald Square and Greeley Square Park, on Broadway between 32nd and 36th Streets. Community Board 5 approved the fair on October 19, with conditions on crowd management, bike lane protection, sanitation, and fire safety.

Opening day brings the Christmas Carousel, the Magical Sleigh Ride, and the Snow Slide, open daily from 10am to 10pm and closed on Thanksgiving Day. The Magical Sleigh Ride is a virtual reality experience.

From December 2, the Market by Urbanspace joins the fair on the 34th to 36th Street side, open daily from 11am to 9pm through January 3, with returning holiday shop favorites, new vendors, food and treats from local vendors, and a warm cocktail bar. The Giant Rocking Horse photo op stands nearby, open daily from 10am to 10pm.

Macy's Holiday Square, the Urbanspace market beside the flagship store, runs alongside the fair, so the whole 34th Street corridor turns into one long holiday market for the season.

Tonight at 8pm, Kinlaw will be suspended 150 feet above Duffy Square, on Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets, in their most extreme and personal work yet.

Originally commissioned by Art Omi, FALL RISK centers on survival staged as monument, with a microphone amplifying the artist's breathing under extreme physical pressure high above the street.

Free and open to the public. Press inquiries: timessquarearts@culturalcounsel.com.

New this year: an expanded Skate House and VIP Skate Lounge opening November 14, the Holiday Chalets presented by Balsam Hill returning November 6, and six new 90th Anniversary Lodges debuting November 20 for parties up to eight guests.

Tickets start at $22 per person (rentals not included) and are on sale now at rockefellercenter.com.

Built as a temporary attraction in 1936, The Rink now welcomes more than a quarter of a million skaters each year.