New mayor may not be allowed to light Sault’s Christmas tree

Sault Ste. Marie's longstanding tradition of having the Moonlight Magic Christmas tree lit by our mayor may be discontinued after Mayor Christian Provenzano leaves office on Nov. 14.

The popular annual event is organized by a partnership of the city and the Downtown Association. 

In recent years, concern has been expressed that the partnership was getting unequal and the mayor had too prominent a role.

Arrangements had already been made with the city to have the new mayor light the tree this year on Nov. 17, but members of the Downtown Association's board agreed Wednesday night that they wish to uninvite the mayor from lighting the tree and let kids do the job.

"I'm sure the kids will get a real kick out of it," said Frank Gaccione, Downtown Association treasurer.

"I'm sure there's some children's organization that could be allowed to light the tree. They could even have a contest," Gaccione said.

"I don't know why the mayor has to light the tree."

Salvatore Marchese, the association's executive director, said he holds frequent meetings with the city and will bring the request to the next get-together.

For the first time since 2018, this year's Christmas tree lighting will be an in-person event.

"We're working on some new elements, including an augmented-reality app that we might be able to use this year," Marchese said.

The speakers used to pipe holiday music downtown won't be available this year, but Marchese said attempts are being made to recruit a brass band, and Mustang Sally will perform at the tree-lighting ceremony.

Other news of interest from Wednesday night's Downtown Association meeting:

• the association has asked the city to ensure that the two-hour limit on holiday free parking is enforced. Apparently some drivers are taking advantage of the situation and parking all day
• the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association, a group dedicated to creating safe, thriving commercial districts, has agreed to hold its 2024 conference in Sault Ste. Marie
• the association and the city are looking for ways to pay significantly higher costs if their pilot downtown security initiative is continued. The current Ambassador program and security patrols are costing $206,291. Continuing those services with a proposed expansion of the coverage area would increase that cost to $303,204. This year, the Downtown Association's share of the cost is just $5,000

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Downtown Association would like us to clarify that the mayor has not been "uninvited" from the entire tree lighting event. The mayor can come but will not be asked to turn on the lights

From the Downtown Association:

"The Downtown Association wishes to clarify that there has been no request to uninvite the mayor from the Tree Lighting/Moonlight Magic Event.

This event is done in close partnership with the City and is important in showing the ability of both our Organization and the City to work together to bring a night of entertainment and fun to the community.

We look forward to continuing to plan this event and having representatives from both the Downtown Association and the City in attendance to make this a great evening. As a reminder, all of our monthly meetings are open to the public for attendance to keep up to date on what is happening Downtown."