Porterville welcomed the Christmas season Friday night with its 46th annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at Centennial Park, drawing families, faith leaders, community groups, and volunteers to downtown for music, scripture, prayer, and the lighting of the Ross Gardner Christmas Tree outside of City Hall.

The evening opened with a community sing-along led by Andrew Vega, who invited attendees to join in the classic carol Angels We Have Heard on High . Mistress of Ceremonies and original event organizer Denise Marchant offered a warm welcome, celebrating the ceremony’s long tradition of ushering in the holidays with genuine holiday spirit.

“ I am so thrilled that this has become the holiday tradition that we envisioned at that time, a special inspirational ceremony to mark t

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