Photo by Richard Tamayo
This Thursday night from 4pm until 8pm, Rec & Park is hosting a special holiday celebration featuring carnival rides, cookie factory, arts and crafts for kids, a visit from Santa, and live entertainment.
During the event, they’ll officially light up the giant Monterey Cypress in front of McLaren Lodge. The lighting will take place between 6pm and 6:15pm (Santa will be there starting at 5:15pm). McLaren Lodge is located at 501 Stanyan Street at Fell, just inside the park.
Event attendees are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to SFPD’s Operation Dream holiday toy drive. Donations can also be dropped off at the Rec & Park office in McLaren Lodge during normal business hours.
The tree lighting tradition began in 1929 when John McLaren, the grandfather of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco’s first park superintendent, began a holiday tradition of lighting trees along a mile-long stretch of Fell Street that ended in front of McLaren Lodge, his home at the time.
Sarah B.
Photo by Pistols Drawn