Our Watery Holiday Tradition: The Holiday Trees Amazing Journey
- historicdistrictbh
- Sep 21
- 3 min read
By Monica Tabrizi
There are many things people look forward to during the holidays. In Belmont and Alamitos Heights, it’s the lighting of our holiday trees on the Colorado Lagoon. This heartwarming event approaches our California version of a Hallmark movie. What folks may not know is the sheer amount of planning and effort that goes into setting up these beauties, not only on the Colorado Lagoon but throughout Long Beach.
You can help this tradition continue by donating directly to our Holiday Trees.
A Solar Tale
I had the pleasure of talking to Cedric Banks, Program Supervisor at Long Beach Parks, Recreation, and Marine. Making the holiday trees more efficient has been his passion project. Previously a master carpenter for the Port of Long Beach Cedric stepped into the PR&M job because he ‘liked being by the water and saw more opportunity for growth.” Cedric immediately noted the enormous amount of energy and cost of the electric-powered holiday trees. He also cautioned that the copper wiring for the power supply left the trees was vulnerable to theft. His managers approved his solar and cost-saving concepts, greenlighting the first prototype at Spinnaker Bay using LED bulbs a few years ago. Solar trees at Colorado Lagoon went live in 2024. While the initial setup was costly, the investment is recouped over time in lower energy costs and less theft of wiring.
Timing
Preparing the holiday trees starts each prior year with planning supplies and staff hours needed for set up and take down. Cedric leads a small team starting in mid-September. They pull everything out of storage and prep the trees. They manually re-string and test the lights and the transport equipment (loaders). Once they arrive at the staging area, they test the lights again, as well as the platforms, then finally place the trees and platforms along the waterways.
The “go live” date is always Thanksgiving Day, with the exception of Colorado Lagoon, which hosts the lighting ceremony the day after Thanksgiving. Beginning the first week of January, Cedric’s team begins to take the trees down.
Unique Site Challenges
Alamitos Bay along Bayshore: This location has three separate sections with a total of 20 holiday trees and is the only other site, aside from Colorado Lagoon, to have solar power. The upper bay is especially tricky: They have the greatest number of trees; and, no place to anchor them for setup. The staff must wait for low tide, then do all the set-up work while floating around in boats.
Peninsula: This location is the most aesthetic, has the largest number of trees per location, and requires lots of due diligence and patience. Look to your left down the side streets when driving east on the Peninsula, you will see that every holiday tree is expertly centered on the water to that street.
Colorado Lagoon: I saved the best for last, since this is an article for our Belmont Heights community. The lagoon is the last site to set up and the first to be taken down because of the environmental sensitivity of the habitat. The trees are anchored to a swim line since the sea floor must not be used for anchoring the platforms. Solar panels were highly desirable at this location due to the high amount of theft that occurred when copper wiring was used for power. A mitigation plan to reduce damage to solar panels caused by ‘presents’ from our bird friends is being tested this year.
As I wrapped up my amazing journey with Cedric on all things holiday trees, he did ask that I relay one important message to our readers and their families: “Please do not touch the trees or power breakers.” Ensuing damage is costly in time and materials. Finally, I hope you’ll join me in thanking any PR&M staff we encounter for the work and dedication that goes into making our city just a bit merrier during the holiday season.
This annual tradition is supported through donations by the Partners in the Parks program. You can help this tradition continue by donating directly to this program here:
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