November 23, 2009: For 77 years, many Jackson residents have begun their holiday season with the Belhaven Singing Christmas Tree, a tree-shaped choir that is both musical performance and light show. This year, the performance will be held on December 4 and 5 at 7:30 pm on the Belhaven “Soccer Bowl.”
Featured in the 2008 December edition of Southern Living magazine and voted one of the “Top 20 Events in the Southeast” for December 2009 by the Southeast Tourism society, the “Singing Tree” has long been a favorite pastime for families looking for a break from holiday shopping and hectic schedules. And as one of Jackson’s most anticipated holiday events, only war and water have been able to halt the yearly glow twice in three quarters of a century—once during World War II during a blackout and once in the early 1970s when unseasonable downpours left the field too soggy for the electric lights to be held safely.
The entire community is invited to this family-friendly event, and participants are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets for the hillside seating. Victoria Senete, junior voice major from Brookfield, Conn., will be at the tree’s pinnacle as the chosen soloist. Eighty students will don their robes and hold their lights, forming the yearly glow that fills the campus with joyful sounds. Mrs. Carolyn Sachs, adjunct music faculty member, will direct the choir. Complimentary Admission; Call the Communications Office for details: 601-965-7044.