Watch the tree lighting at Travis Park An annual tradition, the lighting of the 50-foot christmas tree in Travis Park brings crowds every year to celebrate the start of the holiday season. Credit: Courtesy Photo / City of San Antonio Center City Development & Operations

San Antonio will kick off the holiday season with H-E-B’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony this Friday. The festive event will start at 4 p.m. in Travis Park and feature free ice skating and other holiday fun.

This year marks the event’s 40th anniversary. To celebrate the milestone, the grocery giant selected a 40-foot Nordmann fir, which made the journey all the way from Oregon.

The tree is covered in more than 10,000 multicolor lights along with handmade ornaments. H-E-B spends more than $250,000 annually on the Travis Park Christmas tree, according to a report by News4SA.

The event also will include live entertainment, food trucks, holiday crafts and letters to Santa, who’s scheduled for a guest appearance, naturally.

The actual lighting of the tree will take place at 6 p.m. The ceremony will be followed by a free screening of the 2018 animated version of the classic holiday film The Grinch.

H-E-B is offering free VIA bus rides to those attending the event. There also will be free ice skating at the park’s Rotary Ice Rink from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. courtesy of the grocery chain.

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This article appears in Nov 13-26, 2024.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.