Green Giant: 74-foot Rockefeller Christmas tree is coming from Massachusetts this year

WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A giant Norway spruce that will become this year’s Rockefeller Christmas tree was en route to New York City Thursday from its tiny hometown in Massachusetts.

The 74-foot (23-meter) tall conifer was cut down Thursday morning in West Stockbridge and lifted by crane onto a flatbed truck. It will travel 140 miles (225 kilometers) to Rockefeller Center, where it will be installed on Saturday. The tree, decorated with 50,000 colorful lights and a crown of Swarovski stars, will be on display until mid-January.

The Tall Spruce, Rockefeller Center’s first Christmas tree imported from Massachusetts since 1959, has attracted a lot of attention in West Stockbridge. In recent days, locals and tourists have flocked to see the 11-ton (10-meter) tree as workers high in the canopy prepare it for its trip to New York.

Residents and visitors, some dressed as Santa Claus, watched from behind a barrier as workers felled the tree Thursday morning. While observers took photographs and videotaped the event, the local family who donated the tree was interviewed by the media.