Colored lights and wreaths have adorned Texas Tech's campus in preparation for the annual festival, the Carol of Lights.
Students, alumni and the Lubbock community will gather 6:30 p.m. Friday at Memorial Circle to sing carols and uphold an annual tradition at the 50th Anniversary of the Carol of Lights.
Despite being the 50th anniversary of the event, the Carol of Lights will stick to all of its time-honored traditions, said Craig Kuehnert, a residence life coordinator at Tech. Several university choirs will perform holiday songs, the Saddle Tramps will carry torches and the actual lighting ceremony will conclude the festivities.
"Especially with this being the 50th anniversary, we want to keep with the tradition," he said.
Nearly all preparations for the event have been completed, Kuehnert said. More than 25,000 lights have been placed on the 13 buildings that encompass Memorial Circle. The large wreath outside the Science Quadrangle also is nearing completion.
In addition to the lights and décor set up by the university, 3,000 luminaries will be placed around Memorial Circle on the day of the event, said David Ronderos, vice president of programming for Tech's Residence Halls Association. This will be done by student organizations on campus.
"There are two organizations that put out the luminaries," he said. "McDonald's donates all of the bags that they are placed in."
For those who want to remember the event in future years, Ronderos said, the RHA will be producing a video that commemorates the event. Video order forms will be located on the RHA Web site.
This is the first year a video will be made of the event.
Harold Hinn birthed this annual Tech tradition by providing funds to decorate the buildings in the Science Quadrangle and the Administration building with lights, according to a Tech news release. The event originally was named "Christmas Sing," but over the years it evolved into "Carol of Lights."
"It didn't start out as the Carol of Lights as it is now," Kuehnert said. "It was much more simple."
The tradition originated as in informal event where a group would gather on campus to sing carols and holiday tunes, he said. Over the years, bands and additional lighting were added to the event, which led to the establishment of Tech's current tradition.
The event's festivities are scheduled to begin with a carillon performance at 6:30 p.m. and the lighting ceremony will begin at 7 p.m.
Be the first to comment on this article!