Ready, set, glow!
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has been carefully selected and is due to make its way to the Big Apple next week for a lighting ceremony hosted by Kelly Clarkson on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
This year’s sappy specimen — a Norway spruce 80-feet tall and 43 feet in diameter that was donated by the McGinley family in the Binghamton region — hails from the town of Vestal, New York, about 190 miles northwest of NYC.
Currently casting a shadow over a residential driveway basketball hoop, the tree is to be cut down Nov. 9 and arrive at the Rock two days later, on the morning of Veteran’s Day.
After its joyous lighting of 50,000 LED bulbs that stretch 5 miles long, the spruce will stay up until Jan. 13.
This tree’s selection was an incredibly fateful one, said Rockefeller Center head gardener Erik Pauze, who has the most wonderful job of the year as its picker.
“I found the tree in Vestal, New York, when I was on my way to look at another tree, not too far away. I had driven to the other tree and took a slow road back, and saw this one,” he told the Center Magazine last month.
“I went back this spring and decided to knock . . . The McGinley family told me that not too long before I knocked on the door, someone told them, ‘That looks like a Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.’ “
Right they were. Pauze added that this Norway spruce “has the perfect shape” — and its height is ideal as well.
“I just had to trim the branches up to 5 or 6 feet,” he explained.
“It’s a nice shaped tree, and it looks beautiful. When you stand in the street, and look at it against the blue sky, it really looks awesome.”
Onlookers will experience a much more vibrant view of the tree and skating rink from Rockefeller Center’s recently renovated lower, indoor concourse. It’s accessible from the subway, elevators and staircases on surrounding streets.
Once closed-off hallways have been daylit with glass windows with open views to the plaza along a 360-degree walkway that connects all sides of the lower level.
“You literally couldn’t tell your whereabouts before. Were you still in the subway? Were you in Rock Center? It was literally a maze and there was no public access, visually, to the rink from from the lower level,” architect Adam Rolston previously told The Post of the former design.
For those who can’t see the tree in person, “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” will air live on NBC stations and livestream on Peacock Nov. 29, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
All NBC-owned stations and numerous NBC affiliates nationwide will broadcast an additional live hour of the special starting at 7 p.m. ET. Viewers should check their local listings.