On Friday, Dec. 2, Burlingame residents braved frigid winter weather to welcome the holiday season at the city’s annual Holiday Tree Lighting celebration. The event began promptly at 5 p.m. with a performance by the Mercy Girls’ choir and an appearance by Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Shortly after the tree was lit, Burlingame Avenue was filled with a shimmering spectacle of festive music, train rides, treats and performances.

Burlingame students were at the heart of the event; multiple clubs lined the thoroughfare to fundraise for their cause. Among them were the Italian club, Burlingame Robotics, the Ukraine Club, the Burlingame Band, the Community Photo Booth and, of course, the Burlingame B. 

Senior and co-captain robotics member Kristie Tran is no stranger to the Tree Lighting. The Robotics booth was a main attraction and was constantly surrounded by people eager to catch a glimpse of the robot in action.

“Each year, we have a different robot,” Tran said. “This year, the robot is from the 2022 [First Robotics Competition (FRC)] game named Ratatouille. It shoots big tennis balls and climbs. We always love doing outreaches and bringing the robot, especially when the robot is interactive like this year’s.”

For many, the Tree Lighting is an important event that unites the Burlingame community in festive spirit.

Another stand was run by The Community Photobooth, a youth-led organization dedicated to bettering the community through photography.

“Today, we’re using the money that we raised for fundraising for our donation location,” sophomore photographer Madeline Hyung said.  “Right now, our earnings go towards a Ukrainian photographer who’s making a book with all the photos she’s taken from Ukraine.”

This year’s tree lighting was an unequivocal success, bringing together the many different aspects of our community in holiday spirit.