Shelton sends Christmas tree to Rockefeller Center

November 07, 2013 5:00 am • Last Updated: November 07, 2013 4:13 pm

The new Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, a Norway spruce about 80-feet tall, is loaded on to a trailer from the property of the Vargoshe family in Shelton, Conn., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. For the second time in six years, the city of Shelton is sending a Christmas tree to Rockefeller Center for the annual holiday display in New York. The tree-lighting ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 4. The tree will remain on display until Jan. 7.

Shelton (AP) — An 80-foot Norway spruce is joining thousands of other Connecticut commuters as it heads to work in midtown Manhattan.

For the second time in six years, Shelton is sending a Christmas tree to Rockefeller Center in New York City for the annual holiday season display. Workers are expected to cut it down Thursday and send it on its way by tractor-trailer to New York City, 70 miles away.

Police are guarding the tree until tree-cutters arrive.

Mayor Mark Lauretti said furnishing Rockefeller Center with a tree is a big deal for Shelton, which calls itself "the best affordable suburb in Connecticut."

The tree-lighting ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 4 and the tree will remain on display until Jan. 7.

Rockefeller Center has displayed Christmas trees since 1931.

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