Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony 

The City of Melissa’s annual Tree Lighting ceremony transforms their community into a winter celebration, bringing families together for an evening of holiday tradition, performances, and festive activities. Cadence Studios provided the complete stage, lighting, and sound system that served as the event’s technical backbone, ensuring every performance, announcement, and the ceremonial tree lighting countdown reached families spread throughout the venue.

Cold, wet, and dark—outdoor winter events in North Texas present exactly the weather conditions that test equipment reliability and technical execution. Our stage, lighting, and sound systems needed to perform flawlessly in damp conditions while temperatures dropped throughout the evening. The lighting design had to work for both stage performances and the dramatic tree lighting moment, creating visibility for performers while contributing to the overall holiday atmosphere as darkness settled over the event. Audio coverage needed to reach families enjoying activities across a large outdoor space—from the holiday market to the snowball fight area—while maintaining clear intelligibility for poetry readings, choir performances, and the Mayor’s remarks. When you’re managing technical production for an event where hundreds of families with young children are experiencing holiday traditions, there’s no acceptable backup plan for equipment failure or inadequate coverage.

Municipal holiday celebrations carry special significance for communities—these are traditions that families return to year after year, creating memories that define what makes their city feel like home. The technical production needs to support that experience seamlessly, from the opening poetry club performance through the tree lighting countdown to the closing drone show. Our systems provided consistent, reliable performance throughout the four-hour evening, adapting to changing light conditions, weather challenges, and the complex flow of scheduled performances mixed with continuous activity zones. When residents look back on their city’s tree lighting ceremony, they remember the magic of the moment—not because they noticed the production, but precisely because they didn’t have to.