National Christmas Tree Lighting expected to draw 9,000 visitors

The National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony Thursday evening will feature performances by Sheryl Crow, Ray LaMontagne, and American Idol Jordin Sparks. The National Park Service distributed 9,800 tickets via a lottery system to the outdoor celebration, which will be webcast live starting at 5 p.m. at www.thenationaltree.org.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will perform the ceremonial lighting of the 42 foot Colorado blue spruce, which was planted on the Ellipse, south of the White House, in 1978.
This year's performance lineup is:

*Nine-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow
*Hip-hop artist, actor and author Common
*Pastoral folk, railroad blues, and front porch country artist Ray LaMontagne
*American Idol Jordin Sparks
*Jazz artist and saxophonist Joshua Redman
*Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau
*International Irish music phenomenon Celtic Woman

The National Christmas Tree itself will be decorated with more than 700 strands of energy-efficient LED lights, and will consume about 6,000 watts this season, about one third of the the electricity used by last year's tree.