The Valenzuelano family is the dedicatee of the Tree of Hope in Valenzuela City this year.

City Mayor REX Gatchalian and city government officials on November 27 lighted the 50-foot Christmas tree towering over the Valenzuela City People’s Park.  Standing in the center of the Aerocircle, a frequent venue for group exercises, the tree is decorated with clusters of artificial poinsettias, balls, stockings and ribbons.

The ceremony held on Friday evening is anchored on the theme, “Maningning na Pasko ng Pamilyang Valenzuelano”.

Lighting the tree has been a tradition in Valenzuela since 2004, done late in November or early in December to formally usher in the Yuletide season in the city.

Each year, the tree is dedicated to a particular group picked by the city government. Past dedicatees include street sweepers, barangay health workers, feeding program volunteers, and, in 2013, people displaced by typhoon Yolanda.

The city government this year having initiated various projects aimed at it, foremost among them the 1.3-hectare park opened in February, there is no better group to dedicate the tree this year than the family, said Mayor REX Gatchalian. 

BRINGERS OF LIGHT. City Mayor REX Gatchalian (center, in white shirt) and city councilors gather by the switch of the Tree of Hope. Photo by Resty Robert N. Castro.

HEARTSTRINGS.The Valenzuela City Violin Ensemble. Photo by King Al Mendoza.

OTHERWORLDLY. Light from the Tree of Hope, fireworks overhead, and the dancing fountain lend the Valenzuela City People's Park environment an ethereal atmosphere. Photo by Rodrigo de Guzman.

CATCH ME A STAR. Parols, or traditional Philippine Christmas lanterns, are found all over the park, which has been groomed for the Christmas season. Photo by Beng Bautista.