{"id":65568,"date":"2025-12-09T13:49:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T13:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/65568\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T13:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T13:49:09","slug":"whitestone-welcomes-holiday-season-with-annual-christmas-tree-lighting-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/65568\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitestone welcomes holiday season with annual Christmas tree lighting \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"whitestone\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, center, and members of the Whitestone Merchant\u2019s Association join Santa during the annual Whitestone Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 6.<\/p>\n

Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

\t\t Search our comprehensive guide to things to do in Queens<\/a> for more local events \u2014 or submit your own<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Whitestone<\/a> welcomed the holiday season with a joyful Christmas tree lighting in the Harpell parking lot, where community members across the neighborhood gathered for a dazzling display of lights and festive performances on Dec. 6.<\/p>\n

The event was organized by the Whitestone Merchant\u2019s Association<\/a> and Queens Chamber of Commerce<\/a>, and sponsored by Council Member Vickie Paladino<\/a> and We Love Whitestone Civic Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Student performers from the Landrum School of Performing Arts<\/a>, located in Whitestone, donned reindeer-themed costumes and danced for guests as a DJ played holiday tunes. A special visit from Santa helped raise holiday spirits as families posed for photos and shared their Christmas wishes.<\/p>\n

George Isaakidis, president of the merchant\u2019s association, said Paladino is a huge supporter of the tree lighting, along with the merchants that make the event possible. He said members of the merchant\u2019s association provide goodies for guests, such as hot chocolate and cookies.<\/p>\n

The event, Iasskidis said, is about more than just Christmas, but about getting families and children together to celebrate the holiday side-by-side.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe light our streets every year with Christmas decorations,\u201d Isaadkidis said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great way for everybody to come out and show not only their Christmas spirit, but to do a little Christmas caroling and just get together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paladino addressed the crowd during the tree lighting, commending the merchant\u2019s association and small businesses for keeping the local economy afloat. But, she acknowledged that it\u2019s been tough on families who are feeling recent economic pressures, especially during the holidays. She vowed to support local businesses and revitalize the village to its former glory, which she said was her Christmas wish this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the best time of the year,\u201d Paladino said to guests during the event. \u201cMerry Christmas to each and every one of you and to all the little ones. May all your Christmas dreams and wishes come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Whitestone residents gathered in the Harpell parking lot for the annual tree lighting, organized by the Whitestone Merchant\u2019s Association and Queens Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored by Councilwoman Vickie Paladino and We Love Whitestone Civic Association.Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"Councilwoman Vickie Paladino and Santa help kick off the holiday season as Paladino vows to continue her support of small businesses and families. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"Student performers from the Landrum School of Performing Arts with Councilwoman Vickie Paladino. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"Student performers from the Landrum School of Performing Arts, located in Whitestone, dress in festive costumes and perform for guests. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"Merchants from the Whitestone Merchant\u2019s Association provided goodies for guests of the Whitestone tree lighting, such as hot chocolate and cookies. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"Festive decorations help keep the Whitestone tree lighting ceremony bright and cheerful. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"Student performers help spread Christmas cheer during the annual Whitestone tree lighting celebration. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, center, and members of the Whitestone Merchant\u2019s Association join Santa during the annual Whitestone Christmas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[12565,19097,9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-65568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-tree-lighting","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}