The 30th Avenue Business Association will host the sixth annual Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting in Astoria Wednesday evening.
The tree lighting festival, originally launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, will kick off at 6:15 p.m. at 44th Street before proceeding down 30th Avenue to Newtown Avenue.
The parade will feature festive music, holiday cheer and a special appearance from Santa Claus before the annual tree lighting ceremony outside Nisi Estiatorio at 32-07 30th Ave.
Gus Lambropoulos, an active member of the Astoria community, founded the annual tree lighting alongside his wife Maria in 2020 to lift the spirits of the local community and combat the “doom and gloom” that had set in during the pandemic. The annual event was later expanded to incorporate a parade down 30th Avenue in 2022.
However, the 30th Avenue Business Association has since taken over the annual event after Lambropoulous stepped away last year. Roseann McSorley, the owner of Katch Gastropub and a member of the business association, said the group took over the event because the annual parade and tree lighting had become such a popular community event.
“This is really a community event,” McSorley said. “It’s really meant to give the community a holiday celebration to kick off the season.
“It’s a treat to open the holiday season, especially in these times where we have a lot of different things going on in the world. It’s a nice reminder that we are a community and we can celebrate the holidays together.”
The annual tree lighting has also been moved from its original home in Athens Square Park to the intersection of Newtown Avenue and 30th Avenue in a bid to make the tree more prominent.
McSorley said the tree’s original home in Athens Square Park shielded it from view from some members of the community.
“There’s no better place for this tree to be than in the heart of where our community comes every day to eat in our restaurants and shop in our shops,” McSorley said.
This year’s event will kick off outside St. Joseph’s Church at 43-19 30th Ave. before proceeding down the corridor. An NYPD marching band will lead the parade, with an FDNY firetruck carrying Santa Claus set to follow the parade at the rear.
A music stage will be erected at the end of the parade route, with the Christmas Matters Carolers set to light up 30th Avenue with a performance Wednesday night. A number of local religious leaders will also deliver remarks.
The tree lighting ceremony, meanwhile, is set to begin at 7 p.m., around 45 minutes after the beginning of the parade.
This year’s tree stands at an impressive 16 feet and has been supplied by Grippo’s Christmas Trees, a local vendor operating that has served the Astoria community for the last 40 years.
Astoria party store La Bomboniera Marylu has supplied the lights and decorations for the 2025 tree.
McSorley praised Frank Grippo, the owner of Grippo’s Christmas Trees, and Elizabeth Flores, the owner of La Bomboniera Marylu, for being steadfast supporters of the annual event for the past several years.
“She (Flores) stands outside every year for the better part of four or five hours decorating the tree, and she does that as a volunteer effort for the community,” McSorley said. “If we didn’t have a combination of her and Frank, we really wouldn’t have a tree.”
