Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, and The Friends of Copley Square welcome the holidays with the annual Copley Square Tree Lighting on Monday, November 28, from 5 - 6 p.m.

This free event will feature appearances by Mayor Walsh, NECN’s Jenny Johnson, Santa Claus, and Rudolph along with musical performances by the Boston Children’s Chorus, vocalist Marchelle Jacques-Yarde, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and Berklee College of Music student Mahamma Germain of Hyde Park.  In addition, the US Postal Service will unveil its new holiday stamp. 

The Old South Church bell will toll when the tree is illuminated.  Light refreshments will be provided by local businesses New England Coffee and HP Hood LLC. The Fairmont Copley Plaza will host a family reception immediately following for all in attendance.  The reception will include cookie decorating, photos with Santa and treats from the Fairmont Copley Plaza.

Even more festivities will take place in and around Copley Square on November 28. The Boston Public Library and The Catered Affair will host a Storytime and Candy Cane Tea at the library from 3:30 - 5 p.m.  The tea is free but reservations are required by calling 617-859-2282. 

For additional information please call the Boston Parks and Recreation Department at 617-635-4505.  Learn more about the event at the Friends of Copley Square website.

ABOUT NORTHERN STAIR PROJECTION

In Northern Stair Projection, composer, and percussionist Eli Keszler presents a sprawling installation, video projection, and live performance within Boston City Hall. The work uses long strands of piano wire to transmit recordings made of the exterior, public spaces of Boston into the enormous interior space of this iconic, Brutalist structure. The wires will run hundreds of feet upward from the floor, terminating at various levels of height in the building. Video of the exterior spaces surrounding City Hall will be projected through the wires onto the space's vast concrete walls. The work takes inspiration from the intent of City Hall's architects, Gerhard Kallmann and Michael McKinnell, to connect the public and governmental spaces, and to create a project which embodies their idea. The work will also feature a live performance by Eli Keszler in dialog with the sounds of the installation, which will be active for one night only, Friday, November 18, from 7 - 9 p.m.

ABOUT ELI KESZLER

ELI KESZLER is a Boston-born artist, composer, and percussionist. His compositions and visual works examine the limits of instrumentation, notation, and space in its institutional, musical and public form.

Keszler's sound installations, music and visual work have appeared at Lincoln Center, MIT List Center, Victoria & Albert Museum, Sculpture Center, The Kitchen, South London Gallery, Carpenter Center for The Visual Arts (Harvard), Luma-Foundation, Tectonics Festival (Harpa Hall) Reykjavik, Centraal Museum in Utrecht, Boston Center for the Arts, Barbican-St. Lukes, 3S Arts, and Greater New York at MoMA PS1. His writing and work has appeared in Bomb Magazine, The New York Times, Wire Magazine, Frieze and Modern Painters. He has released solo records for ESP-Disk, Pan and REL Records. He has received commissions from the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, ICE Ensemble and SO Percussion amongst others. Keszler is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and is a 2016 New York Foundation for The Arts Fellow. He currently lives in Brooklyn.

His latest record, Last Signs of Speed, will be released on November 17 on Empty Editions from the Empty Gallery in Hong Kong and will be available at the concert.

Join Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Country 102.5 for the inaugural Country in the City, headlined by Eli Young Band. The concert is totally free, and all are welcome. 

There will be food trucks on the plaza for those who want to eat at the concert.

Caliente! is a free concert taking place at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 23, 2016 at City Hall Plaza.

Headlining the event will be salsa star David Pabon.

Pabon was born in Puerto Rico, and has been making Salsa hits since 1989. His musical style is a blend of pop, rock, reggae and salsa. Pabon is best known for the songs "Aquel Viejo Motel," "Es De Verdad" and "Y Nos Amamos."

Opening for David Pabon will be local group Zahili Gonzalez Zamora Project. Zahili Gonzalez Zamora is an accomplished jazz fusion pianist originally hailing from Cuba, and currently studying at Berklee College of Music.

Now celebrating 44 years as Boston's longest-running outdoor concert series, these performances feature exciting, non-stop entertainment for music lovers of all ages. This series is presented by Mayor Martin J. Walsh in partnership with the Boston Parks & Recreation Department and the Mayor's Office of Tourism, Sports, and Entertainment. 

July 13 - Beatlejuice: a Tribute to the Beatles
August 3 - Disco party featuring Tavares
August 10 - Disco night featuring Stardust
August 24 - Harold Melvins' Blue Notes