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Wednesday Night Downtown: Tree Lighting, Cathedral District Christmas, Art Walk

The holiday season kicks off in Downtown Jacksonville Wednesday night with a variety of activities.

Although The Jacksonville Landing is being demolished, one decades-old holiday tradition from the riverfront marketplace will live on.

The Christmas tree that was lit at the Landing for the last 32 years will adorn Hemming Park this holiday season.

This year, the city's lighting ceremony will be at 6:25 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, during the monthly First Wednesday Downtown Art Walk.

The 56-foot tree is covered in more than 78,000 LED lights. The Sleiman family donated the tree in honor Eli Sr. and Josephine Sleiman.  The Landing was owned by Sleiman Enterprises Inc.

The Mayor’s Open House at City Hall will also be held Wednesday evening, with activities for children in the seasonally decorated atrium and refreshments served in the Mayor’s Office on the 4th Floor, according to Downtown Vision.

Also Wednesday night, Christmas In the Cathedral District will offer tours of the historic churches in the Cathedral District between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. as well as a Bethlehem Marketplace with handmade crafts and a live nativity scene and petting zoo at St. Johns Episcopal Cathedral at 256 E. Church St. 

Other activities Downtown Wednesday night include:

Historic Stanton Building Open House and Market, which is being held as part of Art Walk at 521 W. Ashley Street.

Jacksonville Icemen vs. Florida Everblades,  at VyStar Memorial Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.

Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.

Bill joined WJCT News in September of 2017 from The Florida Times-Union, where he served in a variety of multimedia journalism positions.