photo by: Eric Ayres

Crews from the city of Wheeling on Monday erected a 14-foot Norway spruce that will serve as the holiday centerpiece at The Plaza on Market. Santa Claus will light the tree on Wednesday during the annual Winter on the Plaza event.

Wheeling is getting ready to dive headfirst into the holiday season this week with the annual Winter on the Plaza celebration, followed by the long-awaited return to the downtown area of the city’s Christmas parade.

On Monday, city crews installed the Christmas tree at The Plaza on Market, where Santa Claus will light the tree Wednesday night during Winter on the Plaza and kick off the holidays. The 14-foot-tall Norway spruce was donated by Duplaga’s Top Notch Landscaping of Wheeling. It will serve as the centerpiece of the city’s holiday celebrations this year, officials said.

“We wanted this year’s tree to be extra special in honor of the City of Light’s 40th anniversary,” said Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder. “Thanks to the generosity of Chris Duplaga and his team at Top Notch Landscaping, we’ve been able to make that happen. This beautiful tree reflects the pride and community spirit that makes Wheeling such a wonderful place to live, work and visit during the holidays.”

The holiday tree at Market Plaza will be decorated with ornaments crafted by children from across the Ohio Valley. Some were made at the “Nightmare Before Christmas” craft station during the city’s recent Halloween event on the plaza, while others were designed by students from Wheeling Country Day School Each ornament will add a personal touch and will represent the creativity and community connection that define the season in Wheeling, according to city leaders.

The tree will be lit during the Winter on the Plaza celebration, which begins at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Main Street Bank Fantasy in Lights Parade, presented by the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce, will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday. This will mark the parade’s return to the traditional parade route for the first time in years. The parade had relocated to Center Wheeling over the past few years as the state of West Virginia’s $37 million Downtown Streetscape Project turned the downtown area into a major construction zone.

Aside from some ongoing work around Chapline and 16th Streets, much of the Streetscape construction in the downtown has now been completed. On Monday, the mayor said everyone is truly looking forward to watching the parade in the newly renovated downtown.

“It’s extremely exciting,” Magruder said. “With the downtown renovation being completed and with everything that’s going on, it’s really an exciting time. Hopefully even after the parade and into next year, we’ll see more business, more traffic and more joy in downtown Wheeling — and the parade is symbolic of that.”