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The
Mona Shores Singing Christmas Tree, which features a 180-student
high school choir and stands 15 rows tall, belted out 19 holiday
tunes at a Muskegon theater this week and was set to perform two
more shows on Saturday. The 67-foot-tall (20-meter-tall) tree is
adorned with 25,000 LED lights and loads of greenery.
“The Singing Christmas Tree is 100% a spectacle,” said Shawn
Lawton, who has directed the Mona Shores High School Choir and
overseen the annual show for three decades.
The towering tree-shaped structure has a hierarchy, with
freshmen near the bottom, sophomores and juniors in the middle
and seniors above them.
The very top, just underneath the star, typically is reserved
for the “tree angel," a student chosen by Lawton who “is not
your top singer" but has “all the heart."
This year's pick is senior Makenzie Aney, who uses a wheelchair
and performs at the base of the tree, close to the front of the
stage.
“It makes me real happy and excited and joyful,” Aney said of
being selected this year's tree angel.
Aney and her fellow singers aren't alone as they run through
"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," “Noel,” and other holiday
favorites. A 50-member Mona Shores High student orchestra
surrounds the tree and a small army of parents and other
volunteers makes sure all goes smoothly, both on the ground and
in the tree.
The Singing Christmas Tree has been a holiday must-see for area
residents for many years. But it increasingly draws fans from
other states and even countries, with videos of past
performances viewable online.
“It's become a bucket list item for a lot of people,” said
Lawton, who is marking his final holiday season in charge of the
performance.
The 58-year-old is retiring at the end of the school year. His
successor is Brendan Closz, a Mona Shores graduate who sang in
the tree, as did his three brothers, and is co-directing the
choir this year to help ease the transition.
“Being a part of (the show) has been such a reward,” Lawton
said. “And I am going to really miss that.”
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