Utah Tech Christmas Lighting Celebration Brings Huge Crowd

Utah Tech University held its annual Trailblazer Nation Tree Lighting Celebration on Wednesday night bringing in hundreds.  

The Holland Plaza was packed to the brim with people of all ages and there were a ton of activities for people to do. Attendees had the option to participate in gingerbread decorating, ornament making, getting rides on a tractor or a horse-drawn carriage, and participating in various games. 

This year’s event was bigger than ever and had live music throughout along with photo booths and Mr. and Mrs. Claus. 

“It gets bigger and better every year”, UT President Richard “Biff” Willams said. "This is the sixth year and I think the first year we just had a little tree. Now, the community comes, we have the Biscuit Bus, and we’ve got all these different things that you can go to from music to Santa and it just gets bigger and better.” 

That little tree has now turned into a 40-foot tree that has multicolored lights that the crowd gathers around as the countdown begins.  

There were also several other food vendors in attendance including the Corndog Truck, Hooked on Bowls, and a boba truck. It was a great way to kick off the holiday.  

This was also the first year the university invited local businesses to participate and set up booths.  

In addition to the festivities, UT also had a food drive called Fill the Pantry which was open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and organized by Findlay Hyundai and will go toward students who need assistance.  

If you’d like to see the tree it will be up through New Year’s Day.