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Kate McKinnon, Alec Baldwin help light Rockefeller tree in soggy ceremony

By Sarah Mulé
The Christmas Tree is lit for the first time at the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Rockefeller Center in New York City on November 30. Thousands of revelers crowded the sidewalks for the event. The tree will remain lit and can be viewed until 9 p.m. on January 7, 2017. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
1 of 9 | The Christmas Tree is lit for the first time at the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Rockefeller Center in New York City on November 30. Thousands of revelers crowded the sidewalks for the event. The tree will remain lit and can be viewed until 9 p.m. on January 7, 2017. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin helped New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio light the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in a soggy ceremony on Wednesday night.

The event, which was televised on NBC, drew a crowd of thousands who braved the cold and rain to see this year's 94-foot Norway Spruce illuminated for the holiday season.

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Tony Bennett, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Sarah McLachlan, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, and Josh Groban performed at the 84th annual celebration which was hosted by the Today show crew -- Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and Hoda Kotb.

The tree, plucked from the Oneonta, N.Y., backyard of Angie and Graig Eichle, is festooned with 50,000 LED lights and a Swarovski crystal star made with 25,000 individual crystals.

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The tree will stay lit until Jan. 7, where it will then become lumber to be used by Habitat for Humanity.

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