The lighting of the National Christmas tree Dec. 1 drew a crowd close to 20,000 to the Ellipse in Washington, who gathered to witness the 89th lighting of the national tree with President Barack Obama and his family.
Laurel magician Eric Henning was one of the performers warming up the crowd, and brought his close-up Victorian-themed street magic to the 6,000 VIPs that were in the seated area.
"It went great," Henning said. "I got done early (with the VIPs) and went to the standing-room-only fence and did some stuff for them."
Using a web lottery to distribute tickets helped swell the crowd to nearly five times the usual number, Henning said. The Park Police escorted the pre-show performers, keeping them warm with hot cocoa and handwarmers when the 50-degree weather started to chill out at dusk.
"The crowd was terrific, the show was wonderful," Henning said.
While he didn't interact with the president and his family, Henning said it was a "great privilege" to be part of the yearly, national event. As he made his way to the shuttle bus after the lighting, Henning —decked out in Victorian garb with a holly spring in his hat —said he was stopped so frequently for photo ops with visitors that he nearly missed the bus.
The pre-show included a star-studded line-up of performers, including Carson Daly and Big Time Rush.
And who got the biggest applause, after the president of course? Kermit the Frog.
For a broadcast schedule of the pre-show and tree lighting, go to nationaltree.org.