Sunset Park shines with Christmas tree lighting

Let there be light!

Sunset Parkers welcomed in the holiday season by swadling an 18-foot Christmas tree in lights at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help basilica on Dec. 4.

Light it up: Alesia Abyshkov, daughter Evagelina Ermakova, and family friend Elizabeth are excited to see the tree glow.

Photo by Steve Schnibbe

One attendee said she and her family make the trip from Bay Ridge to Sunset Park annually to catch the tree-lighting.

“We go every year and like it very much — the show, the kids,” said Alesia Abyshkov who brought her 4-year-old daughter Evagelina Ermakova and her daughter’s friend to the celebration. “This one is good for Christmas.”

Holiday cheer: The crowd is thrilled as organizers illuminate the tree at Fifth Avenue and 60th Street.

Photo by Steve Schnibbe

The Sunset Park Business Improvement District sponsors the yearly Yuletide arbor illumination, which included singing by local choruses, a performance by the Our lady of Perpetual Hope school twirlers, and a visit from Santa Claus, who took photos with kids and gave out gift bags with crayons and a coloring book.

“We were so happy with the present and the picture with Santa,” Abyshkov said.

Wood and stone: The Our Lady of Perpetual Help basilicca provides an elegant backdrop for the Sunset Park Business Improvement District’s Christmas tree.

Photo by Steve Schnibbe