Northwest invites community to annual tree lighting ceremony

Northwest community members annually gather at the Thomas Gaunt House for the President’s Tree Lighting to usher in the holiday season on the campus. (Photo by Lauren Adams/Northwest Missouri State University)

Northwest Missouri State University will host its annual President’s Tree Lighting on Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Thomas Gaunt House and invites the community to join in the tradition that helps usher in the holiday season on the campus.

Community members are gathered around a tree during last year's President’s Tree Lighting. (Photo by Lauren Adams/Northwest Missouri State University)

Northwest President Dr. Lance Tatum and first lady Jill Tatum will host the program, which begins at 5 p.m. It will include remarks from President Tatum and Chloe DeVries, who serves as president of the Student Senate. The program also will feature music performed by the Madraliers and the Horace Mann Laboratory School choir.

After the tree-lighting ceremony, attendees may take photos with Santa Claus as well as Bobby Bearcat and enjoy refreshments at the Gaunt House.

“The President’s Tree Lighting is a tradition that brings our community together in a spirit of joy and unity,” President Tatum said. “Each year, as we gather to celebrate, we’re reminded of the warmth and light this season brings, not just to our campus but to our hearts.”

The tree-lighting ceremony has been a tradition on the Northwest campus since 2009.

The Gaunt House, located on Fourth Street at the south edge of the University campus, was built during the 1870s and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It has served as a residence for Northwest presidents since the institution’s founding in 1905.