The Dayton Holiday Festival’s tree was delivered to Courthouse Square on Thursday and will be prepared to be lit during the traditional Grande Illumination ceremony later this month.

The 45-foot-tall plant was donated from the Dodd residence, 538 S. Hayden Drive, in Dayton. It was ferried by flatbed semi to the square at the northwest corner of Third and Main streets downtown.

The City of Dayton supplied the personnel and equipment to cut the tree. PSC Crane & Rigging donated its crane and equipment to transport the tree.

Every year, people from throughout the Miami Valley nominate their trees for the starring role in the Grande Illumination ceremony, which will be 4 to 9 p.m. on the day after Thanksgiving. This year that date is Friday, Nov. 23.

The ceremony to light the tree will take place at 7:45 p.m., followed immediately by the Dayton Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights.

The month-long Dayton Holiday Festival is presented by OneMain Financial. Sponsors include the Downtown Dayton Partnership, the City of Dayton, Montgomery County and the Virginia W. Kettering Dayton Holiday Festival Fund.

For more about festival activities, call (937) 224-1518 or visit www.downtowndayton.org.