Holiday festivities Thursday

The town’s annual tree-lighting celebration kicks off at 6:15 p.m. Thursday with stories and songs led by children’s librarian Sharon McDonald in the First Parish building on the downtown common. At 6:45, the countdown to the tree lighting on the common begins; at 7 p.m. Citizen of the Year Don Marshall flips the switch, while the musical ensemble Grupo Fantasia performs seasonal music to herald the arrival of a contingent from the North Pole via firetruck.