Leslie Curtis has seen a lot of Christmas trees, but nothing like this.
“It looks super. Especially made out of sand.”
Welcome to Christmas - West Palm Beach style.
Coming in at 35 feet, 600 tons, sculpted by 20 truckloads of sand, and adorned by 5000 lights, Sandi Tree is a tradition unlike any other.
Community events manager Mary Pinak says it’s a tradition that takes a lot of hard work.
“We put a good 3 weeks of labor into it, not to count the 8 months of planning,” she says.
Hard work pays off, as all eyes tonight were on the West Palm Beach waterfront.
“We had two people from Tallahassee and they were like ‘my goodness, what is this?’ and we told them the lighting is tonight, and they’re extending their stay a day,” Pinak says.
It’s that type of appeal that Sandi Tree brings to downtown West Palm - from neighbors and visitors alike.
The fact that we can do something that you can’t go to the next city over and see - were making a memory that can’t really be matched,” Pinak says.
Sandi Tree will be free and open to the public until December 31.