Skip to main content

Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon reacts to crowd's disappointment at Orillia, Ont. tree lighting

Share

The lackluster Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Orillia, Ont., became a topic of widespread discussion as videos showcasing the underwhelming 'trunk lighting' surfaced on various online platforms. The event even caught the attention of American late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, who playfully mocked the festivities on The Tonight Show.

The video shows the crowd of hundreds counting down to the big moment, followed by silence, confusion and disappointment.

"That's it? What the hell?" someone could be heard saying on the video, to which Fallon poked fun, saying, "You know you messed up when you get a Canadian mad enough to say hell."

The tree lighting in Orillia, Ont. (Courtesy: Leslie Fournier)

The annual tree lighting outside the city's opera house has been a popular holiday attraction for 40 years using the same tree.

And while spectators thought perhaps there was a mistake, organizers said decorating the tree trunk alone was indeed the plan, adding the aging tree's branches weren't sturdy enough to hold Christmas lights.

The City has since been fielding comments and questions, while some headlines question whether Orillia's tree lighting is the worst of all time.

Whether the City will retire the tree for next year's celebration remains to be seen.

With files from CTV's Christian D'Avino

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Notre Dame Cathedral: Sneak peek ahead of the reopening

After more than five years of frenetic reconstruction work, Notre Dame Cathedral showed its new self to the world Friday, with rebuilt soaring ceilings and creamy good-as-new stonework erasing somber memories of its devastating fire in 2019.

Stay Connected