Balmy temperatures and a huge crowd made last Friday evening's annual Tree Lighting ceremony one of the most memorable ever and marked the 11th straight time it has been held at the Plandome Road Bandstand. This year's event, in addition to marking the start of the holidays, also marked the beginning of Manhasset's Millennium Year celebration, as indicated in the programs, which were entitled: "Magnificent Manhasset at the Millennium." The Manhasset Park District provided hot dogs for those in attendance as well as distributing souvenir flashlights to all the children. The event was co-sponsored by the Manhasset Park District, the Manhasset-Lakeville Water and Fire District and the Manhasset Chamber of Commerce.

In the formal program prior to the Tree Lighting, the Manhasset High School Select Ensemble under the direction of Diane Bayen, the MHS Brass Choir under the direction of Randy Knudsen and soprano Jan Brennan performed Christmas carols and other holiday songs.

Betsy Chesebrough, Chamber of Commerce chairman of the poster contest, announced the names of the winners. This year's overall trophy winner was Jennifer Tricarico, a sixth grader at Munsey Park Elementary School. The other winners were: Caitlin Cook, Emily Battaglia and Sara Trummelll (kindergarten); Allison Conte, Cara Schwartz and Victoria DiCarlo (grades 1-3); Catherine Despagni, Amanda Conte and Christina Lorusso (grades 4-6); and Emily Geller, Jessica Juliano and Jeff Piranian (grades 7-8).

Moments after the trees at the Mary Jane Davies Green and Town Hall were lighted, Santa Claus made his traditional trip down Plandome Road atop a Manhasset-Lakeville fire truck, bringing to a close an event that has become the unofficial start to Manhasset's holiday season.