The Annual Lighting of the Merry Maple on the Amherst Town Commons. FREE event – OPEN to all!
The 50-plus-year-old tradition of lighting a living tree in the North Common was first documented in print in the Amherst Record in 1966. Prior to that a Christmas tree was brought in to be decorated and lit.
The old maple tree on North Common — the “Merry Maple” — best known for it being adorned with decorations and lights during the holiday season reached it’s end of life and was taken down. The annual tree lighting this year will be on a nearby maple in front of the Inn on Boltwood.