The lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree includes the turning on of tens of thousands of tiny, twinkly lights and two hours of performances by pop stars, TV stars, and of course, the fabulous Radio City Rockettes.

When: Wednesday, December 2 at 7:55 p.m.
Where: Rockefeller Center, 50th St. & 5th Ave., NYC

Performances to highlight the lighting tradition will run from 7:00pm-9:00pm (televised by NBC) on Dec. 2.

After the official lighting, the tree will be lit daily from 5:30 A.M.-11:30 P.M.; all day on Christmas (24 hours); and from 5:30 A.M.-9 P.M. on New Year's Eve. If you're not going to see the actual lighting, I recommend going at twilight.

The lights will go dark on January 7th, 2010.

For more info, go to www.rockefellercenter.com

According to NBC, the televised portion of NYC's Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting will be co-hosted by NBC stars Jane Krakowski ("30 Rock") and Zachary Levi ("Chuck") and broadcast in high definition.

The star-studded tree lighting celebration will feature
Michael Bubl�,
Aretha Franklin,
Alicia Keys,
Barry Manilow,
The Roots,
Shakira, and
The Radio City Rockettes.
and appearances by
Taylor Schilling (NBC's "Mercy"),
James Tupper (NBC's "Mercy") and
Brian Williams ("NBC Nightly News").