WESTPORT – The public is invited to kick off the holiday season with the annual tree lighting ceremony.

First Selectman Kevin Christie announced that the event will take place at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1, at the Westport Town Hall, which is located at 110 Myrtle Ave. The Staples High School Orphenians will perform a selection of seasonal songs, and the Westport Museum for History and Culture will provide hot chocolate.

Westport residents can also enjoy two other longstanding holiday events in December. The Wakeman Town Farm tree lighting, a generations-old family tradition, will take place with a ceremony running from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5 at 134 Cross Highway. The free event will include sweets and hot chocolate from Sweet P Bakery and The Granola Bar, music from Greens Farms and Saugatuck Elementary Schools (along with a few members of the Staples High School Band), and the student jazz trio On the Count of Two. Christie, Second Selectwoman Amy Wistreich, and Wakeman family member Bill Constantino will light the tree.

Visitors to the Wakeman Town Farm event are encouraged to give back in at least one of three suggested ways. The farm will be collecting unused or new diapers of all sizes to support partner Help for Kids to give to Stamford Health and the Diaper Bank of Connecticut, canned goods for the Hall Neighborhood House in Bridgeport, and unwrapped toys for Al’s Angels.

Staples High School will also present its annual Candlelight Concert. The concerts will take place at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12 and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 70 North Ave.