ORLANDO, Fla. – A Christmas tradition returned to the City Beautiful on Sunday with the annual installation of the “Jack Kazanzas” star, ushering in Orlando’s holiday spirit.
A short stretch of Orange Avenue from Central Boulevard to Pine Street was closed from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. as crews worked to hang up the 600-pound star, city officials said.
The longstanding tradition began in the 1950s when competing downtown department stores Ivey’s and Dickson & Ives collaborated to hang the star between their businesses above Central Boulevard, the city said.
Betty Reed Kendall, one of the daughters of Wilson Reed who owned Dickson & Ives, came by to watch crews install the star.
“[He] had the idea to have the star connect the two competing stores for unity and it’s quite a tradition,” Reed Kendall said.
Reed Kendall said she remembered when the star was put in storage after the stores closed.
In 1984, lifelong Orlando resident Jack Kazanzas raised funds to replace the original star, as the city said it had fallen into disrepair.
The star was finally rewired in 2010 with over 4,000 LEDs and has come to symbolize the start of the holiday season in Orlando, officials said.
“I hope they feel the importance of it and to celebrate the holidays and just for something beautiful for the city, for downtown Orlando,” Reed Kendall said.
Even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the star still shone bright for Orlando residents to take in and enjoy.
Cecily Carcamo said her fiancé and future brother-in-law were among the crew members installing the light. She came to watch as they hoisted the star above downtown. She said the tradition is especially needed more than 18 months into the pandemic.
“I do feel it’s something positive to see, at least even though there have been some setbacks, at least you can see that tradition is still going,” Carcamo said.