the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia, hundreds of local school children, a town crier, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Nova Scotia conservation officers, an Antigonish bagpiper, the Nova Scotia Mass Choir, and Santa Claus. In 2014, students and staff in the environmental technologies program at the Nova Scotia Community College Strait Area Campus cut down that year's tree. Transporting the tree The tree travels over to Boston, with a stop at the Grand Parade in Halifax for a public send-off ceremony featuring a live musical performance by The Stanfields. Attendees are also invited to sign a thank you book for Boston. The tree travels by truck across Nova Scotia, then cruises on a ferry across the Bay of Fundy, continuing by truck through Maine and New Hampshire to Boston. People stand on the sides of roads and on highway overpasses to get a glimpse of the tree and to take pictures. In 2013, the tree was led out of Halifax by a group of runners in honor of victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Special permits are required to transport the tree through Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine. Tree arrival and lighting The tree arrives in Boston under police escort. In the same way that schoolchildren see the tree off in Nova Scotia, schoolchildren from Boston are on hand to welcome it to the Boston Common. The tree lighting takes place on the Common in late November or early December. The event attracts about 20,000 people and 200,000 watch the broadcast on WCVB. The 1998 tree required more than 3,200 man hours to decorate, as well as of wire and 17,000 multi-colored lights. The 2006 tree was covered in 8,000 bulbs. The tree donated by Nova Scotia was placed at the Prudential Center from 1971 until 2002, when it was moved to the Boston Common because of planned development. Significance to Nova Scotia The tree is so important to the people of Nova Scotia that "people have cried over it, argued about it, even penned song lyrics in its honour." Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin called it "one of our proudest traditions." A spokesman for the spokesman for the Department of Lands and Forestry said "It never ceases to amaze me how excited people get about it every year. The whole province gets excited about the tree. It’s a big deal." Expense While the donation of the Christmas