Hundreds take part in 89th annual Trek to the Tree

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A holiday tradition took hundreds of people into Kings Canyon National Park on Sunday.

Dozens of residents boarded three buses in Sanger for the 89th annual Trek to the Tree. They traveled to the General Grant Tree -- one of the largest living sequoias in the world. President Coolidge proclaimed it the nation's Christmas tree in 1926 after officials say the secretary of the Sanger District Chamber of Commerce wrote him a letter about it.

During Sunday's ceremony, members of the National Park Service laid a large wreath at the base of the tree to honor our veterans.

"It's the largest living monument, the General Grant Tree, to not only the nation's Christmas but to the veterans of the foreign wars," Sanger District Chamber of Commerce President and CEO David Phillips said.

This event is why the U.S. Postal Service designated Sanger as the Nation's Christmas Tree City in 1949.

Phillips says people from around the world attended Sunday's ceremony.