Where were the lights at the Vista Lights celebration Thursday night?
They glowed in the storefronts of downtown staples like the Carol Saunders Gallery and Urban Outfitter, already dressed for the holidays.
They flashed on the trees lining Gervais Street, where silver snowflakes twirled from branches.
They were in the eyes of the crowd of people gathered near where Gervais and Lincoln streets meet, when their gazes turned toward the night’s main attraction.
The crowd milled about the oddly rounded Christmas tree and began to count down to the lighting of the tree, the symbolic start of the holiday season in the heart of the city.
And then the lights came on.