Outlets at Castle Rock announced today that its 2006 Christmas tree is scheduled to arrive on Saturday, Nov. 11. This year's selection is a 75-foot tall White fir that is thought to be the largest fresh cut tree in Colorado this holiday season. Outlets at Castle Rock will host its annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 24 at 4:30 p.m. at the Event Court.

The Outlets at Castle Rock's Christmas tree has been groomed for the past nine years at the Mount Shasta tree farm in California. Outlets at Castle Rock chose the Mount Shasta tree farm for its environmentally-conscious philosophies. For every tree that is harvested at the tree farm, it is replaced with an average of 10 trees. Trees are only removed from designated areas where harvesting will have no detrimental impact on the environment and will assist with the reforestation process.

The tree will be hoisted into position by a crane and planted into a 5-foot hole; the tree will stand 75-feet tall above ground. The decorating process, that will include more than 10,000 lights, bows and ornaments, will take approximately one week.

"We have an exciting line-up of festivities planned and look forward to kicking off the holiday shopping season on November 11 when our tree arrives," said Alisa Bivins, marketing director, Outlets at Castle Rock. "We believe our tree will be the tallest fresh cut Christmas tree in Colorado. Its towering presence will be on display for everyone to enjoy. As a comparison, the world famous Rockefeller Center Tree was seventy-four feet last year."

In the spirit of giving, Outlets at Castle Rock has partnered with Reach Out and Read Colorado ( http://www.reachoutandreadco.org/) to host a book drive to promote literacy among children. Shoppers and community members are encouraged to drop off new and gently used books beginning November 18. Reach Out and Read is a national organization with a Colorado coalition of 78 sites providing 87,000 new books to 52,000 children.

The organization is dedicated to making literacy promotion a standard part of the provision of pediatric primary care for low-income children ages 6 months to 5 years old. Participating doctors and nurses receive training to properly educate parents about the importance of reading with their children.