Photo by ericgbrown.

Want to attend the National Christmas Tree Lighting on the Ellipse on December 9? Tickets for 3,000 seats and 10,000 standing room admissions for the 5 p.m. event are free, but will be distributed through a lottery system that goes online at 12:01 a.m. this Thursday, November 4th (okay, technically, since it’s a minute after midnight it’s Friday the 5th — but for most of us that means Thursday night). Click the link to the lottery on this page on Thursday night/Friday morning or call 877-444-6777 (TDD: 877-833-6777) for your chance at tickets. The lottery will remain open for a short time, just through this Sunday, November 7th. Never been? Check out the details from last year’s festivities, including performances by Sheryl Crow, Ray LaMontagne, Common, the U.S. Marine Band and others.

It’s also now possible to sign up for the National Menorah Lighting, which takes place at 4 p.m. on December 1st, also on the Ellipse.