
This year was special as it was a symbol of the community returning to some semblance of normalcy after 20 months in isolation. Adding the lighting of the towers at American Tobacco Campus and Rocky Mount Mills is a great way to showcase the reach of Capitol Broadcasting and reinforce our commitment to the regions we serve.
WRAL-TVs Leesa Moore
WRAL-TV's Michelle McNeil captured this photo of the WRAL-TV aglow for the holidays after the Tower Lighting on Wednesday, December 1, 2021.
Capitol Broadcasting brought the best of three different company locations together to brighten the Triangle for the holidays by lighting the towers at WRAL-TV, American Tobacco and Rocky Mount Mills on Wednesday, December 1, 2021.
In a first step towards a return to normalcy, events for the public were held at American Tobacco and Rocky Mount Mills, with fun from all three locations broadcast in a half-hour special on WRAL-TV at 7pm.
A Long-time Tradition
Several employees involved in the annual event have been part of bringing the fun to the Triangle for many years.
This my 21st Tower lighting I had and active role in, said WRAL-TV News Chief Photographer Ed Wilson. I have seen 31 Tower lightings during my time at CBC.
The event was exciting as always, he said of the 2021 event. I love this time of year so much joy and hope in the air.
CBC has been lighting the TV tower for the holidays for 63 years.
I truly believe turning our 300-foot TV tower into a lighted tree is CBCs gift to the community, said WRAL-TV Director of News Operations, Sports & Special Projects Leesa Moore. It is a time-honored tradition that Im proud to have been part of for over 30 years.
WRAL-TV News Producer Kelly Riner plays a key role in the production every year.
Tower Lighting is always a HUGE project for multiple departments and CBC divisions, she said. Its great getting to work with everyone on something thats happy and brings joy!
From the CBC teams who decorate the company properties to the Master Control operators and engineers who make sure the lights light and the broadcast stays on air, a large number of employees come together to make the night a success.
I really feel like the decorations outside looked the best theyve ever looked, said Riner. From our anchors on the plaza to the ones in the field, everyone brought their A-game.
A large crew worked on the ground, and two staffers even took to the air as WRAL-TV News Photographer Keith Baker and pilot Robbie Jones provided an incredible Sky 5 view of the festivities.
WRAL-TV personalities did hosting duties on all three campuses.
WRAL-TV's Dan Haggerty had a very special helper from the crowd, Libby, to help him flip the switch to light the Rocky Mount Mills Tower on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. (photo courtesy of RMM's Julie Baggett)
Lena Tillett pulled double duty doing live shots and emceeing the live event at ATC, explained Riner. Dan Haggerty found a little girl in the crowd who was so excited about the tower lighting there. He let her push the magic button and made for one of the most memorable moments in the show. Our featured entertainer, Rory John Zak got David to dance a little!
WATCH: WRAL.com VIDEO So cute: Little girl presses button to light tower at Rocky Mount Mills
The night is full of excited energy among the staff.
We had a great team in the control room and in the remote truck outside, said Riner. There was truly so much experience working on that show and I think thats what made it all work. We were certainly thrown some curveballs and challenges, but everything was clean on air just a true testament to the team we had in EVERY position.
Im so grateful the company values this tradition and am honored to be part of it every year.
WRAL-TVs Kelly Riner
CBC stays in tune with the community, to truly make the event meaningful.
We always try to match the tone of the special to the year our viewers have experienced, said Moore. In 2001 for example, we produced a more somber, but powerful program with The Durham Police Choir as our performers. We ended the show with a collection of first responder vehicles lining the WRAL driveway. It was a message of thanks and hope.
Having actual events in Durham and Rocky Mount Mills, as well as having a few viewers standing outside to see the anchors flip the switch in Raleigh, was a big change from last December.
This year was special as it was a symbol of the community returning to some semblance of normalcy after 20 months in isolation, said Moore. Adding the lighting of the towers at American Tobacco Campus and Rocky Mount Mills is a great way to showcase the reach of Capitol Broadcasting and reinforce our commitment to the regions we serve.
American Tobacco handed out 2,000 light wands courtesy of Dominion Energy and NC811 at the Tower Lighting on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. (Photo courtesy of ATC's Valerie Ward)
Lucky Strike Lights in Durham, Fun Brewing in Rocky Mount
CBC lit the Lucky Strike Tower at American Tobacco for the 17th time this year. An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 folks came to participate in the fun in person as the program showcased young talent from Durham and around the Triangle. American Tobacco gave away 2,000 light wants courtesy of Dominion Energy and NC811.
The energy created by the LIVE audience was amazing! said ATC Events & Property Experience Director Valerie Ward.
The crew at ATC was happy to welcome guests back to the nights festivities. Last year the tower lighting went on with no guests due to the pandemic.
Rocky Mount Mills hosted a variety of activities and special guests for the folks who came to campus for their arm of the tower lighting trio.
We had so much fun kicking
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
11/08/2026
LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit played a central role in the host broadcast operation for the Games in Glasgow (July 23 to August 2, 2026). The host b...
11/08/2026
Jigsaw24 has appointed James Morse as Client Director, Media Sales, as it deepens its focus on sports, live events and integrated production. His appointment co...
11/08/2026
Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway has selected its Open Live Media solution to centralize the production of Blinkfestivalen 2026. Combining...
11/08/2026
Modular HEVC and JPEG XS workflows enabled resilient, ultra-low-latency delivery for leading linear and digital media platforms across all 104 matches
Appear A...
11/08/2026
Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Fabiola M ndez The first cuatrista to graduate from Berklee talks about the community that shaped her career ahead of her Homecom...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced Dalet Solution Suites, a new portfolio of cloud-native solutions ...
11/08/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase how media companies can prep...
11/08/2026
Transforming your audience into advocates with Kelsey Gamble 10 August 2026
Building community, harnessing fandom for marketing and activating the four stages ...
11/08/2026
A Day in May airs Wednesday 12 August at 9.35pm RT One and RT Player
A Day in May revisits the people and stories behind Ireland's historic marriage equa...
11/08/2026
As AI shifts from chatbots to autonomous agents, open models are serving market ...
11/08/2026
The open source ecosystem is making it easier for AI enthusiasts and developers to build, customize and run increasingly capable agents locally.
Throughout Au...
10/08/2026
Weekly immersive broadcasts will feature 8K 3D video, a 180-degree field of view...
10/08/2026
Saturation plug-in free until 20 August 2026
fedDSP have announced the launch of Raiju, a new guitar pedal-style saturation plug-in that's capable of de...
10/08/2026
New mix-comparison & feedback tool
Independent Swedish record label I/O Music have recently released a handy new tool that provides artists, engineers, prod...
10/08/2026
Additive soft synth gains free counterpart
Sound Radix have just released a free monophonic additive software synth that's based on the same engine as t...
10/08/2026
Chroma integrates MXO oscilloscopes into ATS 8000 platform, rounding out its hig...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Students in the Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) gain rare, real world experience in professio...
10/08/2026
FOR-A is using its presence at IBC2026 (stand 2.B53, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to show how its products deliver the answers to the real challenges faced...
10/08/2026
Frontier EU, official Peplink distributor for Europe, will exhibit at IBC 2026 in Amsterdam from 11 to 14 September, presenting live demonstrations of how Pepli...
10/08/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage Premiere Pro
Michael Cioni August 10, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup...
10/08/2026
Stunning Pixelated ASCII Effect for Apple Motion
Simon Ubsdell August 10, 2026
0 Comments
Apple Motion is perfect for building this popular ASCII unic...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Monday 10 August 2026
Welcome to the Show : Sky Creative unites football fans w...
10/08/2026
Red Seat Ventures' Speakeasy Brings Video to Apple Podcasts, Beginning with ...
10/08/2026
A major unconventional operator increased monthly pumping hours by more than 30% by automating critical frac completion processes and eliminating common sources...
10/08/2026
Today, Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB) unveiled the September schedule for...
09/08/2026
Combines physical modelling with subtractive synthesis
reFX, the company behind the popular Nexus and Vanguard2 soft synths have announced the launch of the...
09/08/2026
Human nuance is not a switch
Dreamtonics have built up a solid reputation off the back of their Synthesizer V Studio software, a powerful vocal-synthesis t...
09/08/2026
COW Jobs: Documentary Editor - Remote
Brie Clayton August 9, 2026
0 Comments
Documentary Editor
July 31, 2026COW Jobs: Lead Generation Representativ...
08/08/2026
Enhanced ToneNET integration & 220 new Premium V2 Tone Models
IK Multimedia have just launched a public beta of Tonex 2.0, a release which is said to repres...
08/08/2026
Honouring the drum machine that redefined modern music
Roland have announced their plans for this year's 808 Day, a day that was founded to celebrate th...
08/08/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
08/08/2026
Star Wars Hyperspeed Tutorial: The No-Echo Method in After Effects
Graham Quince August 8, 2026
0 Comments
The Echo Effect to create long streaks is n...
08/08/2026
Chyron Releases AXIS 4.0 With Expanded News Workflows and Richer Map Storytellin...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/08/2026
Foundry Unlocks Professional-Grade AI for VFX with Griptape Enterprise; Appoints...
08/08/2026
Award Winning New Horror Film Shot Using Blackmagic Camera App
Brie Clayton August 7, 2026
0 Comments
Fire Alive, shot using the Blackmagic Camera i...
08/08/2026
The global buildout of AI infrastructure reached a new milestone today - Firebird, an emerging AI cloud, launched the CIS region's largest AI factory in Arm...
07/08/2026
Diversified has appointed industry veteran Pete Emminger as global chief technology officer. Emminger will lead the company's global go-to-market technology...