Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Triple CBC Tower Lighting Ushers in Holidays

06/12/2021

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
LINK: https://www.capitolbroadcasting.com/2021/12/06/triple-cbc-tower-lighti...
See more stories from cbc

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

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

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

10/08/2026

Apple to Bring Friday Night Baseball' Live to Apple Immersive on Vision Pro Beginning Aug. 28

Weekly immersive broadcasts will feature 8K 3D video, a 180-degree field of view...

10/08/2026

Raiju from fedDSP

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

I/O Music release Talkback

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

Sound Radix launch Radical1 Solo

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 high-end power testing ecosystem

Chroma integrates MXO oscilloscopes into ATS 8000 platform, rounding out its hig...

10/08/2026

Former NAB Tech Exec Tom Keller Has Died

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/08/2026

Matthews Bows Monitor Stand III

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/08/2026

AES Elects David v.R. Bowles as President-Elect for 2027

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/08/2026

NUGEN Audio Helps SFCM Students Achieve Professional Mixe...

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 demonstrates new and practical solutions to real ch...

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 brings broadcast-grade network resilience to...

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

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

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

New York Jets, CBS New York Extend Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/08/2026

Welcome to the Show: Sky Creative unites football fans with start of season campaign

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 Surrounded

Red Seat Ventures' Speakeasy Brings Video to Apple Podcasts, Beginning with ...

10/08/2026

30% More Pumping Hours With Autonomous Frac Operations

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

Apple, MLB announce September \u201CFriday Night Baseball\u201D schedule - UPDATE - Posted on 10 August 2026

Today, Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB) unveiled the September schedule for...

09/08/2026

reFX introduce Rippler

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

Dreamtonics tease upcoming release

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

COW Jobs: Documentary Editor - Remote Brie Clayton August 9, 2026 0 Comments Documentary Editor July 31, 2026COW Jobs: Lead Generation Representativ...

08/08/2026

IK Multimedia launch Tonex 2.0 beta

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

Roland celebrate 808 Day

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

Call for Entries Now Open for the 20th Annual South African Film & Television Awards (SAFTAs20)

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

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 Storytelling

Chyron Releases AXIS 4.0 With Expanded News Workflows and Richer Map Storytellin...

08/08/2026

Nielsen to Acquire DoubleVerify for $2.15 Billion

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/08/2026

FCC Chair Carr Announces New Legal Advisor

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/08/2026

Trump Nominates Danielle Thumann Severs to FCC Commission Seat

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/08/2026

New York Jets, CBS New York Extends Deal with New York Jets

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/08/2026

Foundry Unlocks Professional-Grade AI for VFX with Griptape Enterprise; Appoints Kyle Roche as Chief AI Officer

Foundry Unlocks Professional-Grade AI for VFX with Griptape Enterprise; Appoints...

08/08/2026

Award Winning New Horror Film Shot Using Blackmagic Camera App

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

Firebird Launches CIS Region's Largest AI Factory in Armenia

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 Appoints Pete Emminger as Global Chief Technology Officer

Diversified has appointed industry veteran Pete Emminger as global chief technology officer. Emminger will lead the company's global go-to-market technology...

07/08/2026

Release Rundown: What to Watch in August, From American Doctor to Idiots

O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco, and Mason Thames appear in Idiots by Macon Blair, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of ...

07/08/2026

Sonuscore release The Sculpture

An instrument made for the adventurous composer Described as an instrument made for the adventurous composer , Sonuscore's latest sample library has b...

07/08/2026

Synchron Solo Violin 2 & Viola (sordino) join VSL line-up

Latest solo Synchron libraries arrive VSL have just released the final two instalments in their range of muted solo string libraries. Recorded in the large ...

07/08/2026

GC Audio's new Producer Channel

Channel strip offers plug-in control & recall Along with some new additions to their Inherit modular preamp system, GC Audio's announcements for NAMM 20...

07/08/2026

Opening Statement: Public hearing of the Inquiry into Racism, Hate and Violence Directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Opening Statement: Public hearing of the Inquiry into Racism, Hate and Violence ...

07/08/2026

Nielsen to Acquire DoubleVerify, Creating a Leading, Independent Media Intelligence Platform

DoubleVerify Shareholders to Receive $13.60 Per Share in Cash, Representing a 30...

07/08/2026

Lawo To Highlight Dynamic Media Facility Support At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

MediaKind To Feature Unified Product Portfolio At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

ACT Entertainment Honored with Neutrik Group Americas Par...

The Award Recognizes ACT's Outstanding Sales Performance, Marketing Collaboration and Long-standing Commitment to the NEUTRIK Brand ACT Entertainment, one ...

07/08/2026

Beamr Brings NVIDIA Video Super Resolution to Live Sports...

Beamr Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: BMR), a leader in video optimization technology and solutions, today announced it is bringing AI upscaling to live sports, broadcast...

07/08/2026

Berklee City Music Presents Nine Scholarships and Awards at Annual Concert

Berklee City Music Presents Nine Scholarships and Awards at Annual Concert Student recipients from seven states and Canada received scholarships, housing awar...

07/08/2026

Lawo To Highlights Dynamic Media Facility Support At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/08/2026

Kevin Trueblood to Return as SBE President

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...