Sardy House Tree Lighting Ceremony More Spectacular Than Ever

ASPEN, Colo., Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Ornamenting the nation's tallest living Christmas tree with next-generation decorative lighting technology, the new owners of Aspen's historic Sardy House, John and Selene Devaney, promise to make the 22nd Annual Sardy House Christmas Tree lighting the most spectacular to date.

The event takes place Sunday, December 3. The Devaneys closed on the purchase of the circa 1890 Sardy House in mid-November. The property's landmark tree is the tallest living Christmas tree in the United States, and an emblem of Aspen pride.

"As the new owners of the Sardy House, we can't think of a better way to honor the property's rich history than to uphold the tradition of the annual Christmas tree lighting," Mr. Devaney said. "And what better way to show our support than to make the tree the best and most magnificent Christmas tree ever."

The Devaneys have contracted Robert Singer & Associates - an Aspen-based lighting design firm that has managed the lights for the Sardy House tree for the past several years - to spearhead the modernization of the ceremony, which includes tripling the number of lights to 10,000 from the 3,000 used last year, and replacing the lights with LED nodes. As opposed to regular light bulbs, each of the 10,000 nodes is programmatically capable of emitting any of 16.7 million different colors, giving the tree the ability to display animations, such as cascading rainbows or fireworks.

"We have unlimited capability to make the tree look like however we'd like it to look," said Kale Lacroux of Robert Singer, noting that this is the first time this type of lighting technology has been permanently applied to a living tree. "The programming we're doing for this event is very special."

R&A Electric of Glenwood Springs is coordinating the installation of the lighting system, which is called Color Kinetics.

The tree lighting ceremony takes place at 6:00 pm on Sunday, and will feature the Dickens Carolers, Jimmy Ibbotson (from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Aspen Middle School Choir and the Waldorf Children's Choir. Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus will be present, and cookies and cocoa will be served.

"We are filling the bed and breakfast portion of the Sardy House with 12 couples as our first guests to enjoy the lighting of the tree," said Mr. Devaney. "Our guests all have children, so this will be a very special time."

About the Devaneys

The Devaney's have been regular vacationers in Aspen for the past several seasons. They plan to use the Sardy House as a family retreat, as well as an employee and client retreat for Mr. Devaney's several companies.

The Devaneys are also actively involved in the Aspen Youth Experience. In 2006, United Capital Markets, a company owned by Mr. Devaney, was the title sponsor of the 2006 Aspen Celebrity Downhill. Another of Mr. Devaney's companies, United Capital Asset Management, will be the title Sponsor of the 2007 Aspen Celebrity Downhill.

Mr. Devaney's ties to the region date back to his days as a student at Colorado State University in nearby Fort Collins. Devaney has supported CSU

through various fund raising programs, including the "CSU Kentucky Derby," which helps finance the Sean "Ranch" Lough Memorial Scholarship.

John Devaney is CEO and Head Trader of United Capital Markets, Inc., an institutional broker/dealer specializing in secondary trading of structured finance securities. United Capital Markets is a member of the NASD and SIPC. Devaney is also CEO of United Capital Asset Management LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser specializing in alternative investment products. Both are subsidiaries of United Capital Markets Holdings Inc, which is based on Key Biscayne, Fla.

About the Sardy House

The Sardy House was built in 1892 by J.W. (three-fingered Jack) Atkinson, vice-president of the Little Annie Mining Company and former Pitkin County Sheriff. The house was later owned by depression era physician Dr. Twining and his wife, directors of Aspen's Citizen Hospital, and Tom Sardy, a county commissioner for 24 years and namesake of Aspen's airport, Sardy Field.

The Sardy House has been operated as a bed & breakfast since 1986.