President Bush and the first lady participated in the lighting of the National Christmas Tree and the opening holiday ceremonies on the Ellipse for the 2008 Pageant of Peace.
Entertainment included: country music singer Rissi Palmer; musician Jon Secada; Nashville singer/songwriter Phil Vassar; Washington-based dance troupe Step Afrika!; 4-year-old singer Kaitlyn Maher; and the U.S. Army Chorus’s SFC Steve Cramer appearing as Santa Claus. The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” performed under Colonel Thomas Rotondi, Jr. and the Enterprise High School Encores from Enterprise, Alabama, sang.