Gadsden, AL- Kick off the Holiday season on Friday evening December 7th, 2018 on the lawn of City Hall for the city-wide Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony presented by the City of Gadsden, Greater Gadsden Tourism, Gadsden Museum of Art, and Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts.
At 5:30 p.m. Mayor Sherman Guyton and Santa Claus himself will flip the switch on the City Christmas Tree, a 50’ tall pine on the lawn of City Hall, decorated with Christmas lights. After the tree is lit, children and families are encouraged, as usual, to gather around the tree and take photos and celebrate the holiday season. Santa Claus will be available for photos after the tree lighting.
In addition to the regularly scheduled First Friday celebration, the City of Gadsden is hosting a holiday festival on the lawn of City Hall at 90 Broad Street with Coffee and Hot Cocoa, ‘snow’ from the Hardin Center’s ‘Let it Snow’ exhibit, children’s arts and crafts from the Gadsden Museum of Art, and music from the Gadsden State Community College Show Band.
In conjunction with the city-wide tree lighting ceremony, the Greater Gadsden Tourism Coosa Christmas Boat Parade will be steaming up the Coosa and will be directly below City Hall on the river following the tree lighting. Bleacher seating will be available on the lawn of City Hall so spectators can watch the boat parade from this great vantage.
The event opens at 4:30 p.m. and wraps up at 6 p.m. The City Hall parking lot will be closed to traffic for the event, but traffic will still be able to flow from First, Broad, and Chestnut streets. Downtown merchants will be open for First Friday.
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