The most exciting moment on Light-Up! Night is light-up itself with the honor of “flipping-the-switch” to light the city’s tree and the city itself being shared each year by members of the community selected by the mayor.
This year to light the tree, Mayor Boles invited Matthew Conner of St Augustine, a sixteen year old who has spent his entire life fascinated by the city’s annual holiday lighting. In fact it was his enthusiasm for the Nights of Lights that caused him to write Mayor Boles and ask if he could assist in the lighting ceremony. Matthew, son of Robin and Virginia Conner, is a student at the Keystone Academy, Jacksonville.
Then, to “light the city,” Mayor Boles invited former Mayor Len Weeks and former Commissioner Bill Lennon to share the duty of turning the switch that launches the 20th annual Nights of Lights. Weeks was Mayor during the early years of the Nights of Lights, serving from 1995 until 2000. Lennon, who served the city as a city commissioner for over a decade, was the one who originated the proposal for the Nights of Lights to his fellow commissioners.
“These members of our community truly demonstrate the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the Nights of Lights,” said Boles. “Had it not been for Bill Lennon’s original idea, and Len Weeks’ and his colleagues’ willingness to follow-through with that idea, we likely would never have had the Nights of Lights. And Matthew’s excitement and enthusiasm for this great holiday tradition is the reason, or the ‘why,’ we produce the Nights of Lights and have done so for twenty years.”
Light-Up! Night is set for Saturday, November 23 starting in front of City Hall, 75 King Street, with entertainment beginning at 4:00pm and then continues in the Plaza de la Constitution with more entertainment starting at 5:30pm. The lighting ceremony starts at 6:30pm with light-up set for 6:45pm.
For complete information regarding Light-Up! Night, visit http://lightupnight.info
For visitor information, including a calendar of upcoming events during the 10-week long Nights of Lights, visit http://nightsoflights.com
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