Chiefs players will flip switch at Plaza Lighting ceremony

Of course, there will be more than just red and yellow lights on the Country Club Plaza this holiday season, but Thanksgiving night’s lighting ceremony will have an extra Chiefs flavor.

Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson and quarterback Alex Smith will be the honorary switch-flippers for the Plaza Lighting ceremony, which has been known to draw up to 100,000 people.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity,” Smith said in a news release. “This is a great Kansas City tradition. And my family and I couldn’t be more excited to help light up the Plaza with the Kansas City community and kick off the start of the holiday season.”

This is the 88th annual lighting ceremony.

“I know what the KCP&L Plaza Lighting Ceremony means to Kansas City, and to be a part of it this year, with family, friends and teammates standing near, is very special,” Johnson said in a release.

The two Chiefs players will flip the switch at 6:54 p.m. and fireworks will follow. At 7 p.m., the Elders will play a one-hour concert. The ceremony main stage will once again be located on Nichols Road and Pennsylvania. Other performers include Smithville’s Casi Joy, who in April made it to the playoff rounds on NBC’s “The Voice.”

According to a news release, the “recommended nearby parking garages” include Valencia Garage on the north side of 47th and Pennsylvania; Neptune Garage on Wornall near 46th Street; the Seville Garage on Jefferson and Nichols Road and the Plaza III Garage on Pennsylvania.

KSHB will broadcast the ceremony from 6 to 7 p.m.

The lights will be lit each day from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. until Jan. 14.

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Chiefs players will flip switch at Plaza Lighting ceremony."