What to know if you are planning to watch the Plaza lighting ceremony on Thanksgiving
Every year, thousands flock to the Country Club Plaza on Thanksgiving night to watch the holiday lights flipped on for the season.
Here’s five things to know about this year’s festivities.
1. What’s the weather forecast?
Temperatures will be just above freezing with a chance of rain during the ceremony this year, according to the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill. They’ll start around 35 and 36 degrees and drop over the course of the evening.
Although the day will start dry, a wintry mix will come into the city and transition to a cold rain in the afternoon, FOX4 meteorologist Karli Ritter said in a weather update for The Star.
“It’s going to be damp, it’s going to be chilly, so (bring an) umbrella, coat and gloves,” said Jonathan Kurtz, a weather service meteorologist.
2. Where do I park?
As a result of construction of a new Nordstrom on the Country Club Plaza, 200 spaces in the Seville parking garage in the 4700 block of Summit Street have been eliminated and the Jefferson Street entrance is blocked off.
The garage still has about 1,000 open spaces, which attendees can access from Summit and 47th streets.
Free parking is available at multiple other garages on the Plaza, according to a map on the event’s website.
3. Who is flipping the switch?
Kansas City native and Saturday Night Live star Heidi Gardner will flip the switch, turning the lights on at 6:54 p.m. Thursday.
Gardner told The Star that flipping the switch on the Plaza lights has long been a goal of hers.
“Thinking I could light the Plaza lights seems so crazy, so out of reach. But for me, I’ve always been able to be like, I hope it happens. I don’t think it will. But I hope it does,” she said.
Gardner’s appearance will be preceded by performances starting at 5 p.m., with the official ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. She will be followed by a concert, with The Elders playing from 7 to 8 p.m.
4. What’s the history of the Plaza lights?
The Plaza lighting ceremony is in its 90th year. The first formal ceremony was held in 1929.
Before that Charles “Pete” Pirat, the maintenance supervisor for the Nichols Company, had been steadily increasing the number of lights he strung in the new shopping district since 1925.
5. How do I watch from home?
KSHB-TV is the broadcast partner for this year’s event. The ceremony will be broadcast live to Channel 41 from 6 to 7 p.m.
The lights will stay on through mid-January.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 11:23 AM.
