Hoover opens 2020 Christmas season with socially distanced tree lighting
An estimated 200 to 250 people showed up at Hoover City Hall Tuesday night for the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
All guests were asked to wear masks and socially distance from one another to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease.
Braxton Weidman, an 8-year-old third-grader from Greystone Elementary School, flipped the switch to turn on the lights on the 43-foot-tall Christmas tree on the grassy area next to City Hall and along U.S. 31.
Braxton was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Sept. 15 and on Oct. 5 underwent surgery at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis to remove the tumor. He completed radiation treatments on Tuesday, according to Melanie Posey, the city of Hoover’s public information officer.
Braxton was joined by his 6-year-old sister, Lyla, and 11-year-old brother, Cason, to flip the switch to light the city’s Christmas tree. The tree has an estimated 62,000 lights or more.
After the tree was lit, Taylor Woodruff, a junior at Hoover High School, sang “Winter Wonderland” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Then, Spain Park High School freshman Hadley Carter sang “O Holy Night.”
Judah Mayowa, a 2020 graduate of Hoover High School who now is majoring in song writing at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, followed that with “Silent Night” and was joined by Hoover High senior Abigail Shipley in a duet version of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”
Caitlyn McTier, Miss Hoover 2020, also sang the national anthem Tuesday night.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato encouraged everyone in the city to be mindful of what other people around them are going through in these challenging times and to reach out a helping hand when they can.
People may have to socially distance this year, but that doesn’t mean people can’t be kind and show love to one another, he said. City officials handed out “kindness coins” to remind people to spread kindness throughout the holiday season.
Red Diamond provided complimentary hot chocolate and coffee during the chilly weather Tuesday night, and the city provided Little Debbie Christmas snack cakes. The city also provided families with a kit to make a Christmas ornament at home.
Santa Claus showed up on a Hoover fire truck and was available for pictures with children in the Hoover Library Theatre. Santa was “socially distanced” from the children because he was “stuck” in a fireplace on the stage of the Library Theatre.
Guests also were invited to tour the newly renovated lobby inside City Hall, decorated by the Hoover Beautification Board.