Brock’s Gap 5th-grader to light Hoover’s Christmas tree

Madison Etheridge was born with cerebral palsy and has to use a walker, cane or wheelchair to get around, but that hasn’t stopped her from living an active life.

The 10-year-old Brock’s Gap Intermediate School fifth-grader has taken karate and dance lessons over the years and currently swims at the YMCA and is a cheerleader for the Hoover youth football league.

“She’s definitely a high-energy, high-spirited little girl,” her mother, Sherita Etheridge, said.

Madison has been selected to turn on the 62,000 lights on the city of Hoover’s 43-foot-tall Christmas tree at the Hoover Municipal Center on Nov. 29.

Madison has gone through two surgeries to help improve her mobility, and she hasn’t let her disability slow her down, her mother said. “She knows how to persevere through obstacles. She will take on challenges.”

Scott Mitchell, her principal at Brock’s Gap Intermediate, said Madison has a cheerful personality.

“She is just happy all the time,” he said. “Every time I see her, she’s got a smile on her face. She just has a positive attitude about her that makes everything around her just glow.”

The tree lighting ceremony is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. in the parking lot of the Municipal Center, at 100 Municipal Lane, and this year will include performances by a choir from Deer Valley Elementary and the Spain Park High School jazz band.

The program typically lasts about 30 minutes, but people usually hang around to watch Santa arrive on a fire truck, have pictures taken with him, play in artificial snow and eat free snacks while listening to Christmas music. Children who visit Santa also get to take home a commemorative Christmas tree ornament.

Parking is available at the Hoover Public Library, which will close at 3 p.m. that day.

The Riverchase Galleria has a “Christmas Magic” tree lighting ceremony set for 7 p.m. on Nov. 9. It will include a magician, a song-and-dance performance by the Deer Valley Elementary School “elves,” a parade of costumed characters and a visit by Santa Claus. Mayor Frank Brocato and WVTM Channel 13 morning anchor Brooke Smith are scheduled guests.