HOUSTON — A Houston holiday tradition has been canned this year.
The Uptown Holiday Lighting event, which includes fireworks and takes place every year on Thanksgiving Day will not occur. You’ll still see the 1,000 stars and 300 holiday trees lit at night, but Uptown Houston said they have other plans for people to enjoy the holidays.
“I’m a little in shock. I’ve been here for 26 years, and they’ve had it every single year,” Ziggy Gruber, owner of Kenny and Ziggy’s New York Deli, said.
He said all the businesses in the area prepare for an expected boost in business around the show. Other people shopping in Uptown agree that it attracts fans.
“The other activities are all nice and spread throughout the season, but the fireworks are like the 4th of July," Susan Leopold from Kingwood said.
We reached out to Uptown Houston management about the decision to not put on the show.
“We wanted to focus on that throughout the entirety of the season, and not just one night, we’ve got a lot going on like I said our properties are always doing something, this is really a holiday destination we’ve created,” marketing manager Kalee Garvin told KHOU.
People will still be able to enjoy events like a market at Uptown Park, brunch with Santa, holiday jazz and other events.
The holiday trees will be lit up starting this weekend, and you may see the stars twinkling along streets throughout the Galleria area.
You can also download the Uptown Radio app to listen to music synced to the holiday lights. The Uptown Radio app is available on both Apple and Google App Stores.