Tree lighting, parade will kick off Tuscaloosa's holiday season

A 26-foot tall Christmas tree decorated with more than 2,000 LED lights has been installed in front of the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse on Greensboro Avenue.

At 5:15 p.m. Monday, the grand marshals of the West Alabama Christmas Parade — Lyda Black, Clell Hobson Sr., Gary Minor and Samory Pruitt — are scheduled to flip the switch and officially light up Tuscaloosa's tree.

Black is a retired associate dean at Shelton State Community College, while the 91-year-old Hobson quarterbacked the University of Alabama football team in the 1953 Orange Bowl. Minor is the soon-to-retire executive director of the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority and Pruitt is UA's vice president of community affairs.

Rob Robertson, Tuscaloosa County's probate judge, will preside over the tree-lighting ceremony, which will include performances by the University of Alabama Tuba Octet, led by Jeremy Crawford, and the Westwood Elementary School Singers, led by Aldis Donald.

The 46th annual edition of the West Alabama Christmas Parade will begin at 6:30 p.m., with floats, decorated vehicles, walking groups, horse groups and five marching bands.

The parade and the tree-lighting ceremony are free to attend. Presented by the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority, the event is billed as the largest parade of its kind in Alabama.

This year's theme is "A Retro Christmas."

Residents, businesses and spectators in the downtown area are requested to use extra caution and slow traffic on parade evening. Heavy foot traffic is expected, and some streets will be blocked along the 1-mile parade route. Parade officials say anywhere along the parade route will be accessible and provide good viewing.

The parade will be broadcast live in its entirety by WVUA 23 with hosts Gary Harris and Tamika Alexander. WVUA will rebroadcast the parade at noon Dec. 10.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tree lighting, parade will kick off Tuscaloosa's holiday season