There will be several road closures because of the lighting. For access to the event, check the Uptown Holiday Lighting website.
Fireworks light up Galleria-area sky
HOUSTON
Betsy Kirgard was in constant motion all day long, as she helped set up the Uptown Holiday Lighting event, something she has done for the past 35 years.
"We had no idea when we started what we were starting," Kirkgard said. "It has grown into one of the major things for Houston, we think. People come, they're so excited. We're in to second- and third-generations of people coming with their children and their entire family."
The Uptown Holiday Lighting event centers around the massive lighting of the Uptown shopping district along Post Oak from San Felipe to Westheimer. It also includes a choreographed fireworks display form three separate uptown rooftops.
"I've raised my children coming to this event; I have a 28-year-old son and they all think you eat turkey on Saturday, you do fireworks Thursday night, so it's something that is part of my family's live and it's part of the lives of many people's family life," Uptown Houston president John Breeding said.
Over half a million lights on 80 Christmas trees and various rooftops were turned on Thursday night.
And as Uptown Holiday Lighting celebrated its silver anniversary, so did the "Be an Angel Foundation." It is an organization helping children with multiple disabilities. Santa and Mrs. Claus have helped raise awareness for the foundation during the Uptown Holiday Lighting event.
"Be an Angel isn't only in the Houston area; it's also in the Dallas area and it goes international. It goes into Guatalmala, so it's not just taking care of the children here; they go where there's a need," Mrs. Claus said.
From raising awareness to raising expectation for the holiday season, we asked Santa a question on the minds of most children: Is it too late to be good to get presents this holiday season?
"It's never too late to be good," he replied. "You can always be better."
The fireworks were scheduled to begin at 7pm, but event organizers pushed it forward to start at 6:50pm because of the weather conditions.
