Uptown Thanksgiving Tradition Continues

Three hundred trees lit up on Post Oak Blvd. Thanksgiving night. 

After all the turkey and cranberries, and amidst the football games, families and neighbors gathered to kick off the holiday season with a bang at the 32nd Annual Uptown Holiday Lighting festivities Thanksgiving night. 

Thousands of families – some 100,000 people – make the annual event a part of their Thanksgiving tradition. This year, the Morettin family capped off their day by watching the holiday-themed fireworks display from eye-level in one of the area’s high rises. Claire and Luis Morettin, who moved to Houston recently from their ranch in Leona, were happy to have their two daughters and their families both in town, and the Uptown Lighting was welcome entertainment at the end of the day.

Search lights could be seen all over town in preparation for the fireworks over Post Oak Blvd. Prior to the show, guests at the Hilton Post Oak competed in a balcony decorating contest, and costumed characters roamed the streets. Ballet Folklorico, A.D. Players and the Houston Concert Band were among the performers along the Boulevard. While families were free to roam the street, proceeds from concessions benefited Be an Angel and Houston Area Urban League.

Claire Morettin watched the Uptown holiday fireworks from her high-rise with granddaughters Lily Foster, in from Darian, CT, and Emma Claire Barnes, who lives in West U but attends graduate school in accounting in Austin.

Three hundred holiday trees lit up Post Oak Blvd. from the West Loop to Richmond in tune to holiday music. From now through Christmas, shoppers and visitors to Post Oak can listen to music synched with the tree lights by tapping into the “Uptown Radio” app. The app also has information about weather and area attractions.

The annual tree lighting and fireworks celebration had been put on hold for two years as Post Oak Blvd. underwent a transformation into what Uptown Houston calls a “grand boulevard.” The construction made way for wider sidewalks and median lanes where buses will begin running this spring.

Editor’s Note: See more events happening this Thanksgiving weekend and throughout the holiday season.