At a glance<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jacksonville\u2019s annual Christmas tree lighting moved indoors to The Roost due to rainy weather but drew a cheerful crowd.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Mayor Mark Jones celebrated his first month in office with warm reflections on community and holiday tradition.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Local choirs, Santa Claus and hot chocolate helped create a cozy, festive atmosphere for families and friends.<\/p>\n
JACKSONVILLE \u2014 Rain dampened the sidewalks but not the spirit of Jacksonville\u2019s annual Christmas tree lighting, which unfolded Monday evening on the public square with music, cocoa and a crowd full of holiday cheer.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s decision to relocate the event indoors to The Roost \u2014 a newly renovated venue on the square \u2014 turned out to be a welcome change. Families filled the space in festive sweaters and Santa hats, sipping hot chocolate provided by Hillcrest Baptist Church and enjoying performances by the Kitty Stone Elementary Singers and the Jacksonville High School Choir.<\/p>\n
Mayor Mark Jones, who wraps up his first month in office this week, welcomed attendees with gratitude and good humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those of you that did not know, I\u2019m Mayor Mark Jones, just completed my first month on the job, and I\u2019m really enjoying it \u2014 especially this time of year,\u201d Jones said during opening remarks. \u201cFew people I\u2019d like to thank and introduce prior to getting started, number one, our rec department \u2014 Janice Burns and her staff \u2014 for getting this organized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones also thanked developer Devin Sonderman for opening The Roost to the public, calling the venue a \u201cgreat addition to the square and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The change in location didn\u2019t diminish the turnout. In fact, Jones said the cozy indoor setting may have enhanced the experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat really amazed me the most was the crowd that we had,\u201d Jones said in an interview. \u201cWe haven\u2019t had a formal sit-down review yet, but the consensus is that it might be a good thing to do from now on \u2014 have the preliminary inside and then go outside and light [the tree].\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the music and speeches, attendees made their way to the square for the traditional countdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe counted it down and it was dark, and we hit zero, and the whole square lit up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jones, formerly president of the City Council, said stepping into the mayor\u2019s role has been a \u201cbusy pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne month in,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the next 47.\u201d<\/p>\n
University President Dr. Don Killingsworth Jr. also addressed the crowd, wishing everyone a merry Christmas and encouraging support for Jacksonville State University\u2019s upcoming championship game and campus lighting.<\/p>\n
Santa Claus \u2014 played by Gary Humphreys \u2014 was on hand for photos and hugs, including a surprise kiss on the cheek from young Annaleigh Lewis that drew smiles from the crowd.<\/p>\n
Jones said the event was a reflection of the city\u2019s high spirits and strong sense of community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a great atmosphere,\u201d he said. \u201cWe showcased talent from our school system, and it was a great event.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At a glance \u2014 Jacksonville\u2019s annual Christmas tree lighting moved indoors to The Roost due to rainy weather…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55807,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21486,28779,40319,116,118,40318,117,8036,40320,40317],"class_list":{"0":"post-69435","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-christmas-tree","9":"tag-christmas-tree-lighting","10":"tag-festive-atmosphere","11":"tag-jacksonville","12":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","13":"tag-jacksonville-high-school","14":"tag-jacksonville-news","15":"tag-jacksonville-state-university","16":"tag-kitty-stone-elementary-singers","17":"tag-mark-jones"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}