Official Illumination of River Bridges Thursday
We've all been waiting months and on Thursday (Dec. 19), the three river bridges connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock-- the Clinton Presidential Center Bridge, the Main Street Bridge and Junction Bridge-- will light up the night sky for its official illumination day.
Join Entergy Arkansas, the City of Little Rock, the City of North Little Rock, Pulaski County Facilities Board Authority, the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau with special guest President Bill Clinton in celebrating the official illumination.
The event will kick off at 5 p.m. with live music from the Natural State Brass Band. At 6 p.m., there will be opening remarks followed by the flipping of the switches and illumination with a festive light show. A local favorite, the Big Dam Horns, will end the lighting ceremony with more fun music.
Ottenheimer Market Hall will be open for this event, so food and beverages will be available. The event is open to the public and admission is free.
A $2 million donation from Entergy is helping pay for LED lighting on the downtown bridges. The plans were revealed at a news conference back in April with Entergy representatives and Mayor Mark Stodola.
The Color Kinetics team with Philips Lighting was chosen for the project. It has helped light up famous structures like the Eiffel Tower, the London Bridge, the Empire State building and the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
But it has lit up even more bridges, including the Stone Bridge in Johnstown, Penn., Peace Bridge in Buffalo, N.Y., and, closer to home, the Skydance Pedestrian Bridge in Oklahoma City, and the Harbour Bridge in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The lighting displays will be able to change color and designs through a computer program.
Check out a preview of the illuminations here!
While Entergy's donation covers a large part of the expense, the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock will add about $400,000 to complete the project.
For more information about the big event and illuminations, click here.