LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- Big changes are coming to Light Up Louisville -- it still begins the day after Thanksgiving, but now it will include some new events.
The first change is the location. It used to be in Jefferson Square, but is moving to 4th and Main Streets. There will also be a new nightly light show called "40 Nights of Lights," which will be four blocks of festival lights with shows set to music each night between the Galt House and Fourth Street Live. It also includes light projections on buildings along 4th Street.
A skating rink is also being added, and will cost $5 an hour for adults and $3 for children under 18. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer says, "The rink is going to use synthetic ice so people can keep using it whether it's 50 degrees or 15 degrees. Think of how much fun that'll be to go to 4th Street Live underneath the roof to be skating up and down 4th Street. People have always missed our skating rink here in town."
Jim Wood of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau adds, "From an economic standpoint we really feel it will have great value. We think over the years from year one to year five it will see significant growth."
The Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau says it is also spending $12,000 for a study to look at the economic impact of the events.
In another first, Light Up Louisville and 40 Night of Lights will help ring in 2013 with a light show and fireworks display on New Year's Eve.
The city is still looking for someone to donate the Christmas tree, which should be a spruce or fir, 40 to 50 feet tall. The city will cut and transport the tree to a new spot on 4th Street next to the Fifth Third Bank building.
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