Mountain Brook Holiday Parade returns, plus open houses, tree lighting
There are many opportunities for Mountain Brook residents to celebrate the holidays in December, including the resumption of the Mountain Brook Holiday Parade.
The annual event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but returns to Mountain Brook Village on Dec. 5, at 3 p.m., according to the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.
The parade, which typically draws about 2,500 spectators, features marching bands, choral groups, dance teams, Scout troops and city vehicles.
“Santa Claus is always the grand finale coming in on a fire truck,” said Molly Wallace, chamber project manager.
The event is one of the community’s most popular traditions, said Suzan Doidge, chamber executive director.
However, the pandemic forced the chamber and city leaders to find a substitute for the event in 2020. Instead of the parade, the Mountain Brook Fire Department used a fire truck to take Santa Claus to visit children in the city’s neighborhoods.
The parade’s return should get a great reception, Doidge said.
“We should expect a large crowd,” she said. “Everybody is ready to get back out and enjoy the holiday season and participate in the parade.”
‘Festive, cheery’ event
The Mountain Brook Village Holiday Open House, another holiday tradition, will take place Thursday, Dec. 2.
Many retailers in the village and Lane Parke will decorate their stores and offer samples, snacks, beverages, trunk shows, sale items or other promotions.
Some stores will extend their hours.
“Plenty of places will be festive and cheery and open late,” Wallace said. “This open house in particular will bring out crowds. It’s such a nostalgic, traditional holiday event for people to get out with their friends.”
Among the many participating merchants are Circa’s Interiors and Antiques, Village Sportswear, Tom Beckbe, Avani Rupa, Ruby Ansley, Suite Dreams, Bromberg’s, To-GoVino, Golden Age Wine, Daughter’s Baking, The Lingerie Shoppe, A’mano and Mountain Brook Olive Co., according to the Chamber website.
The Pants Store in Crestline Village will also host an open house Dec. 2 from 4-8 p.m.
Other open houses
Lane Parke will host “Mistletoe and Mimosas” on Saturday, Dec. 4, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event “will be a sip and stroll with festive mimosas and a hot chocolate bar,” said April Godsey of Crawford Square Real Estate Advisers.
The English Village Sip & Stroll will take place on Thursday, Dec. 9. This is the third year for the event, Doidge said.
Merchants “wanted another sip and stroll to keep English Village fresh on people’s minds in December,” Wallace said.
Christmas tree
Another much-anticipated holiday tradition returns this year as Bromberg’s erects a 25-foot Christmas tree in front of its store in Mountain Brook Village.
At press time, the tree was scheduled to arrive from North Carolina on Nov. 18 and be lit the day after Thanksgiving, store president Ricky Bromberg said.
The tree will have the same traditional lighting design that people have come to expect, Bromberg said. The only additional decoration on the tree is a star on top.
”It’s kind of the holiday image of our town, but the city does not put that on, and no one else helps sponsor that,” Wallace said. “That is Bromberg’s gift to the city.”
“The tree has become an important part of a lot of people’s lives, and it’s an honor to be able to do that,” Bromberg said.
For more information about merchant offerings at the open houses, go to mtnbrookchamber.org and click on “events.”