85th Annual KCP&L Plaza Lighting Ceremony

For 85 years, families have come together to celebrate the holiday season in the heart of Kansas City with the Annual KCP&L Plaza Lighting Ceremony. This year offers the same traditions, with some new additions that are sure to delight. The American League Champion Kansas City Royals' All-Star left fielder Alex Gordon and his family will help illuminate the Country Club Plaza as the honored guest to "Flip the Switch." The two-time All-Star was awarded with his fourth-consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award last week and also won the American League's 2014 Rawlings Platinum Glove Award as the best defensive player in the league.

Royals' General Manager Dayton Moore and his family will accompany Gordon on-stage as part of the ceremony. Moore, a native of Wichita, Kan., who joined the Royals in 2006, guided the club to the 2014 playoffs after a 29-year absence and to the World Series for the third time in franchise history (also 1980, 1985).

KSHB TV's Gary Lezak will serve as emcee and Christa Dubill will host the ceremony, along with others from the 41Action News team. The ceremony takes place on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 27, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. on the Country Club Plaza.

This is the 15^th year that KCP&L has sponsored this time-honored Kansas City tradition.

"This is a great partnership between two long-standing entities - KCP&L and the Country Club Plaza. We are both truly honored to bring this event to life each year," says Chuck Caisley, KCP&L Vice President of Marketing & Public Affairs. "The lighting is a great way to thank our customers and the communities we serve by sharing this free, family event from Thanksgiving through mid-January."

KCP&L and Highwoods Properties are delighted to have both Alex Gordon and Dayton Moore flip the switch to light the Plaza, a month after the Royals' historic trip to the World Series.

"Coming off a storybook playoff run, Alex Gordon and his teammates filled the entire city with pride and joy, making Alex a fitting guest for the Plaza Lighting Ceremony," says Glenn Stephenson, vice president and division manager of Highwoods Properties in Kansas City.

In addition to the special guests from the Kansas City Royals, this year's ceremony features performances by recording artist, singer, songwriter Gracie Schram, The Snow Globes, featuring Barclay Martin, Rick Willoughby and Lindsey Jones and The Mowgli's - a rising alternative rock band, all with roots in Kansas City. Prior to the ceremony, from 5:00-6:00 p.m., guests can enjoy performances by the Kansas City Repertory Theatre's "A Christmas Carol," The Kansas City Ballet's KCB II and The Snow Globes. Helzberg Diamonds will also conduct an engagement ring giveaway in honor of their 100^th anniversary. One local couple will win a chance to pop the question on the main stage during the pre-show and the rings to pull it all off. At 7 p.m., the evening will feature an hour-long free concert from The Mowgli's on the main stage.

While the Lighting Ceremony will follow suit to years past, Plaza visitors can expect a few new updates this season. The lights on the Plaza will be shining a little greener this year, with 85 percent of the overall lights transitioned to LED.

"The KCP&L Plaza Lighting Ceremony is an important tradition, not only for the city but for many families," says Stephenson. "The transition to LED lights has been underway for sometime now, as we want to make sure the lights are environmentally friendly while continuing to uphold the traditional beauty and aesthetic many have grown to love."

Not only are the lights more efficient, but this year visitors to the ceremony can 'go green' as well. Attendees will have the opportunity to recycle old holiday lights by bringing them to the ceremony and dropping them in receptacles located alongside KCP&L's volunteers who will be ringing bells for The Salvation Army.

More About The 85^th Annual KCP&L Plaza Lighting Ceremony

The lighting program begins at 6:00 p.m., with the flip of the switch at 6:54 p.m. Three fireworks displays will simultaneously take place immediately after the Flip of the Switch, near the stage at Nichols and Pennsylvania (above Burberry), one block east of the stage at Nichols and Broadway (across from Helzberg) and atop The InterContinental Hotel. 

The ceremony main stage will once again be located on Nichols Road and Pennsylvania, near Brio Tuscan Grille and Burberry. The location, which was introduced in 2012, features a larger gathering area that will allow for more attendees to have great views of the ceremony's exciting onstage entertainment, dual fireworks displays and the Flip of the Switch.  

Best views of the ceremony stage will be in the Nichols and Pennsylvania intersection, and along Nichols Road between Pennsylvania and Broadway. Several nearby garages will provide free parking close to the stage.

Recommended nearby parking garages include Valencia Garage (by Gap and H&M) on the north side of 47^th and Pennsylvania, Neptune Garage (behind American Eagle and Houston's) on Wornall near 46^th Street, Seville Garage (near Capital Grille and Bank of America) behind the main stage on Jefferson and Nichols Road and the Plaza III Garage near Victoria's Secret on Pennsylvania.

The KCP&L Plaza Lights shine daily from 5:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., Thanksgiving through Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. All Plaza parking garages will be open and accessible throughout the KCP&L Plaza Lights season. 

Follow the KCP&L Plaza Lights on Facebook and Twitter all season long to stay connected with Plaza Lighting Ceremony details, holiday trivia, contests and promotions. Facebook.com/KCPLPlazaLights or @FlipDSwitch.

Partnership Details

KCP&L is pleased to bring such a beloved tradition to Kansas City for the fifteenth year running. KCP&L employee volunteers will be raising money for Salvation Army's Season of Giving. Listen for that familiar sound of jingling bells. 

KSHB-TV is the broadcast partner for the lighting ceremony. KSHB-TV will broadcast live from the Plaza starting with the evening newscast at 4:30 p.m., with the full hour-long ceremony shown in its entirety from 6:00-7:00 p.m.

The hanging of the KCP&L Plaza Lights is handled exclusively by Capital Electric. The crew installs the lights, 85 percent of which are LED, from August to Thanksgiving and completes the removal by March.

Harvest Productions returns for its fifth year to produce this year's live entertainment for the Plaza Lighting Ceremony, creating a show that features emerging, established and legendary talent, all with Kansas City roots.

Highwoods Properties is the owner of the Country Club Plaza and the proud producer of the 85^th Annual KCP&L Plaza Lighting Ceremony.