Commemorate 2017 Local Events with Nighttime Color on Henley Bridge

Communications Director

Kristin Farley
[email protected]
(865) 215-2589

400 Main St., Room 691
Knoxville, TN 37902

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Commemorate 2017 Local Events with Nighttime Color on Henley Bridge

Posted: 09/26/2016
Henley Bridge lights
Photo by Traci K. McDonell / City of Knoxville
Organizing a festival or a public awareness campaign in 2017? Now’s the time to request a commemorative lighting of the Henley Bridge deck lights, as City staff prepares to schedule and program the bridge lighting sequences for next year.

Over the past five months, the City of Knoxville has been helping to recognize and promote local festivals, public events, City-recognized holidays and various local awareness campaigns by changing the colors of the Henley Bridge lights.

The bridge lights have been changed to signify an election, Statehood Day, a marathon and numerous festivals feting everything from street opera to Dogwood Arts. Lady Vols colors were used in a tribute to Coach Pat Summitt.

Through the end of 2016, bridge lights will celebrate University of Tennessee football, the City’s 225th anniversary, an election and Christmas in the City.

The schedule will be set at the end of each year for the following year. Requests for commemorative lightings should be made by Oct. 31, 2016, in order to be included in the 2017 lighting schedule.
 
The City of Knoxville’s Communications Department manages the schedule for the decorative lighting on the Henley Bridge deck. To request a lighting for a local event, simply fill out the online form by visiting www.knoxvilletn.gov/henleylights

Or, download a form and deliver, mail or email it by the end of October 2016 to:

City of Knoxville
Communications Department
Attention: Eric Vreeland
City County Building
400 Main Street - Room 654C
Knoxville, TN 37902

Requests may also be emailed to [email protected].

Priority in choosing colors for the deck’s lights will be given to promoting events that celebrate the City, its civic institutions, City-recognized holidays, public events and festivals. Requests to change the color or pattern of the bridge’s decorative lights will be accommodated as dates are available. The City retains the right to refuse requests.

If multiple requests are made for different colors on the same dates, preference will be given to events that are locally organized and that affect the largest number of Knoxville residents.

Requests from commercial entities seeking to promote a product or service will not be accepted. Other types of requests that will not be eligible for consideration include recognition of an individual’s birthday or recognition of marriage anniversaries or weddings.

Local groups and/or individuals submitting Henley Bridge lighting requests will be notified in late December about the status of their requests. Also, a schedule listing the 2017 bridge colors by dates, and what the colors signify, will be available by Jan. 1 at www.knoxvilletn.gov/henleylights, just as the 2016 schedule is available now.

The City began accepting public requests for commemorative Henley Bridge lightings this year. New equipment was installed that allows City engineers to change the color of the lights more easily and efficiently.

Previously, an engineer had to physically go to the bridge to manually change the colors; now, a wider palette of colors can be programmed remotely. Hence, the City was able to turn the lights to celery green and brown colors for mid-May’s International Biscuit Festival – or to navy and light green for the Knoxville Marathon, just to cite a few examples.