The last week of 2019 stretches the holidays out across South Alabama, with light shows still glowing, post-Christmas cruises sailing and two very different midnight countdowns planned for Tuesday night. Here’s how to finish the year.
The Big Drop
Downtown Mobile hosts its signature New Year’s Eve celebration Tuesday: MoonPie Over Mobile, centering on the giant 600-pound electric MoonPie descending over St. Francis Street at Royal. The night includes a laser light show and fireworks at midnight, plus the traditional cutting of the world’s largest edible MoonPie and a second-line parade led by the Excelsior Band.
Across the bay, Fairhope stages its own family-friendly countdown starting at 8:30 p.m., when Big Night Dynamite takes the corner of Fairhope Avenue and Church Street ahead of face painting, fireworks and the city’s annual ball drop at midnight.
Holiday Lights Run Through New Year’s
Several of the season’s biggest displays stay open through year’s end: Bellingrath Gardens’ Magic Christmas in Lights glows nightly through Dec. 31 (closed Christmas Day), Christmas Nights of Lights runs through Jan. 1 at Hank Aaron Stadium, Wales West keeps its Arctic Express steam train rolling Friday through Sunday evenings, and Santa holds court at OWA’s North Pole on weekends into December’s final stretch — with a pancake brunch option for last-minute visits.
Post-Christmas Outings
The Perdido Queen fills the gap between holidays with a Christmas murder mystery cruise Thursday, Dec. 26, featuring Bay Cities Improv, then returns Friday evening with live music from Remix and dinner by Dauphins for its festive dinner cruise.
Culture picks up quickly after Christmas: Government Street United Methodist hosts Sacred Harp shape-note singing Dec. 27, drawing on both the 1991 “red book” and 2012 Cooper “blue book” editions, and Mannheim Steamroller brings its Christmas show to the Mobile Civic Center Sunday, Dec. 29, performing the album that started it all live for the first time.
Looking Ahead to January
A few early-2020 items are already on the board: comedian Darren Knight — better known as “Southern Momma” — plays the Saenger Theatre Jan. 4; The PACT holds a Shrek audition-prep workshop Jan. 4 for young performers; and starting in January, Dementia Friendly Mobile launches a monthly Memory Cafe at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center, offering expressive arts and social time for people living with dementia and their care partners.
Also this week: the Mobile Kwanzaa Committee celebrates community and heritage Thursday, Dec. 26, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. at the Virginia Dillard Smith/Toulminville Branch Library, with food, fashion, poetry and music for families.
The Full MoonPie Night Schedule
Organizers later filled in the evening’s full lineup: food trucks circle Bienville Square starting at 8 p.m., weather permitting, and a Resolution Wall at the corner of St. Joseph and St. Francis streets invites revelers to leave their hopes and dreams for 2020 behind. Live music plays in the Riverview Hotel Courtyard through the evening, which also hosts a Roaring ’20s Costume Contest — costumed entrants gather between 8 and 8:30 p.m. for judging before a second-line parade to the Main Stage announces the winners. Prizes for the top three costumes include a night at the Battle House Hotel, a gift certificate to the Urban Emporium and tickets to the Crescent Theater.