For the first time in its 145-year history, the Purple People Bridge will be decked out with lights, decorations, and music during the month of December 2017 for the bridge’s inaugural Christmas Walk.

Giabella Guidugli and her friends get ready to turn on more than 1,000 lights on the Purple People Bridge at a bridge lighting ceremony on Dec. 1.

To commemorate the commencement of the Christmas season on the Purple People Bridge, Giabella Guidugli, the five-year-old daughter of Newport Vice-Mayor Tommy Guidugli, will have the honor of flipping on the switch to light the bridge’s Tree of Lights and  holiday lights on the bridge. The lighting event will be held near the middle of the bridge on Friday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m.

Afterward, the public is invited to enjoy the Purple People Bridge Christmas Walk, which will remain open from Dec. 1 to Jan. 1. The walk will feature a Tree of Lights, a total of 1,000 white-and-purple lights, projected lighting, seasonal music, wreaths, and scenic views of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky from high above the Ohio River.

The Purple People Bridge Company, which owns and operates the bridge, recently outfitted the entire length of bridge (one-half mile) with a speaker system to provide Christmas music during the Christmas Walk and for other events on the bridge. The PPB Bridge Lighting and Christmas Walk is a joint effort of the Bridge Company and ColdIron Enterprises Inc.