Downtown Rochester Lights Up at Lagniappe

Newly appointed Rochester Mayor Jeffrey T. Cuthbertson helped kick off the 2013 Big, Bright Light Show on Monday night at Lagniappe in downtown Rochester.

The mayor—along with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus—counted down from 10 to signal the official start of the eighth annual downtown light show, which features more than 1 million lights. 

"I think it's been a tremendous turnout, the lights went on perfectly, Santa was here, the stores are open for shopping, I don't think it could have gone a whole lot better," Cuthbertson said. 

True to the name of the event, downtown merchants offered customers Lagniappe—Creole for "a little something extra"—as a token of appreciation. Many local shops stayed open past their regular Monday hours for the event as potential customers flooded the sidewalks and crosswalks downtown. 

Several of the lights covered buildings along Fourth Street east of Main Street, thanks to a Kickstarter campaign dubbed "Miracle on Fourth Street," devised by the Rochester Downtown Development Authority, which raised $28,160 in pledges to keep the area lit. The funds were sought because of reduced funding for the Big, Bright Light Show. 

"I think it's a great outpouring of support for the city," Cuthbertson said of the campaign. "When governments have to meet a lot of obligations to provide high-quality services, a whole bunch of Christmas lights sometimes fall a little further down the priority list, and it's great to see that people appreciate it so much that they're willing to open their wallets and assist with the project."

The Big, Bright Light Show will run 5 p.m.-midnight each day through Jan. 5, 2014.