Commemorative Lighting Request

Purpose 

To celebrate international, national and community wide events or causes. 

Locations 

These Policies and Procedures apply only to City Hall, the Intermodal Facility and the fountain lights at Alberta Park. 

Eligibility 

Non-denominational, non-profits and charitable events or causes (501(C) (3)) are eligible to make a request. Lighting will not be considered for commercial entities, personal occasions or religious observances. 

The following types of requests are eligible for consideration: 

• Lightings in honor of holidays, historical events, and extraordinary events/occurrences of City, State, National or International significance 
• Lightings in support of a local festival or event that positively impacts local community spirit. 
• Lightings in support of a local, national or international awareness issue that builds community or is related to community health. 
• Lightings that acknowledge and welcome visiting dignitaries (such as a visiting Head of State or Ambassadors from various countries) hosted by our city. 

Requests/Applicants 

Lighting requests must be made by filling out and submitting an on-line Commemorative Lighting Request Form. Lighting Request Form may be found at tuscaloosa.com. Requests will not automatically renew each year. A new request must be submitted annually as needed. The City of Tuscaloosa endeavors to accommodate as many requests as possible, and requests are typically handled on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Applicants will receive an electronic response stating whether the request has been approved. Not all requests can be accommodated. If an application is declined, it is not a reflection of the merits or importance of the request. 

To Be Considered 

Nominations must be received a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 1 year in advance of the lighting date(s) requested. 

The application must be submitted by a management representative of the official organization making the request. Special themed lighting is at the sole discretion of the City of Tuscaloosa. 

Evaluation and Other Considerations 

Requests will be processed by the City’s Special Events team and approved by the Mayor or his/her designee. 

Requests will be evaluated based on factors including: nature of cause/event; history and background of the organization, cause/event; how the lighting will benefit the cause/event; the relationship of the lighting to the cause/event; and relevance to the City of Tuscaloosa. 

The City of Tuscaloosa may override any existing and confirmed illuminations in support of citywide, national or world emergency observances, and will work with requestors to best accommodate or reschedule the original request. 

No requests for the same organization will be granted for more than seven consecutive days. The length of time for each approved request is entirely at the discretion of the City of Tuscaloosa. 

Priority in choosing colors for illuminations will be given to promoting events that celebrate the City, its civic institutions, local universities, City-recognized holidays, public events and festivals. Requests to change the color or pattern of the decorative lights may be accommodated when feasible. 

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 City of Tuscaloosa residents. 

Requests from commercial entities seeking to promote a product or service, or individual requests to recognize a personal birthday or anniversary will not be approved. 

The City of Tuscaloosa retains the right to refuse any request for any reason whatsoever. 

RGB Color Model 

The Decorative Lighting system on City Hall and the Montrose Bridges uses a standard RGB Color Model. The RGB model is an additive color model in which red, green and blue light are added together in various combinations to reproduce a broad array of colors known as real color. 

Requests for specific colors or tones may not be able to be achieved due to limitations associated with lighting capabilities on the current color model. Colors such as grey, silver, maroon and black, for example, are not possible to achieve.