Staff photo
A patron talks with Santa Claus at the first Deck the Heights festivities in 2017.
In 2017, Cahaba Heights merchants decided to launch a new holiday tradition — and the first-ever Deck the Heights far exceeded expectations.
Organized by local business owners including Katherine McRee of The Lili Pad and GiGi’s, the Nov. 9 event invited families to ride a trolley between six stops, each offering food, shopping deals and kid-friendly activities. Children started the evening by making stockings at PT Orthodontics, then collected stickers at each stop before showing them to Santa in exchange for free Doodles. The final stop at The Heights Village featured music from Mason Music students, a performance by the Vestavia Hills High School Rockettes, food trucks and photos with Santa.
Organizers initially thought about 100 people might attend — but closer to 400 turned out, creating long waits for the single trolley. “We’ll have four trolleys next year,” McRee joked afterward. The crowd proved that Cahaba Heights was ready for a community holiday kickoff, helping cement Deck the Heights as an annual celebration.
