Organizers for Gadsden City’s Christmas on the Coosa announced plans to install what they said will be the largest Christmas tree in Alabama at Riverside Park and invited the public to a Nov. 26 lighting at 6:30 p.m.

Event speakers said the city has expanded its holiday offerings over successive years: after introducing a synthetic ice rink called Christmas on Macusa, officials replaced it with a larger, water-filled frozen rink equipped with a Zamboni and added bumper cars designed to run on the ice. One speaker said the changes followed the discovery that another city had a larger tree last year and that Gadsden responded by sourcing a bigger one transported in pieces on roughly three 18-wheelers that traveled “hundreds of miles.”

Speakers credited Mayor Craig Ford, who took office three years ago, with championing the city’s seasonal investments, quoting an organizer who said the mayor asked, “Do you like Hallmark movies?” and added, “We're gonna make Gadsden a Christmas Hallmark movie.”

Organizers described preparatory work at the Riverside Park site: crews poured a concrete pad behind the planned tree location and hired an engineering firm to reinforce the oversized base, which speakers said was necessary because the tree is ‘‘so tall.’’ The announcement did not include the tree’s exact height, weight, or the name of the engineering firm; those specifics were not specified in the transcript.

Claims that the display will be the state’s largest and that the city ranks among the top five Christmas destinations in the state and top 100 nationally were presented by speakers as promotional facts; the organizers did not provide independent verification during the announcement. Admission, parking and other visitor logistics were not specified.

The public was invited to attend the lighting ceremony at Riverside Park on Nov. 26 at 6:30 p.m. Speakers framed the event as part of the city’s multi-year effort to expand holiday attractions but did not announce any formal city votes, budgets, or contracts during the remarks.