HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - History and high-tech showmanship will collide on Huntsville's Courthouse Square next month.

On Saturday, March 8, students from the University of Alabama in Huntsville will illuminate the west side of the Square with colorful, pulsing laser and LED lights timed to music.

"It's basically a digital art show with downtown buildings serving as the canvas," Downtown Huntsville Inc. CEO Chad Emerson said Wednesday. "We think this has the potential to grow into a large regional festival that draws people from throughout the Southeast to Huntsville. That's our five- to 10-year plan."

Called LIT (Light + Innovation + Technology), the unique nighttime event will mainly focus on the marble-columned old State Bank of Alabama building constructed in 1835, and the eight-story Central Bank Building that is now home to The Huntsville Times and AL.com.

Emerson said UAH students are developing all of the "creative content" for LIT. There will also be a DJ on hand spinning music, plus glow sticks and LED hula hoops for the crowd.

The light show is scheduled for 7-11 p.m., overlapping with the hours of the Quigley arts and entertainment district. Emerson said the best vantage points will be from the north and south sides of the Square. Admission is free.



Arts Council Inc. is co-sponsoring the event with Downtown Huntsville Inc. and UAH's College of Liberal Arts.

Updated at 10:59 a.m. to correct that the Central Bank Building is eight stories tall, not 10 stories.