On Tuesday, April 15, Macon-Bibb County will celebrate the street dedication in honor of Maconite and the man behind the Macon Christmas Light Extravaganza, Bryan Nichols. The ceremony will take place at the intersection of First and Poplar Streets at 10:00 a.m. It will also be live streamed at www.Facebook.com/MaconBibbCounty.

“Bryan Nichols is a true leader in our community,” says Mayor Lester Miller. “He has dedicated so much of his time and resources to make our downtown a better place. We are grateful to honor him in this way.”

In March, the Commission unanimously passed an ordinance that would dedicate a portion of Poplar Street, from First to Third Street in honor of Bryan Nichols.

Nichols is a local business owner and one of Macon-Bibb’s biggest cheerleaders. After opening Taste and See Coffee Shop & Gallery in 2013 with business partner Kevin Reaves, Nichols noticed that several Christmas displays were not in place, due to damage from vandalism while in storage. He thought that a Christmas light display in downtown Macon would not only help revitalize downtown as residents and visitors came to enjoy the lights. So inn 2017, he brought that idea to life by personally hanging Christmas lights around downtown. The 2024-2025 season saw the Macon Christmas Light Extravaganza expanded to 5.5 blocks with 1,000,000 individual lights, creating a stunning experience that brought more than 900,000 visitors to downtown.