An annual event that brings thousands of visitors to Red Bank and kicks off the holiday season has gotten the coronavirus bump.

What would have been the 28th annual Holiday Express concert November 27 won’t be held this year, organizers confirmed Wednesday.

Bandleader Tim McLoone (above left, with Mayor Pasquale Menna, at the 2019 edition of the Holiday Express concert. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

But while the giant band led by Tim McLoone won’t mount the stage for its customary night-after-Thanksgiving performance, a light-up of downtown trees and the official Christmas Tree in Riverside Gardens Park is still expected to be held that night, said Laura Kirkpatrick, executive director at business promotion agency Red Bank RiverCenter.

“We will be lighting the town in some fashion” on November 27, with details to be announced, she said.

Meantime, at its meeting Wednesday night, the Red Bank council approved free parking throughout town on November 27 and 28 for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, respectively; and from December 14 through December 25 for holiday shopping.