Light Up the Holidays Festival and Parade in Joliet

Joliet’s day-after-Thanksgiving tradition returns Friday, November 27, 2026. The Joliet City Center Partnership lists the festival from noon to 5:30 p.m. in downtown Joliet, with First Secure Community Bank of Joliet as presenting sponsor. In 2025 the tree lighting at the new City Square was at 5:15 p.m., followed by a 5:30 p.m. parade up Chicago Street, according to The Herald-News; the organizer had not posted a 2026 minute-by-minute schedule as of late September.

Expect a family festival around City Square during the afternoon, the lighting of a large spruce with a high school choir, and a lighted evening parade of floats, bands and Santa along Chicago Street. The tree stays up with Santa’s mailbox through early January. Everything is free.

This is the 28th year for the event by the organizer’s count; last year’s was billed as the 27th.

Plan your visit

Metra’s Rock Island and Heritage Corridor lines end at Joliet’s Gateway Center, a few blocks from City Square, though Friday holiday schedules are thin, so check times. Drivers can use downtown’s city garages and lots off Ottawa and Chicago streets; Chicago Street itself closes for the parade. The square is packed from about 4:30 p.m. through the parade, so come earlier for the festival and stake out a curb by 5 p.m. Bring chairs and blankets.