Magnificent Mile Lights Festival

See Also, Lights Festival (disambiguation)

The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival is a holiday festival that takes place annually the Saturday before Thanksgiving along Chicago's Magnificent Mile. It is hosted by the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association^[1].

History

The Lights Festival began modestly in 1949 when members of The Greater North Michigan Avenue Association installed a 50-foot-tall Christmas tree, decorated with over 1,500 lights and a six-foot star topper, into the Water Tower Park.^[2] In 1959, the Saks Fifth Avenue store replaced its historical holiday decorations with Italian white lights, stringing them on the branches of the elm trees in front of the store.^[3] The trend was continued by neighboring stores and has grown in both popularity and scope into the Lights Festival we know today.

Present-Day

The festival is focused on the illumination of more than one million lights on two hundred trees along North Michigan Avenue, from Oak Street on the North to Wacker Drive/the Chicago River on the South. Other activities include live stage shows, the Christkindlmarket, and street entertainers. While other celebrities (Betty Grable [1953]^[3]) have hosted the events, Disney's Mickey Mouse has acted as master of ceremonies in recent years. After the lighting procession, shopping hours are extended to start the holiday season.

References and notes

1. ^ Greater North Michigan Avenue Association
2. ^ Farrar, Ellen (2008). The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0738561844. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Magnificent Mile Lights Festival History

External links

• Magnificent Mile Lights Festival Official Website
• Greater North Michigan Avenue Association