Hundreds got into the holiday spirit Saturday as they danced to house music, snagged free goodies and snapped pictures with Santa — kicking off the holiday season in the city.
Now its 33rd year, the Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival starts in the morning with family activities in the plaza. In the evening, a parade caps off the festivities, bringing floats, balloons and live performances through the streets of downtown Chicago.
“This helps us keep Chicago on the international stage, the national stage, reminding folks of the great city that we all get to call home,” said Kimberly Bares, president and CEO of The Magnificent Mile Association, which organized the event.
Bares estimated “up to about 1 million people” will attend the fest this year.
Donna Pajak, from Brookfield, comes to the festival every year, and her family always looks forward to it.
“We just love the city. We love downtown,” Pajak said. “We're gonna be here for the parade, for the lights, the fireworks, everything.”
Her family brought some color to the crowd. While other attendees bundled up in winter coats and scarves, Pajak took inspiration from one of her favorite Christmas movies — each family member wore a lime-green Grinch onesie.
“My kids are grouchy sometimes, so no better person to be than the Grinch,” she said.
Sisters Terry Shreve and Sherry Carman, who were among the crowd around the cheesecake-decorating station for Eli’s Cheesecake enjoying slices, said the festival is a family event. They explored the booths with seven other family members.
Carman is from Waukegan, but Shreve drove in from Wisconsin.
“It's kind of a tradition that we all get together with whoever can come to Chicago,” Carman said. “This is the fun part, the week before Thanksgiving.”
Jhovany Perez and his wife, Beth Flores, brought their nine-month-old son Levi to Pioneer Court. Originally from Mexico, the family recently moved to Danville, so the festival was a chance to learn about the Chicago area, Perez said.
“We were ... working hard all week. Now, we want some fun,” Perez said. “This is the perfect moment to live life.”
In the plaza, attendees of all ages danced along to house music. DJ Chip E., one of the early artists of Chicago’s house music movement, performed on stage, along with international DJs.
“I love to see people move,” he said. “Chicago is my hometown. I'm so Chicago that my birthday is 312.”
In the evening, he will also be “rocking it out” down Michigan Avenue, he said. He was set to perform on a red double-decker bus during the parade.
“I’ve got some songs that I know are crowd-pleasers, but I’m going to play it by ear,” DJ Chip E. said. “I feed off the energy of the crowd.”
The holiday parade is the largest evening parade and third largest parade in the country, according to Bares. It will feature usual appearances from Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, but also new floats, like a 60-foot Santa Kermit The Frog balloon.
The parade also includes a lighting spectacle along Magnificent Mile. On each block, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse will lead a countdown to light up the trees, Bares said.
“It's one of the very few places that people can experience the magic of Disney outside of Disneyland, Walt Disney World Resort,” Bares said.
Attendees in Pioneer Court looked forward to the parade. Pajak’s son Aaden, 7, said he wanted to be there when candy will get passed out — fingers crossed for Skittles, he said.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) said the festival is the “highlight of the year” for downtown, the area he represents. Hopkins, who has been involved with the festival since 1999, said his 9-year old son Ryan is looking forward to the “Disney magic.”
“I'm the luckiest alderman in Chicago. No other alderman has an event like this, literally in his front yard,” Hopkins said.
But planning for the festival requires extensive planning, Bares noted.
“It's our 33rd year, and as soon as this event ends, we'll start planning for the 34th,” Bares said.
