CARBONDALE – The City of Carbondale is excited to share details of one of the region’s favorite annual events – The Lights Fantastic Parade! Hosted by The Carbondale Parks District, with support from Carbondale Main Street, Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Carbondale, the 33rd annual Lights Fantastic Parade will be held this year on Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. along Illinois Avenue.
Before the parade begins, guests can enjoy picking up sweet treats from local businesses downtown participating in the Cookie Walk from 4-6 p.m. During this time guests are also invited to come inside the Carbondale Civic Center to warm up at the hot cocoa bar, decorate cookies, and write letters to Santa.
Started by a grassroots organization in 1990, the Lights Fantastic Parade has been bringing holiday joy to downtown Carbondale for decades. There are floats that have participated since the beginning, new additions every year and there is always room for more. Anyone that is interested in having a float or band in the parade can still register until Nov. 22.
This parade brings in over 10,000 guests every year, creating a wonderful audience for our local vendors. If you are vendor that would like to set up at this years’ parade, fill out the vendor application form by Nov. 22.
The VIP Sponsor Party is moving this year from the Civic Center into the Old Train Depot. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for the Lights Fantastic Parade, please contact us at lightsfantasticparade@gmail.com or call 618-529-4451 for more information.
Road closures for the parade will begin at 5 p.m. with Illinois Ave (Rt. 51) closed from Grand Avenue to Main Street (IL Rt. 13) and Main Street closed from Wall Street to Illinois Avenue. All detour routes are clearly marked.
We’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that our Annual Tree Lighting will occur a few days before the parade at the Town Square Pavilion on Dec. 4, from 5-7 p.m. This event will include treats, cocoas, crafts and the thrilling opportunity to take your picture with Santa.
