Joliet's Light Up The Holidays Festival: Bays Tower Apartments New Presenting Sponsor

JOLIET, IL — In October, the city of Joliet and Joliet Chamber of Commerce celebrated one of the downtown's greatest success stories in years, the grand opening and ribbon-cutting for John Bays and his new 140-unit Bays Tower Apartments at 311 North Ottawa Street.

Now, Bays will be back in the public spotlight later this month for one of Joliet's biggest special events of the year, the city's annual Light Up The Holidays Festival and Parade. The event takes place the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, Nov. 28.

This year's parade returns to its long-time parade route, North Chicago Street. The city of Joliet's new City Square is almost finished, and the City Square is where the new Christmas tree lighting ceremony will take place at 5:15 p.m. now that the old Van Buren Plaza and fountain has been demolished.

The hour-long parade, which typically features about 80 floats and entrees, begins at 5:30 p.m. and it's followed by a short fireworks show. For more event details, visit the Light Up the Holidays list of activities on City Center Partnership website.

On Tuesday, Emmanuel Lopez, who became executive director of the Joliet City Center Partnership in August, told Joliet Patch how he's thrilled that Bays Towers is the new presenting sponsor for the major event.

This month's parade grand marshal will be Mike Veeck, who along with his son, Night Train and Hollywood comedian Bill Murray are the owners of Joliet's Slammers baseball team of the Frontier League.

"This year’s event will include a North Pole Market, North Pole Park, horse-drawn carriage rides and the always spectacular parade and firework show," Joliet's City Center Partnership website proclaims.

Joliet's City Center Partnership has 21 major sponsors for its Light Up The Holidays festival, according to Lopez. One of the major sponsors Lopez is thrilled to have back is the Chicagoland Speedway. In July, NASCAR racing will return to Joliet's Chicagoland Speedway after a five-year absence. The NASCAR event in Joliet draws people from all over the country and draws world-wide TV coverage.

Midland States Bank will sponsor the fireworks show and Old National Bank will sponsor the downtown carriage rides.

Prior to the addition of Bays Towers Apartments as the presenting sponsor, the University of St. Francis in Joliet served as the Light Up The Holidays parade sponsor for several years.

At last year's event, which was moved to Ottawa Street in front of the Joliet Public Library due to the street repairs along Chicago Street, Mayor Terry D'Arcy was joined by long-time USF president Arvid Johnson for the ceremonial tree-lighting ceremony.

This year, however, USF is not one of the 21 event sponsors, although there is still time for USF to enter a float in the Nov. 28 parade, according to the City Center Partnership.

Johnson retired in June, and new USF President Ryan Hendrickson announced in October that the University of St. Francis was eliminating at least 36 faculty and staff positions due to the university's newly discovered financial deficits, totaling in the millions of dollars.