The Parade of Lights returns to kick off the holiday season in downtown Champaign this Saturday, November 30. Activities will start at 1 p.m., and the parade will begin at 6 p.m.
IPM Morning Edition host Kimberly Schofield spoke with Champaign Center Partnership Executive Director Jenna Manolakes about what goes into prepping the event — and what the community can expect to see.
SCHOFIELD: Jenna, this is the 24th annual Parade of Lights. Candy Cane Lane is the theme this year. Who comes up with the themes for Parade of Lights?
MANOLAKES: We have a committee of local business owners and managers who join and we also take ideas from the public, as well. So we compile them all together, and then the committee votes on it.
SCHOFIELD: Does that affect the decorations or is it just a general holiday theme that you give to the parade?
MANOLAKES: We ask all of our floats to decorate to the theme. This year, we were actually erecting a Candy Cane Lane on Taylor Street.
SCHOFIELD: I saw that there is a tree downtown. Currently, there’s also a lot of construction across the street from it. Has that affected anything with the route or setup?
MANOLAKES: The setup, yes, just because the tree is usually right in front of Big Grove where all of that construction is. So back in August, we had to think really hard, ‘where would be the best place, has the right electricity, has enough room?’ It just happened to be across the street, so that worked. The route, not really. The construction doesn’t really get in the way of that. It just doesn’t make it as pretty as it usually is.
SCHOFIELD: The Parade of Lights also coincides with Small Business Saturday. Do those actually correlate with each other or do they just happen to be on the same day?
MANOLAKES: We definitely try to have them correlate with each other because this year, I actually introduced the Passport to Presents. In Candy Cane Lane, you can pick up a passport and it has a little box for all of our participating member businesses. And if you spend $20 or up with them or a business, you’ll get a stamp, and if you do five stamps, you’ll get entered into a raffle for a $500 prize. So this isn’t just for the Parade of Lights, either. This runs from November 30th, the Parade of Lights, to January 8th, so you can get all of your Christmas shopping in and try to make it local.
SCHOFIELD: Oh, that’s so sweet. I like that a whole lot. For anybody who is interested in participating in the float and Parade of Lights, I know that this year it would…well, I would hope that it would be closed so that people could get working on their floats….but what does it take for people who want to participate in the parade to do so? How would they get involved in it?
MANOLAKES: In August, we open up and start posting on social media that we’re starting to look for floats. So go to our website, there’s a link and it says sign up for float. So you fill out a form and then you pay a fee-it’s cheaper if you do it before October 31st -you get working, and then you receive instructions about how you’d enter downtown on the day of.
SCHOFIELD: What are the requirements to participate in it. I assume, obviously, going along with the theme, but do you have to be a business?
MANOLAKES: Nope, you can be whomever you are. I mean, businesses usually are the ones that do it because they are marketing for themselves. But if you’re a single individual and you have a truck and you want to put lights on it-because they have to be lighted-then you are welcome to join.
SCHOFIELD: What is the actual day of the Parade of Lights like?
MANOLAKES: Candy Cane Lane on Taylor Street will start at 1. So we will have face painters, balloon animals, vendors. There’ll be food and drinks out there. We’re having New Soul play at Cowboy Monkey starting at 4 and then we’ll have the CUTC Dickensian Carolers starting at 4:30, as well as the Centennial Choir starting at 4:30. There’s going to be kids crafts. And then there’s visits with Santa at Big Grove Tavern, which from 1 to 2:30, it will be sensory friendly with CU Able and The Place for People with Autism. And then the parade, of course, and then the tree lighting.
SCHOFIELD: Did they have a menorah lighting last year too?
MANOLAKES: They did. There is menorah. I believe it is in front of Anthem this year.
SCHOFIELD: What is it about the Parade of Lights that you like or are drawn to?
MANOLAKES: I think it’s amazing how much the community comes together for this event. It is our most popular event of the year. All the volunteers that give their time away from their family, because this is Thanksgiving week, it is a lot to ask. It’s just a very community-driven event, and it’s so great that we can do it on Small Business Saturday because it also encourages our community to get out into the community and support our community.