Magnificent Mile Lights Festival A Mile Of Illumination!
The Magnificent Mile Light Festival is held annually in Chicago along the Magnificent Mile
. Every Saturday before thanksgiving this vibrant festival is held with the participation of the Greater North Michigan Avenue association. This day is marked as a holiday and is celebrated by almost everyone in Chicago. This festival of lights came into being during the year 1949. It all began when the Greater North Michigan Avenue association put up a Christmas tree which was 50 feet tall. This tree was decorated with more than 1,500 lights with a star topper of six feet which was installed in the Water Tower Park.
In 1959, the store named Saks Fifth Avenue swapped its holiday adornments to Italian white lights and hung them on the elm branches in front of the store. Since then it has been continued as a tradition by its neighbors and stores around. After that it became popular among many people and now is known as the Lights Festival.
The festival is organized for the purpose of lighting up over one million lights along the trees amounting to about two hundred that are spread down North Michigan Avenue. On this day the whole town is vibrant and in a festive mood. Many events like concerts, live stage shows, street entertainers and much more are organized to make this day livelier. During the recent past Disney's Mickey Mouse was used to act as the master of ceremonies for the parade that is held on the Magnificent Mile. It is indeed a very colorful pageant with the Disney friends marching along, and the massive floating balloons that are sure to make both kids and adults all excited.
You will find many Christmas icons like the snowman, Rudolph, Santa, twirling dancer and singers who walk along in the parade to make it simply an unforgettable experience for everyone. For all tourists visiting during the Christmas holiday, staying at a Chicago luxury hotel will be a great choice. The Peninsula Chicago is a leading five star hotel Chicago has to offer and makes a great base from which to explore the 'Windy City" and its many attractions including the Magnificent Mile.