Photo via milwaukeedowntown.com
Milwaukee Downtown’s 19th annual Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival will begin on Thursday, Nov. 16 with a switch-flipping ceremony at 6:30 p.m. in Pere Marquette Park. The program will ignite a season of holiday cheer with spirited performances, musical numbers, holiday treats, a fireworks show and the show’s guest of honor, Santa Claus.
Performers include: Charles Walker Band, Art Below Zero, Anita’s Dance Center, Ocean Rush, Jenny Thiel, Lex Allen and the Milwaukee Bucks Beats Drum Line with Bango.
Preshow entertainment will begin at 5:30 p.m., and a fireworks spectacular will round out the evening.
Following the ceremony, free “Jingle Bus” rides presented by Meijer will operate from Pere Marquette Park to take guests past all the newly lit scenes. Tour highlights will include chandeliers suspended above Wisconsin Avenue, “Community Spirit Park” at Cathedral Square Park, “Santa’s Polar Palace” at Pere Marquette Park and “Downtown’s Yule Lounge” at Zeidler Union Square.
After opening night, Jingle Bus rides will operate from 6-8:20 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays, Nov. 17–Dec. 30. Rides are $2 per person and depart from The Shops of Grand Avenue. The Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival runs through New Years Day 2018.