City of Joliet Announces Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in New City Square

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 On Friday, November 28, the City of Joliet will formally welcome the Christmas season with its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. This will be the first time the event has been conducted in the newly finished City Square. The event will start at 5:15 p.m. and the Joliet Central High School Choir will sing.


Darra Glavan, who lives in Joliet, gave this year's 35-foot Norway Spruce. She and her family will be the ones to ignite the tree. The evergreen is decorated with 2,000 energy-efficient lights that were bought with the 2025 Powering the Holidays Grant from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and ComEd. The City of Joliet got $2,500 from the grant and $500 from the city to help pay for the high-efficiency lights that would light up City Square. This will help lower energy expenses and have less of an impact on the environment in the long run.

The Joliet City Center Partnership (CCP) will put on the 27th Annual Light Up the Holidays Festival and Parade right after the ceremony. It will start at 5:30 p.m. on Chicago Street. Every year, hundreds of families come to CCP's all-day celebration to enjoy free entertainment, seasonal activities, and Joliet festive traditions that have been there for a long time.

Mayor Terry D'Arcy said that the first City Square lighting was both a symbol and a look ahead. "This is a big deal for our community. D'Arcy remarked, "Lighting up our new City Square for the first time shows the bright future we're building in downtown Joliet." "I hope everyone will come to this party and stay to enjoy the amazing parade and festival."

The City Square tree, which is all dressed up, will be on display until January 11, 2026. Families are welcome to come and snap pictures, spend time with loved ones, and leave messages for Santa in Santa's Mailbox.



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