JOLIET, Ill. — One of the area’s favorite holiday traditions, the Light Up the Holidays Festival and Parade, will kick off the holiday season on Friday, Nov. 23.

For the eighth consecutive year, the University of St. Francis (USF) will sponsor the parade, which annually takes place the day after Thanksgiving and is now in its 15th year. This celebration brings more than 25,000 people to Joliet’s City Center to watch area bands and to support businesses and organizations as they travel down historic Chicago Street in the parade. USF’s mascot, Bernie the St. Bernard, will be this year’s grand marshall.