Photos, Video From Joliet's Holiday Parade

JOLIET, IL - Temperatures in the high 50s made Friday night's 20th annual Light Up the Holidays Parade and Festival in downtown Joliet a truly memorable event. There was a strong turnout, in the thousands, lined up along Chicago Street. Friday night's parade lasted an hour and hundreds of happy children left the parade carrying bags full of candy. The Milano Bread truck was also a big hit with the crowd as employees tossed numerous bags of buns to eager grown-ups camped out along the parade route.

Fireworks preceded the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony that took place around 5 p.m. over at Van Buren Plaza. A lengthy fireworks show also filled the night sky after the parade. The day-long holiday event was hosted by the Joliet City Center Partnership and it's presented by the University of St. Francis.

Images via Joliet Patch Editor John Ferak