NEON TREES, MICHAEL JAMES SCOTT AND THELMA HOUSTON CELEBRATE 35 YEARS OF THE WINTRUST MAGNIFICENT MILE LIGHTS FESTIVAL®

Popular daytime concerts, a parade led by MICKEY MOUSE and MINNIE MOUSE from Walt Disney World® Resort, the lighting of one million lights along Michigan Avenue, and The Wintrust Fireworks Spectacular bring holiday magic to Chicago on Nov. 21

Chicago, IL, Nov. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHAT: 
The 35th anniversary Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival® 

WHERE:

• Lights Festival Lane: Pioneer Court, 401 N. Michigan Ave. 
• Parade: South on North Michigan Ave. from Oak St. to Wacker Dr. 
• The Wintrust Fireworks Spectacular: North Michigan Ave. and the Chicago River 

WHEN: 

• Saturday, November 21, 2026
• 11 am–4 pm CST: Lights Festival Lane 
• 5:30 pm–7:30 pm CST:  Parade and Fireworks  

COST: FREE | All activities are free and open to the public
WEBSITE: TheMagnificentMile.com  

CHICAGO, IL — Billboard Music Award-winning pop-rock band Neon Trees, Broadway star Michael James Scott, and GRAMMY Award-winning Motown & disco legend Thelma Houston will perform at the 35th anniversary of The Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival® on Saturday, November 21. The free, daylong event brings live music, Disney friends, and holiday festivities to downtown Chicago, culminating with the largest evening parade in the United States and the Wintrust Fireworks Spectacular. This year's event is brought to you by title sponsor, Wintrust, with support from Enjoy Illinois and Kia.  

Grand Marshals MICKEY MOUSE and MINNIE MOUSE from Walt Disney World® Resort will illuminate one million lights on more than 200 trees on North Michigan Avenue as they lead the parade featuring approximately 40 brightly-lit and festive floats, giant helium balloons, marching bands, and performance groups. Santa Claus arrives aboard Wintrust’s Grand Finale float, followed by a dazzling fireworks finale over the Chicago River.

Festivities begin at 11 a.m. in Lights Festival Lane in Pioneer Court, featuring free performances by Neon Trees, Thelma Houston, Michael James Scott, Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, and Mariachi Sirenas. Style expert and television personality Carson Kressley serves as the event's holiday fashion correspondent. Guests can also enjoy complimentary photos with Santa courtesy of Wintrust, free cheesecake decorating at Eli’s Cheesecake Pavilion benefiting Nourishing Hope, and more. 

MUSICAL TALENT 

• Neon Trees — Billboard Music Award-winning pop-rock band behind “Everybody Talks” and “Animal” will perform at Lights Festival Lane during the day and in the evening parade.
• Michael James Scott — The record-breaking Genie in Disney’s Aladdin makes the holidays “Brighter” as he performs his new pop-soul single at both events.
• Thelma Houston — GRAMMY Award-winning Motown & disco legend joins the daytime and evening lineup as her recording of “Don’t Leave Me This Way” celebrates its 50th anniversary.
• Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players — The five-time GRAMMY nominee and Chicago power-pop children’s music band will open the Lights Festival Lane musical stage. 

DISNEY FRIENDS 

• MICKEY MOUSE and MINNIE MOUSE from Walt Disney World® Resort lead the parade dressed in their holiday finest.
• GOOFY and STITCH join the festivities aboard the colorful Holiday Garden float.
• BUZZ LIGHTYEAR and JESSIE from Toy Story ride aboard a giant toy wagon.
• SULLEY brings the magic of Monsters, Inc. to life aboard a Monstropolis-inspired float.
• ANNA and ELSA arrive in a sparkling carriage wearing festive outfits inspired by Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.
• KYLEE WITHERS, Walt Disney World® Resort Ambassador, joins the holiday celebration. 

SPECIAL APPEARANCES 

• Carson Kressley — The style expert and television personality will serve as parade fashion correspondent
• Elena Fiorenza — The local artist behind the 2026 Lights Festival holiday sweater joins this year’s celebration. Guests are encouraged to wear their most outrageously festive holiday sweaters to the day-long celebration
• Wintrust Mascot Party — Mascots from Chicago sports teams will join the festivities during the parade, courtesy of Wintrust
• Santa Claus and his trusty Reindeer— Santa arrives aboard Wintrust’s Grand Finale float, followed by The Wintrust Fireworks Spectacular over the Chicago River right after the parade 

MARCHING BANDS AND PERFORMANCE GROUPS 
Five marching bands from across the country will bring a combined 800 members to the parade:

• Greendale High School Marching Band from Wisconsin; 180 members
• Normal Marching Band from Illinois; 140 members
• Sylvania High School Marching Band from Ohio; 180 members
• Harrison Central High School Marching Band from Mississippi; 150 members
• Palmetto Ridge High School Band from Naples, Florida; 150 members 

Additional performers include:  

• Petoskey Steel Drum Band
• South Shore Drill Team
• Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus
• Mariachi Sirenas
• Crystal Lake Strikers Drumline
• Uniting Voices
• Cirque Wheel Jam 
• Chicago Pride Guard 

PARADE ROUTE 
At 5:30 p.m., the parade steps off at Oak Street and Michigan Avenue, traveling south to the Chicago River before turning east on Wacker Drive and ending at Columbus Drive. Spectators can watch the parade along both sides of North Michigan Avenue and from the south side of Wacker Drive. The Wintrust Fireworks Spectacular closes the parade with the most spectacular display in its 35-year history, choreographed to a holiday-themed soundtrack over the Chicago River at Michigan Avenue.

HOW TO WATCH 
The broadcast, hosted by Cheryl Burton and Ryan Chiaverini, will air Sunday, November 22, from 6–7 p.m. on ABC 7 Chicago, abc7chicago.com, Disney+ under the Live tab, and ABC 7’s connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. The program will also be available to audiences nationwide throughout the holiday season. Check local listings for broadcast information. 

MEDIA AND SOCIAL
For interview requests and coverage coordination, contact Beth Heller  
Official hashtag: #WintrustLightsFest 
Facebook: Facebook.com/MagnificentMile 
Instagram and X: @TheMagMile 
Website: TheMagnificentMile.com
Media assets can be found here.  

Visitors can extend the celebration with shopping, dining, and an overnight stay. Explore hotel offerings, attractions, and ideas for a holiday weekend at TheMagnificentMile.com.

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ABOUT THE MAGNIFICENT MILE ASSOCIATION
Organizer of The Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival®, The Magnificent Mile Association is a private, non-profit membership organization with a mission of preserving, promoting, and enhancing one of Chicago’s most unique neighborhoods. The organization represents 700 members, including retailers, hotels, restaurants, popular attractions, and commercial, institutional, and residential properties. For more information, visit themagnificentmile.com. 
 
ABOUT WINTRUST 
Wintrust is a financial holding company with approximately $76 billion in assets whose common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Guided by its “Different Approach, Better Results” philosophy, Wintrust offers the sophisticated resources of a large bank while providing a community banking experience to each customer. Wintrust operates more than 200 retail banking locations through 16 community bank subsidiaries in the greater Chicago, southern Wisconsin, west Michigan, northwest Indiana, and southwest Florida market areas. In addition, Wintrust operates various non-bank business units, providing residential mortgage origination, wealth management, commercial and life insurance premium financing, short-term accounts receivable financing/outsourced administrative services to the temporary staffing services industry, and qualified intermediary services for tax-deferred exchanges. For more information, please visit wintrust.com. 

ABOUT Walt Disney World® Resort
Walt Disney World® Resort is a world-class entertainment and recreation destination featuring four of the most popular theme parks from around the globe, two thrilling water parks, nearly 30,000 hotel rooms, a sports complex, four golf courses and Disney Springs—a metropolis of shopping, dining and entertainment. Since 1971, Walt Disney World has focused on delivering legendary guest service and one-of-a-kind experiences that make it the largest and most visited theme park destination in the world where families create magical memories. Guests can learn more about planning their Walt Disney World vacation at DisneyWorld.com.    

Attachments

• 2026 Lights Festival Talent Lineup Announced
• The Wintrust Fireworks Spectacular – Photo credit Vito Palmisano

Beth Heller
The Magnificent Mile Association
info@themagnificentmile.com