A Star Wars firefight and skiers jumping over your car are just some of the amazing light displays at the East Peoria Festival of Lights.

The Festival of Lights Electric Park comprises floats that begin in the Parade of Lights before Thanksgiving each year. Being floats allows them to be huge displays that you drive by.

WHAT TO SEE AT THE EAST PEORIA FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

Space Ship Area

Star Trek fans will enjoy seeing a Star Trek Enterprise, and Star Wars fans will love a Tie-Fighter and X-Wing battling it out, which Andrew loved.

From an engineering standpoint, the USS East Peoria Enterprise is one of the most complex floats ever constructed. It measures 14 feet tall, 57 feet long, and nearly 22 feet wide and has over 48,000 LED lights.

A fan favorite is the Space Shuttle Discovery with an astronaut coming out from the top.

Prehistoric Land

Includes exploding Volcanoes and Dinosaurs, Triceratops, a Puff Dragon, a Baby Puff, and a Chinese Dragon that together combine 106,000 LED lights.

Clydesdales

This float was inspired by the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales and was designed to be life-like.

Sea World

You will see Dolphins and Seals in East Peoria! The Whale float is covered in 15,000 mostly blue lights and includes Baby Shamu.

Vehicles

The Festival of Lights has a fine selection of classic cars with a ’57 Chevy and of course the Batmobile along with a classic Hook and Ladder Fire Truck.

Mountain Skiers

Electric lit Skiers go down a lighted hill and up over your car to the bottom of the ski jump on the other side.

Western Town

This area includes a Steam Train and is the tallest and longest float, measuring 160 feet and 15 feet tall, with more than 65,000 light bulbs.

Christmas Toys

The Festival of Lights also has its own Toy Train, Rocking Horse, and even the Energizer Bunny.

These are just some of the many light creations you find along the route!

Details

DRIVE:

Reaching Us from Out-of-Town Destinations

• Champaign / Bloomington-Normal: I-74 West to East Peoria, Exit 96
• Chicago: I-55 South to I-74 West to East Peoria, Exit 96
• Decatur / Lincoln: I-55 North to I-74 West to East Peoria, Exit 96
• Lasalle / Peru: I-80 West to Route 180 South to Route 29 South to East Peoria
• Springfield: I-55 to I-155 at Lincoln, then I-74 West to East Peoria, Exit 96

To get to the Folepi’s Winter Wonderland drive-through display from the Exit 96 Ramp:

• At the bottom of the Exit 96 ramp, turn left onto East Washington Street.
• Drive along East Washington until reaching the traffic light at the intersection of East Washington Street and Springfield Road.
• Turn left onto Springfield Road and drive up the hill. There is a center turn lane on Springfield Road for Winter Wonderland traffic.
• Continue along Springfield Road until coming to the large lighted display at the entrance of the display, which is at Springfield Road and Par 3 Lane.

Alternate Interstate Exit Friday & Saturday Nights

From I-74 take Exit 98-Pinecrest Drive. Proceed along Pinecrest Drive, turn right onto Muller Road, and then turn right onto Springfield Road. The intersections will be marked with signage. The northbound lane of Springfield Road will have two lanes of traffic. Local traffic will use the center of the lane, and Winter Wonderland traffic will use the portion closer to the curb.

Winter Wonderland motorists must not block driveways and side streets in order to allow East Peoria residents access to their homes.

Winter Wonderland traffic on Friday and Saturday nights can be so heavy that is not uncommon to have backups throughout East Peoria’s downtown area. Officials hope that by promoting the alternate route, the traffic congestion will be reduced, and traffic will flow more smoothly and quickly.

Hours:

• 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday (shorter lines)
• 5 p.m. – 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
• 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. December 24 through January 1

Admission:

Can use cash, debit, and credit cards.
$10 – regular vehicles (cars, trucks, vans). Pay at the entry booth.

Address: 123 Par 3 Lane, East Peoria, IL 61611

Dan Fogelberg Tribute

Fans of the New Year’s song “Same Old Lang Syne” can visit the store at 1302 E Frye Ave, Peoria, IL 61603, where he bought the six-pack for a moment with his high school sweetheart in the song. The street has been honored with his name as the Dan Fogelberg Parkway.

MORE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Seeing Christmas Lights on Candy Cane Lane

During the holiday season, the St. Louis Hills neighborhood along the 6500 block of Murdoch Avenue lights up with hundreds of strands of Christmas lights to become Candy Cane Lane.

Kansas City’s Plaza Lights Shine at Christmas

I spent some of my childhood in the Kansas City area and what I enjoyed the most when I was young was seeing the Plaza lights at Christmas time.

Road Trip to a Top 50 Christmas Light Display

Keokuk, Iowa’s “City of Christmas” lights display made the list of the Top 50 Christmas Light Displays in America.