Holiday Lights, Christmas Parade, and Candy Cane Lane in Milwaukee

Milwaukee is a great place to live and an even better place to party. We have a celebration or festival for anything and everything. Every festival is unique in its own way and honors something special, like a holiday, nationality, or charity. Each and every festival in Milwaukee is a 'can't miss, got to be there' event. We Milwaukeeians make sure life is never dull in Brew City, you can party till dawn, take a stroll on the beach, or visit one of our awesome museums. A few of the favorite Milwaukee Holiday events are Candy Cane Lane, The Festival of Lights, the Milwaukee Christmas Parade, and shopping in historic Downtown Cedarburg..

Festival of Lights Kick-Off
The Milwaukee holiday season is officially kicked off November 16, 2006 at 6 pm at Pere Marquette Park in Downtown Milwaukee. The switch will be flipped for this years Festival of Lights, so bring your Holiday Cheer, some warm clothes, and the whole family. At the kick-off event there will be fireworks, live music, and sing-a-longs to entertain young and old, everyone from one to ninety-nine will be filled with Christmas Cheer. After enjoying the entertainment, the fireworks, and singing your heart out the family can fest on free hot coffee, hot cocoa, and delicious cookies. Take a tour of downtown Milwaukee on the Jingle Bus where you will see all 450,000 Holiday Lights.

Not able to attend the kick-off event?
The Hilton Milwaukee City Center is your downtown connection for the Jingle Bus. The entire family can keep warm while waiting for the Jingle Bus to arrive. Enter at Hilton's 6th Street entrance. Inside the Hilton Milwaukee City Center you will find free hot cocoa, hot coffee, and yummy cookies. The children will also receive a complimentary holiday coloring book. The Jingle Bus viewing of the Festival of Lights takes approximately forty minutes and seating is on a first come basis.

The Jingle Bus operates every Thursday through Sunday from November 16, 2006 through December 30, 2006 from 6 pm to 9 pm. The last departure is at approximately 8:20 pm. The Jingle Bus does not run on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day.

Candy Cane Lane
Ask almost any family in Milwaukee where the best place to see holiday lights is and you are sure to hear Candy Cane Lane. For over twenty years residence of 92nd through 96th Street on Greenfield in West Allis, Wisconsin have provided an awesome holiday light show. People flock to Candy Cane Lane every year to view the holiday lights, including the infamous Rugrats display, in support of the MACC Fund (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer). MACC Fund Volunteers pass out holiday treats and collect donations from the cars full of families as they snake through the blocks of holiday light displays. Over $1,000,000 as been raised since the beginning of Candy Cane Lane. Of the 250 homes on Candy Cane Lane more than 200 homes participate in this yearly tradition of holiday lights and giving.

Milwaukee Christmas Parade
Since 1927 the holiday season has been kicked off by the annual Milwaukee Christmas Parade. The Milwaukee Christmas parade was first started by Schuster's Department Store. The Milwaukee Christmas Parade became a holiday tradition quickly and has been enjoyed by thousands of families over the last seventy-nine years. The Milwaukee Christmas Parade boasts fabulous holiday floats, high school marching bands, and Father Christmas himself, Santa Claus. Although the parade is called the Milwaukee Christmas Parade the parade actually takes place in the city of historic city of Cedarburg. So after enjoying the Milwaukee Christmas Parade you can shop to your hearts content in downtown Cedarburg's lovely shopping district.

Holiday Shopping - Downtown Cedarburg
The city of Cedarburg is consistently rated a favorite place to visit by Wisconsin tourists. The city's natural beauty and historic limestone buildings provide the perfect setting for holiday shopping. The many specialty stores and cozy restaurants, make Cedarburg irresistible, especially when decorated for the holiday! You'll feel like you stepped back in time 150 years. From its birth in the 1840s, Cedarburg has been a place of beauty. After shopping here for the holidays you'll want to come back year after year.