Attendance has been strong for Aurora's Festival of Lights at Phillips Park, which runs through Sunday, city officials said.
The huge, free drive-thru event at the park at 1000 Ray Moses Drive drew more than 50,000 vehicles last year and is expected to meet or exceed that number this season, officials said, thanks in part to good weather.
The approximately one-mile light show allows visitors to enjoy more than 100 installations depicting ice skating bears, jumping reindeer, a holiday golfer, howling wolves and more, all while sitting in their own vehicles listening to holiday songs on a closed-circuit radio station, organizers said.
On Monday, Clayton Muhammad, chief communications and equity officer for the city of Aurora, said it has been "a really strong season" so far for the Festival of Lights.
"We had 50,000 vehicles that came through a year ago, and with about a week out now, we're already at 43,000 to 44,000 so we know that we're going to hit that 50,000-plus over the next few days here," Muhammad said Monday, especially since "big nights are coming" including "Christmas Day with Santa Claus."
From 5 to 7 p.m. on Christmas, visitors to Phillips Park can wave to Santa and Mrs. Claus from their vehicles as they exit the park. Children in the vehicles will receive free gifts of Christmas pencils and bracelets, while supplies last, officials said Tuesday.
Muhammad noted that because of the late date of Thanksgiving this year, the lights show which normally closes on Christmas night will end this year on Dec. 29, which will provide some post-Christmas fun for families.
"We're going until the 29th and it's going to be great weather with 40 to 50 degrees and we know that always drives up the number of cars and it's an after-holiday kind of deal," he said.
Muhammad noted that "it's been a pretty great year with pretty mild weather" but added "what has really made this great is the 100-plus volunteers that are there every night."
"That's including every department from the city of Aurora and a number of our boards and commissions who are out there, really putting in the work and greeting people as they come through," he said.
Muhammad said while the mild weather this season has certainly makes things easier for the volunteers at the event, "you still get those people that love the super-cold weather."
"You get some cocoa and you're in the car and you listen to the Christmas music, but you also get those from the opposite spectrum who like the milder weather," he said. "I've noticed a lot of pet owners - a lot of dog owners who with the milder weather the windows are down and the dog's heads are out the windows and the tongue is wagging as they watch the lights. But for the volunteers the warmer weather is much appreciated."
Muhammad said there are some bottlenecks, of sorts, to watch for if you're planning to return or visiting the event for the first time.
"First of all, the new opening attraction is called the Barrel Family - lighted barrels 20 feet tall of mom, dad and kids and they are really popular and come before the lighted tunnel. and so we get a lot of photos for that," he said. "When visitors are coming up the hill at Philips Park that's the first attraction."
The second big draw, Muhammad said, "is the reindeer over the roadway."
"They've been with us a number of years, but just that sight of the reindeer jumping over the roadway really is an attraction for families," he said.
The event runs each night from 5 to 9 p.m. and closes on Dec. 29. Visitors are asked to enter at Smith Boulevard and Fifth Avenue.
Organizers said visitors should register for an entry ticket for the fest by going to www.aurora-il.org/FestivalofLights.
While the display is free, people coming through can donate whatever they want at the end of the event, with the money going to support nonprofit organizations and youth programs in the city, officials said.