23rd Annual Festival of Lights is underway at Concord Park

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -

Knox County has cut the ribbon at the 23rd Annual Festival of Lights on Wednesday, Dec. 1.

The annual festival is happening at the Cove at Concord Park and be open from Dec.1 through Jan. 2, excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. It will be open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The festival is free to the public, but guests are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate to The Love Kitchen, which provides meals, clothing, and emergency food packages for the homebound, homeless, and unemployed.

Mayor Glenn Jacobs said, ”The event is free to the public, but we do encourage people to make a canned food canned good donation or a monetary donation to the Love Kitchen”.

Santa Claus will visit on Friday and Saturday and drop in as available other nights throughout the week, according to a release from Knox County.

“The Festival of Lights is one of our most popular events county-wide,” said Mayor Jacobs. “I am pleased we will have this the entire month of December. We’ve raised some record amounts of food and money for the Love Kitchen. I hope we can set another record this holiday season with this incredible outdoor event.”

The festival will feature a three-quarter-mile greenway trail illuminated by a sparkling light display coordinated to music. The Knox County Parks and Recreation Department staff does all the decorating, which includes placing displays and thousands of lights.

The Cove will offer hot drinks for guests for purchase. There will also be several fire pits available for guest to warm up or roast s’mores.

Pets on leashes are welcome to the festival.

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