Carbondale Lights Fantastic Parade detours, closures, shuttle bus routes

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KFVS) - The 30th annual Lights Fantastic Parade returns to downtown Carbondale on Saturday, December 4.

According to the city, the parade will start at 6 p.m. on South Illinois Avenue at Mill Street and will travel north on Illinois Avenue, around the Town Square on Jackson and Washington Streets and ends on Main Street.

On Saturday night, more than 50 parade entries will hit the streets downtown Carbondale.

“Folks who have been coming for a long time, they’re going to see a lot of new stuff this year. So some of the old standbys aren’t making it this year for various reasons. But we’ve still got 55 floats or parade entries and there’s some new ones, so they’ll be some new stuff to see which will be really awesome,” said co-chair on the Lights Fantastic Parade Sean Henry

Henry said he knows how bad people want to get out and have some fun.

“People are hungry to get out and have these experiences. We haven’t done it for a year, a lot of kids out there, whether they’re marching in band or participating in the parade. There’s always so many years you can do that. So a lot of people are hungry for that,” said Henry.

Safety is top of mind for the committee, especially after the incident at a holiday parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, there a driver of an SUV plowed into parade goers.

“We have changed some of our operational plans, changed the way we do a few things to try and make it as safe as we can for everybody and do the best we can to prevent things like that,” said Henry.

Some of the best viewing areas will be in front of the Amtrak Station and businesses in that section of downtown.

Roads will close and detours of Main Street, Walnut Street and Illinois Avenue will begin at 5 p.m. Parade-goers are encouraged to arrive early and avoid traffic congestion.

The roads will open after the parade ends around 8 p.m.

The city will have free shuttle rides to the downtown from the Murdale Shopping Center and University Mall.

Shuttle buses will pick up passengers every 30 minutes between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The stops include:

• Murdale Shopping Center (pickup near the barbershop) and Oak and Illinois (drop off near the Dayami Center)
• University Mall (pickup near the main mall entrance by Maurice’s) and Washington and Main (drop off near Veteran’s Memorial Plaza)

The rides will resume when the parade is over with the last buses leaving the downtown before 8:30 p.m.

Copyright 2021 KFVS. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2021 KFVS. All rights reserved.