Pekin Winter Wonderland Moves Its Kickoff Within Walking Distance of the Pavilion

On the afternoon of Sunday, November 29, parade floats will line up in the parking lot next to Magic Dragon Mini Golf in Mineral Springs Park. Live reindeer from Canton will be at the Pekin Park Pavilion, and Travelin' Tom's Coffee Truck will be selling refreshments outside. At 5:30 the fireworks go up over the lagoon. Everything in the opening program happens within a short walk of the Pavilion. Organizers set it up that way on purpose this year.

Pekin Winter Wonderland has started each holiday season in town since 1987. The Peoria Journal Star called last year's event the 39th festival. Two changes this year tighten the start of the season around Mineral Springs Park. There's a new weeknight ceremony at the Pavilion, and the parade route is shorter and stays near the activities. The display is spread across 400 trees that individual sponsors claim, decorate and check on, from the park to Court House Square downtown.

A Tuesday Ceremony Comes First This Year

The first new event is on Tuesday, November 24, two days before Thanksgiving. Winter Wonderland is holding its first-ever tree-lighting ceremony at the Pekin Park Pavilion.

• Doors open: 5:30 p.m.
• Tree lighting: about 6:00 p.m.
• Santa: appearing at the event
• After the lighting: free community holiday bingo

Discover Pekin's calendar has the event ending at 7 p.m. and gives the location as Pekin Mineral Springs Park, 1701 Court St. That gives families a weeknight evening in the same building before the bigger Sunday event. It also means the season starts the week of Thanksgiving this year, before the holiday weekend.

The Parade Route Now Stays Inside the Park

The second change is the parade. The festival's parade page says that starting in 2026, the route has been "adjusted ... to be more compact" so that "all of our Opening Ceremony activities" stay "within walking distance of each other."

The new route runs in this order:

1. It starts in the parking lot next to Magic Dragon Mini Golf.
2. It goes down Coal Car Drive.
3. It continues onto Royal Avenue.
4. It follows Pavilion Road.
5. It ends at the "Dug Out" parking lot just past the Pavilion.

All of these are park roads, and the route finishes beside the building where Santa, the balloon artists and the raffle are. A family can watch the floats go by and then walk to the Pavilion without moving the car.

Organizations, businesses and individuals can enter the parade for free. The page says entries must register "no later than ONE WEEK before that year's parade date." With the parade on November 29, the deadline is Sunday, November 22. Groups planning a float have a little over two weeks from this post's publication date to sign up through the form on the parade page.

Sunday, November 29, Hour by Hour

Because the opening program is now concentrated around the Pavilion, the schedule reads like one long afternoon in one place. This is the 2026 lineup from the official schedule:

Several things overlap. The reindeer are there from 3 to 5, and the parade starts at 3:30. Santa's visits start at 4:30, about the time the parade has wrapped up and people are heading to the Pavilion. The 5:15 sing-along on the porch comes right before the fireworks over the lagoon at 5:30. Families with young children may want to arrive by 2:30 for the Candy Cane Hunt and see the reindeer before the parade starts.

The festival's visitor information page says festival activities are free and that parking is available in the park and nearby. The coffee, food and raffle are the only things that cost money that afternoon.

Who Puts Out the 400 Trees

Once the parade is over, the display stays up for weeks. According to the festival tree sponsorship page, Winter Wonderland has 400 illuminated trees across Mineral Springs Park and the Court House Square downtown. The display runs "from the Sunday after Thanksgiving through New Years Day." This year that's November 29 through January 1.

Each of those trees is sponsored by someone. Sponsors pay for a tree for the length of the festival, can decorate it with outdoor-safe ornaments, and can choose a message to display with it. Many sponsors renew year after year, so only a limited number of trees open up for new sponsors each season. Anyone who wants one joins a waiting list, and the page says signing up only guarantees a place on the list, not a tree.

Park employees set the trees out, string the lights and place the sponsor signs. The committee says they do this "in addition to all their normal duties." It asks sponsors to treat those employees with respect and warns that anyone who doesn't can be removed from the program.

The rules for sponsors explain why the trees look so consistent. The committee says the rules protect the environment, keep the lighting uniform and hold down utility costs so the festival stays affordable. The rules say:

• No extra lights or motorized ornaments.
• No tinsel, garland, ribbon, or glass or breakable ornaments.
• No edible decorations.
• No decorating until the sponsor's sign is up or the tree committee has confirmed the location.
• Signs stay where they're placed, and sponsors shouldn't ask to have them moved.

Decorations that break the rules are removed and thrown away, with no reimbursement. The page says the trees are "a product of nature" and asks sponsors not to request a better spot, because "EVEN THE LESS ATTRACTIVE TREES NEED LOVE." Sponsors are also told to check on their own trees, because ornaments fall off and the committee won't put them back.

The season ends on a hard deadline too. All decorations have to come down by January 10, 2027. Anything left after that is thrown away, and the sponsor loses their place in the program for the next year. Sponsors and anyone on the waiting list can reach the tree committee at 309-347-7275.

The homepage says the festival is paid for by corporate and individual sponsorships, donations and product sales. Sponsored trees are the most visible part of that funding. Each lit tree in the park or on the square is one that a local person or business signed up for, and park crews put it in place.

Where the Season Goes After Opening Night

The kickoff now takes place around the Pavilion, but the display reaches downtown because some of the 400 trees stand on Court House Square. The next big downtown event is Friday, December 4. That's when Christmas on Court brings downtown shops and pop-up shopping, food and drinks, Santa and the community Christmas tree to Court Street from 5 to 8 p.m.

Back at Mineral Springs Park, the Pekin Park District lists an accessible lagoon walk of about half a mile, with general lagoon hours of 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Those are the park's general hours, separate from any festival schedule.

Here are the 2026 Winter Wonderland dates in order:

• Sunday, November 22: Parade registration deadline, one week before the parade
• Tuesday, November 24: First-ever tree lighting at the Pavilion, doors at 5:30 p.m.
• Sunday, November 29: Opening Ceremonies, starting with the 2:30 p.m. Candy Cane Hunt, with the raffle drawing at 6 p.m.
• Friday, December 4: Christmas on Court downtown, 5 to 8 p.m.
• Friday, January 1: Last day of the display period
• Sunday, January 10: Sponsors' deadline to remove decorations

Pekin's sponsored trees light up around the lagoon on November 29, and Lisa and Donna at The Move Smart Group will be glad to see Winter Wonderland start its 2026 season. If you have questions about your home or your next move, we're happy to talk anytime this season. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll make time around the parade.