Festival of Lights

06/01/2026

Time is running out to sign up to be in the 63rd annual patriotic parade taking place in downtown Rockford this 4th of July.
Be a part of history as we celebrate our country's 250th birthday!
Parade application link is in the comments.
More info available on our other FB page Rockford 4th of July Celebration.

05/18/2026

Time is running out to get your PARADE APPLICATIONS in for this year's 4th of July parade.
Parade application can be found on our website.
Link in the comments.

05/07/2026

Join this historical parade on the 4th of July!
Applications now being accepted.

02/11/2026

Our friends at the Rockford Park District have laid out a new traffic pattern for their Snow Sculpting event taking place at Sinnissippi Park.
We kept some displays and lights on for their event…make sure to drive through to see the local talented teams create some amazing snow art.

Heads up! We’ve introduced a new traffic pattern for the Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition. This change allows our state teams to work on a flat surface and even the playing field. Having everyone in one spot also greatly reduces risk for the artists, especially as many use scaffolding and tall ladders.

Here's a look at the layout this year. We've also got signage on site to point you in the right direction. Enjoy the journey as you make your way through these incredible snow creations!

01/30/2026

Parade application for the 63rd annual 4th of July Celebration is now available at our website. Link is in the comments.

01/21/2026

Our friends over at the Snow Sculpting Competition have moved the competition into February.
Please see their post for more info.

We have some displays and lights of ours on loan to them this year to help brighten up areas of the park as you go through to see the talented artist’s creations.

The 40th Annual Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition scheduled for January 28-31, 2026 at Sinnissippi Park has been postponed to February 11-14, 2026.

In 2016, the Rockford Park District acquired a snow-making machine capable of running on city water at Sinnissippi Park. Man-made snow is preferred by the sculptors because it’s a much purer product to work with during the competition. During a routine test of the snowmaking equipment, a mechanical issue took place, and the Rockford Park District is now waiting on a part that is needed to repair this specialized equipment.

We look forward to seeing you all in February!

01/13/2026

Thank you to Ed Keenan at the Rockford Home Depot for donating a great quantity of Christmas lights and items to us for the 2026 Festival of Lights.
We will be eager to put these to good use!
We truly appreciate you seeing the value in this community event and finding a way to be a part of it. Thank you so much!!

01/11/2026

As we are still taking down all the displays we are currently planning the 4th of July Celebration at the same time as well as prepping for 2026 Festival of Lights.
We truly hoped your family enjoyed the 2025 display.

01/08/2026

We wanted to take a minute to thank the Sinnissippi Park facilities team with the Rockford Park District for always being available when we needed anything park related or had questions.
And a huge thank you to the Rockford Park District for again allowing our Civic Committee continue to use this diamond gem of a park for this Rockford Holiday Tradition.

01/07/2026

We wanted to take a minute to thank the Rockford Park District Police for being a constant support before, during and after our event takes place. WE can't thank them enough for keeping our volunteers and the public safe during setup, the actual run of our event and tear down.