Editing East Peoria, Illinois (section)

=== Festival of Lights ===
Beginning after Thanksgiving and ending in the first week of January, the city holds a Christmas light event known as the Festival of Lights.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hilyard |first=Scott |date=November 11, 2020 |title=Everybody loves a (socially distant) parade - Annual Parade of Lights is on for 2020 in East Peoria |page=A1 |work=East Peoria Times-Courier}}</ref> Started in 1984, it was initially a Parade of Lights, in which floats decorated in Christmas lights were driven through town. In 1986, the pencil-steel E.P. Noel Riverboat debuted. It appeared to be very popular with the city, so each float ever since has been made with pencil steel. As lighting effects improved over the years, animated features have been added to the floats.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Festival (FOLEPI) Guide {{!}} East Peoria, IL |url=https://www.cityofeastpeoria.com/152/Festival-FOLEPI-Guide |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=www.cityofeastpeoria.com}}</ref>

In 1993, the Winter Wonderland drive-through was constructed. All of the floats and displays stay here for the duration of the festival, and receive about 25,000 visitors annually.<ref>{{Cite web |title=East Peoria Festival of Lights draws thousands |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna10368342 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016002208/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna10368342 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 16, 2021 |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

From 1984 to 2013, The Festival Wreath was a Ferris wheel with fluorescent light tubes attached to its frame. In 2014, a new Festival Wreath replaced it with a welded frame, 80 tube-shaped lights, 1,000 lightbulbs, and rope lights. It sits on top of Fon du Lac Drive, overlooking the city.<ref name=":1" />

The symbol for the Festival of Lights is a little wooden toy soldier named FOLEPI (pronounced FO-LEE-PEE), which stands for '''F'''estival '''o'''f '''L'''ights, '''E'''ast '''P'''eoria, '''I'''llinois.

In 2020, the Festival of Lights was named Heavyweights Champion on ABC TV's ''[[The Great Christmas Light Fight]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-17 |title=East Peoria wins grand prize on 'Great Christmas Light Fight' |url=https://abc7chicago.com/christmas-light-fight-2020-east-peoria-festival-of-lights-great-the/8843735/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=ABC7 Chicago |language=en}}</ref>