Magical Night returns to uptown Mount Vernon tonight (Thursday, Dec. 5) in uptown Mount Vernon from 5 to 8 p.m.

The festival is a joint project between the City of Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation, First Street Community Center, Mount Vernon Community School District, Cornell College Office of Intercultural Life and uptown businesses.

Visitors to the event are invited to park at St. John’s Catholic Church, 212 Seventh St. SE, and load into the Mount Vernon Community School District bus for free transportation to and from festival grounds. NOTE: The last bus of the evening is scheduled to leave from festival grounds to St. John’s parking lot at 8 p.m.

A new event at this year’s festival is the Christmas Village Market, located in the Iowa Physical Therapy Parking Lot in uptown Mount Vernon. An expanded Christmas Village Market may be considered for future Magical Nights.

Streets will be closed from First Street Community Center to Memorial Park for the entirety of the festival, with tractor trolley rides offered from B Avenue S.E. to Memorial Park. The new crossing gates with the intersection of Hwy. 1 will be operating during the festival, but Highway 1 remains open and operating during the festival. Use caution when crossing the highway.

A summary of scheduled events follows. For more information and updates, please visit the event page via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/visitmvl/