The Loop is officially welcoming Christmastime in Chicago, as the famous State Street light display illuminates the downtown area starting Monday.
To kick off the season, the Chicago Loop Alliance has launched its Holidays in the Loop campaign, a curated guide of attractions, shopping, dining and hospitality for tourists and locals.
"There's just so many different unique things that make a curated experience in the Loop for the holidays," said Ariella Gibson, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Chicago Loop Alliance.
She said the CLA's main event is the display of lights and holiday decorations along State Street.
"We have State Street from Ida B. Wells to Wacker decorated with lights on the tree and dangling lights from the tree tops," she said. "There's some greenery and some oversized ornaments in the planters. So it makes it an actual destination for the holidays."
She said it's especially important that this area of the Loop brings its Christmas A game, as tourists and locals will be spending plenty of time there shopping and checking out all of the downtown holiday activities.
"The holiday season is a huge economic driver to the Loop," she said. "We host a ton of great department stores, and big box retailers are great for gift giving and shopping and getting in the holiday spirit."
She said the CLA aims to encourage all of that holiday shopping by making the Loop an enjoyable place to be during the holiday season.
"Our goal is to be an economic driver for investment and positivity and to be a representation of what people want out of their city," she said. "If they treat us spectacular during the holiday season, I think it just makes people more in love with their city. That's kind of what we all need right now."