(Radio Iowa/KJAN) – Summertime may be high season for daytime parades in Iowa, but with sunsets trending earlier and earlier — communities around the state are hosting nighttime parades to celebrate this winter holiday season. There were parades Thursday night in Creston, Decorah and Mount Pleasant. On Saturday, Atlantic and Oskaloosa are having Lighted Christmas Parades.

In Atlantic, the annual Lighted Parade, sponsored by McDermott & Son Roofing, will fill the downtown corridor with holiday cheer this Saturday, starting at 6 PM. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said “The Fireworks and Lighted Parade is a holiday tradition that Atlantic families look forward to every year. It’s always fun to see how creative people get with their lighted displays.”

Each float will have a holiday theme, lighting and music. Awards will be given for: Best Overall, Best Holiday Spirit and Twinkle Twinkle award. Winners will be notified before the parade. Fireworks, sponsored by A.M. Cohron & Son, kick off the Christmas magic over the Rock Island Depot, starting at 6 PM. You can also enjoy the Festival of Trees taking place now through Sunday at the Catholic Parish Center, in Atlantic. For more information, see our story on the kjan.com News page, or visit www.atlanticiowa.com.

Amy Brainard, director of Oskaloosa Main Street, says this weekend marks the 35th year for Oskaloosa’s parade. “We have over 60 entries. All of our entries will be lighted and a dozen of those are actually new,” she says. “They’ve never been in the parade before, so it’s really exciting to see the parade growing.” It’s not just the floats that will be illuminated on Saturday night. Three-hundred-thousand (300,000) L-E-D bulbs have been strung around the city square in Oskaloosa and images will appear on the buildings. “Downtown becomes Oskaloosa’s Christmas canvas,” she says, “so they use the buildings to paint with lights.”

Lighted parades are also being held Saturday in Bondurant, Coon Rapids, DeWitt and Janesville.