Kick off the holiday season at the Peoria Holiday Festival 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Dec. 14 at Johnny E. Osuna Memorial Park along 83rd Avenue between Washington and Jefferson streets.

Enjoy live performances by local musicians such as People Who Could Fly and choirs from Peoria Unified School District schools. There will also be violinist on stilts, roaming holiday characters and entertainers, Nutcracker ballet performances, and acrobatic aerial performances.

For those looking for friendly competition, sign up for Candy Cane Chaos Nerf wars in the community center. For those with vocal chops, the Jam Tram Karaoke Truck is back for guests to show off their vocal talents.

In the spirit of monthly Second Saturdays shop downtown Peoria campaign, the city has made holiday shopping easy at the festival with a variety of local merchants and craft vendors selling their goods.

No event is complete without delicious food options, so a variety of food trucks will be on-site offering tasty treats and drinks.

The highlight of the evening will be Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving on a Peoria fire truck at 6 p.m., followed by the tree lighting ceremony in the park at 7:15 p.m.

For more information about the Peoria Holiday Festival visit www.peoriaaz.gov/events.