Holidays can be stressful between buying gifts, scheduling get-togethers and finding time to breathe.

But there’s one local tradition that hopes to bring the community together for a moment of peace and cheer.

On Saturday, brightly lit floats and festive marching bands will make their way along Tejon Street in downtown for the annual Festival of Lights Parade. This year’s theme is “Celebrating the holiday season through the sights and sounds.”

“I feel like the holidays bring joy, but there’s also challenges that come with the holidays,” said Kevin Leonardo, the executive director for the Festival of Lights. “Our hope is that this will help bring joy to people that may not have as much joy during the holidays, and for those that love the holiday season, it’s a way for them to be a part of a community.”

The parade has about 100 entries, including 65 local organizations, 13 bands and a handful of honor guards.

The grand marshals of this year’s parade are three local Olympians: freestyle-wrestling gold medalist Sarah Hildebrandt, Paralympic cycling gold medalist Kate Brim and two-time gold medalist racing cyclist Jennifer Valente.

“This year, with the Olympics fresh in everybody’s mind this summer, and the fact that the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has had a float in the parade for years, we kind of reached out to their team and asked if there was anybody locally that we could honor,” Leonardo said.

Outside of the parade, several locations downtown will also be hosting events for the Festival of Lights.

The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum will have a Festival of Lights Family Fun Day earlier in the afternoon, with free activities and entertainment. As part of the event, the museum will have live music, a magic show, holiday crafts, face painting and educational programming. In the evening, the museum will also serve up hot cocoa and cookies.

Throughout the festival’s events, there will be a food truck village on the lawn of the Pioneers Museum.

Over in Acacia Park, tuba and euphonium players will gather to perform “Merry TubaChristmas,” an annual tradition celebrated around the world.

With so many events and festive decorations, Leonardo hopes the joy becomes contagious.

“Being in the staging area and seeing all of the participants that are involved decorating their clothes and the excitement and just the genuine happiness that’s in that staging area, I think it spreads throughout,” he said.