Holiday festivities take to the water on November 26 with the Pilot RiverLights Festival and Boat Parade at Volunteer Landing.

The festivities begin at 6 p.m. as magicians, face painters and balloon artists work the crowd all along Volunteer Landing.

Mayor Bill Haslam will lead the countdown at 6:30 p.m. for Knoxville's most visible holiday tradition -- Up on the Rooftops, which lights up the night sky with over 350 light trees on the tops of buildings and light trees located along Volunteer Landing.

The parade of up to 50 decorated, lighted vessels begins at 7 p.m. Each vessel will have its own theme, and each one acts as a luminary to bring in Christmas in the City 2004.

The Golden Ladle soup competition allows festival-goers to warm their bellies with fare from local restaurants and help out a good cause. For a donation (large or small), families can sample soups and vote for their favorite with all proceeds going to the Empty Stocking Fund.

An ice-carving exhibition will bring several area chefs with their chain-saws a blazin' to transform blocks of ice into magical holiday centerpieces.

The RiverLights Festival is presented by Pilot and sponsors are The Knoxville News Sentinel, WBIR-TV 10, EZ 88.3 FM, Love 89.1 FM, Comcast Cable Communications, TVA, The Marinas on Fort Loudon, Copper Cellar Corp. and East Tennessee Baptist Health System.