On Friday night, Dec. 18, add lights to your bicycle, come downtown in festive attire, and share holiday cheer with 1,000 or more fellow riders and other Tour de Lights Bike Ride participants.

Friday night’s Tour de Lights is a fun, free, casual bike parade, leaving from Market Square at 7 p.m. The ninth annual event – a five-mile tour of downtown, Fourth and Gill and Old North Knoxville – has become a favorite holiday tradition.

“I am always so impressed with the energy and creativity people put into their decorations and costumes,” says Kelley Segars, manager of the Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission’s I Bike KNX regional bicycle program. “Tour de Lights is such a unique event – it’s as much for the people who come to watch and cheer on the riders as it is for the riders."

Judging for the costume and decorating contest begins at 6 p.m.; prizes are awarded after the ride in several categories, including Best Decorated Bike, Best Decorated Person, and Best Group Theme. Free bike safety checks and a first-ever photo booth are also available, starting at 6 p.m.

Mast General Store and Three Rivers Market will provide hot cocoa and cookies for participants. Helmets, headlights and rear reflectors are required, and all ages and skill levels are welcome.

For more information – or, if you’re not sure how to decorate your bike – visit www.ibikeknx.com/tourdelights.

The I Bike KNX website has lots of great information that’s useful to riders – local bicycle shops, clubs and organizations, signed bike routes, bicycle counts, bicycle rack locations, and much more.

Remember: If you’re Tweeting photos during Tour de Lights, please use the hashtag #christmasinthecity. Also, tag your holiday Instagram photos @KnoxvilleCity with the #knoxholiday hashtag to enter the City’s weekly holiday photo contest!