The holiday season is about traditions, and one of the most popular traditions around here is the annual Festival of Lights at Olde Mistick Village and its environs, 23 acres in all.

The walkways of the quaint, decorated village are decked out with luminaries — 6,000 total, so it’s quite a sight to see — and the holiday festivities are in full swing. Visitors can pop into the Meeting House for free refreshments and to listen to Ragtime Too! play holiday music. And there’s more music at the Gazebo, where, from 6 to 9 p.m., the Festive Brass Ensemble will entertain. Throughout the village, folks can take in the performances by Fly-by-Night Comedy Jugglers and carolers from Stonington High School and Tyl Middle School Chamber Choir from Montville.

Next door to Olde Mistick Village, Mystic Aquarium will offer Saxophone Santa, entertainment and storytellers. And Santa just might end up diving into the water there. Everyone gets free admission if they bring one non-perishable food item per person, with all those items going to the Gemma E. Moran United Way Food Center in New London.

Festival of Lights, 5-9:30 p.m., Friday, Olde Mistick Village and Mystic Aquarium, Coogan Boulevard, Mystic; free admission to the aquarium with one non-perishable food item per person.