Norwich — Organizers of the city's two big outdoor Winter Festival events are hoping the favorable fall weather will linger for at least one more weekend to attract good turnouts at Friday's 24th annual Light Up City Hall and Saturday's Winterfest Parade.

The Light up City Hall event will run from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in City Hall plaza and the surrounding downtown blocks, with music, horse-drawn wagon rides, puppet and magic shows and a visit by Santa Claus.

The Connecticut Yuletide Carolers will stroll and sing for much of the event, and then will take to the City Hall steps to lead a community carol sing that will culminate with “Here Comes Santa Claus” as Santa arrives to lead the countdown to turn on the City Hall and outdoor Christmas tree lights.

Event committee member Robert Sewart, the city's supervisor of buildings and grounds, said the city will receive donations of apples, cider, coffee, cookies and doughnuts that will be available at no cost in the entrance of the United Congregational Church, 87 Broadway.

Perennial favorite performers, magician Richard Rothstein and puppeteers Donald and Lydia Beebe, will return this year, and balloon makers from Clown City will roam the crowd. Horse-drawn wagon rides will run from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Sewart thanked the performers who donated their time to the event as well as volunteers who helped organize the event and those who are donating refreshments and other materials.

On Saturday, the Winter Festival's main event — the annual Winterfest Parade — will step off from Chelsea Parade at 1 p.m. and wind its way through downtown streets, ending at Franklin Square and Main Street. A block party with food and novelty vendors and live music will follow the parade on Main Street.

This year's parade theme is “Vision of the Holidays.”

“We have more floats this year than any other year,” parade organizer David Wigfield said.

Local Boy Scouts and Girl Scout troops are planning floats, along with a local youth hockey team, a group with Disney characters from the movie “Frozen,” a steel band out of Newport and the local rock band, Malaena, which will perform in the festival block party after the parade.

The Norwich Free Academy Marching Band and the NFA football team plan to march in the parade, along with the Norwich Police Color Guard. Groups from at least two local churches, Sacred Heart and the Cathedral of St. Patrick's, plan to march as well and several antique cars will roll along the parade route.

Applications for parade floats — which will be judged from a viewing stand in Franklin Square — will be accepted up to the parade start time, Wigfield said.

“There's no deadline,” he said. “Send them in. It's going to be fantastic. And the long-range weather forecast is good.”

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday