Thousands of Norwich residents lined the street of South Broad (RT-12), Saturday, smiling as they witnessed the largest Parade of Lights in the City's history pass them by.

According to event coordinator, Mike McCormack, the 23rd annual holiday parade featured 81 different participating floats and displays, 15 more than 2016, the highest turnout ever.

McCormack said, what started as one person's actions to bring joy to their community quickly became a full-scale attraction.

"It started with one of the firemen years ago...He started thinking about this and started it as a regular parade during the days, and then he added lights," said Mike McCormack. It wasn't until roughly 15 years ago that paraders decided to holiday lights to the floats for a night-time display.

For the City of Norwich, tonight's parade signals the beginning of the holiday season, but McCormack said it's more than that. "See these people smiling? That's what it's all about."

Plans are already in the works for the 2018 Parade of Lights, which event coordinators said will feature even more lights and smiles.