It’s time to break out the ugly sweaters and get in the spirit of the holiday season.

To help welcome the new season, the Krannert Center Student Association, or KCSA, will host its 42nd annual Winter Lights Festival on Sunday.

“It’s a time to celebrate the winter holidays,” said Yanfen Li, senior in Engineering and president of KCSA. “We want to encourage the community to come together and have a good time.”

Li said the Winter Lights Festival is one of the oldest UI traditions, held at the Krannert Center since the Center opened in 1969.

“We host three major events each year: the International Festival, the Taste of the Arts and the Winter Lights Festival,” Li said. “The Winter Lights is our biggest event.”

Li said they average 1,000 people at the event.

This year, the registered student organization brought something new to the festival.

“We decided to center the event around a theme, and this year we picked the roaring ’20s,” said Nivethan Sethupathi, senior in LAS and community outreach chair for KCSA. “It’s something you don’t see all the time and a fun play on the holidays.”

Along with the theme, Sethupathi decided to host a costume contest.

“We want the rest of the community to have fun with the event,” he said. “But by adding an overall theme to the event, we also wanted to make it enjoyable for students too.”

He said he thought the jazz-like vibe would be appropriate for the venue.

“I’ve been to the Winter Lights Festival before, and the one thing I wanted to do was get a stronger student presence,” he said.

A jazz band comprised of University students will be in the lobby to entertain guests. The event will also feature a variety of activities and fun for the whole family.

“The Idea Store (on Springfield Avenue and Neil Street) will have a crafts table, and we will also have carnival games and a raffle,” Li said.

Other RSOs at the event will include the Life Drawing Club, which will display different caricatures; the UIUC Film and Video Club, which will show silent movies; and the Vintage/Analog/Manual Photos, or VAMP, will feature vintage photos. VAMP will display their photos throughout the week.

“Each RSO has a different booth, and they’ll showcase what they do and add to the aura of the event,” Li said.

In addition to the costume contest, another new aspect that will be added to the event’s festivities this year is a tree-lighting ceremony, which will take place at 5:30 that evening.

“An anonymous donor bought a Christmas tree, and that will be lit and set in the amphitheater during the event,” Li said. “It will then be outside the Krannert Center until after winter break.”

While students may be focusing on their studies and rushing to finish the semester, it may be just the break that students need, said Anni Poppen, an advisor for KCSA.

“Not a lot of students know about the Krannert Center, but it’s a great opportunity to check it out and explore the arts,” Poppen said. “It’s not a huge time commitment, and it’ll keep students entertained the entire time.”

The event is free and open to the public at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.