First City Lights Festival will light up downtown Pensacola tonight with 500,000 bubbles

Christmas is coming early this year.

The First City Lights Festival will launch a couple of weeks early, on Wednesday, with special shopping incentives, more than 3,000 "bubbles" In the sky and half a million holiday lights.

Santa, the Grinch and others will officially launch the holiday season when 500,000 lights come on downtown at 5 p.m.

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From 5-8 p.m., downtown shops will launch their 6th annual Holiday Haul event to coincide with the lights. The event will feature shopping deals, holiday drinks, special pop-up vendors and more.

Beginning Wednesday, every time shoppers at the boutiques and curated shops, bars and restaurants in downtown Pensacola make a $10 purchase this holiday season, they can earn an opportunity to win a daily prize from a downtown merchant and a $1,000 Visa gift card.

The "All I Want" holiday giveaway will run through midnight, Dec. 18 and prize winners will start being drawn on Thursday, with the grand prize winner of $1,000 being drawn on Dec. 19, just in time for Christmas.

Shoppers may upload their receipts from participating businesses and get one chance to win for every $10 they spend at participating downtown businesses. For the official rules, visit www.downtownpensacola.com/AllIWant.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Downtown Pensacola First City Lights Festival offers deals, giveaways