The downtown Minneapolis tradition known as Holidazzle will have four more parades this Christmas season than last, organizers announced Thursday.

The schedule came to a halt last year on Dec. 18, a full week before Christmas, because Christmas Eve and Christmas were on a weekend.

The first of this year's 19 parades along Nicollet Mall starts rolling at 6:30 p.m. next Friday, Nov. 23, with additional festivities scheduled Thanksgiving weekend. Parades then run Thursday through Sunday for four weeks, concluding on Dec. 23.

Bullseye, Target's bull terrier mascot, will serve as grand marshal for the first parade, leading more than a dozen floats and nearly 300 costumed characters decked out in 350,000 twinkling lights down the mall from 12th to 4th streets. Other grand marshals will include Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak (Dec. 14), University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler (Dec. 15) and humorist/author Garrison Keillor (Dec. 23).

Visit www.holidazzle.com for details, including how to get Hot Seat tickets ($9 each) if you'd rather watch from a heated tent.

PAUL WALSH