It’s that time a year when the City of Elgin will kick off the holidays by hosting the annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony. This year, the event will take place in Festival Park on December 1st from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. The tree lighting ceremony will take place promptly at 5:00 p.m., led by Mayor Ed Schock and City Council members, and carols led by the Elgin Children’s Chorus and a visit from Santa. At 5:30 p.m. a reading of The Polar Express will take place on a trolley located at the entrance to Festival Park. There will also be free sleigh rides from 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. leaving from Festival Park. In addition to the activities in the park itself, the City of Elgin will have free skating at City Skate located on Civic Center Plaza, between The Hemmens Cultural Center and City Hall from 12:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
The Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) will also be hosting their annual Window Wonderland on December 1, with a wide variety of activities from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Some of these activities include: live reindeer, live nativity scene, kid’s activities, picture with Santa, and much more. (www.downtownelgin.org) The Northeast Neighborhood Association (NENA) will be sponsoring Homes for the Holidays from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. (www.homesfortheholiday.org) To finish off the day’s events, the Soapbox Theatre Company will be presenting “P.S. Your Cat is Dead” at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division Street, at 8 p.m. ( www.soapboxtheatre.com)
As a reminder, on-street parking on Grove Avenue between Prairie Street and Lake Street will be prohibited from 8:00 a.m. Friday, November 30th, until 8:30 p.m. Saturday, December 1st. During the event, Grove Avenue between Spring/Fulton and Lake Street will be closed to traffic beginning at 3:00 p.m. and ending at 8:00 p.m.
Those planning to come to the event can check the city website for complete details at www.cityofelgin.org. If you have any questions not clarified on the website, please call the City of Elgin Special Events office at 847-531-7056.