Charles Dickens, “living” windows, craft markets, a parade, visits with Santa and carolers are all part of the 38th annual Dickens in Dundee festivities.
Set for 5:30 to 9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, events are held throughout East Dundee and West Dundee.
East Dundee
East Dundee’s activities take place near The Depot on River Street and the surrounding downtown area, said Katherine Diehl, special events coordinator for the village.
New this year is Santa’s East Side Market, co-hosted by Huffman Vendor Fairs, which will be open from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at The Depot. Alexis Huffman organizes the village’s summer and fall markets, and this is a new one-day addition.
Fifteen artisans will be selling their wares in a large tent in the public parking lot south of The Depot behind Duke’s Blues-N-BBQ.
“They will have very unique holiday gifts and many are handmade,” she said. “I added (a similar event) to this past Oktoberfest and it was a huge hit. It was very well attended. I’ve been wanting to add a holiday market to this event for a few years now. … If it’s a hit, we will expand the tent to a bigger size next year and have more vendors.”
Railroad Street will be closed for carriage rides so attendees should enter via Hill Street, she said. Parking is available in the village’s new public garage at 304 Hill St. or at 309 Jackson St. There is also public parking at the AT&T parking lot at the northwest corner of Jackson and Water streets, she said.
Friday’s activities include performances by the Dundee-Crown Chamber and Varsity treble choirs at 5:30 p.m., Dundee Township Park District Theater’s cast of “The Christmas Schooner” performing at 5:45 p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m. The tree lighting ceremony will be at 6 p.m. followed by Santa arriving by firetruck.
“He is brought to the front of The Depot and he steps off and sings with the kids all the way to the front door, which is amazing,” Diehl said.
Santa will be at The Depot for visits from 6 to 9 p.m. Free hot chocolate and cookies and crafts for kids are being provided by the Fox River Valley Public Library District.
The Frozen Robins Caroling Quartet performs from 6 to 9 p.m. The Frozen Fab 4 will greet guests from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and perform at 7 and 8 p.m., she said.
Those Funny Little People, dressed as toy-making elves, will entertain from 6 to 8 p.m. Free horse-drawn carriage rides will be offered.
The Living Windows featuring live actors will be in action from 6 to 8 p.m. along River and Main streets. Look for displays at Willow and Birch, Century 21 New Heritage, The House of Creativity, River Street Tavern, Vapor Haus Dundee and One Cut Above the Rest.
“We have six window scenes from Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol,’” Diehl said. “We have expanded our costumes because so many people want to be a part of (displays) and I’ve had to keep adding extras to the windows. This year we have 28 Living Window participants.”
Adult beverages will sold by Eastside Cafe in the teal-colored tent, she said. Offerings include mulled wine, red and white wine, plus Irish Cream and peanut butter whiskey added to hot cocoa.
Events carry over into Saturday with the Winter Wonderland from noon to 3 p.m. at East Dundee Village Hall. There will be cookie decorating, photo ops, concessions and visits with Santa from 1 to 3 p.m.
“It really is a magical event,” Diehl said. “Downtown East Dundee really does look like a Hallmark card with all of the lights on the trees and the depot building and the carriage ride. Santa and the lighting of the tree of course. It’s just beautiful and everyone is so happy and full of joy. it’s just a really fun, great family event.”
West Dundee
“In West Dundee, we have our standard events we bring to the community each year for Dickens,” village planner Kim Tibbetts said. “The signature events are the Living Windows and the Fezziwig festivities on Friday night, and on Saturday we have our events for families in Grafelman Park.”
Events in West Dundee are set for 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday with the Living Windows and Holiday displays on Main Street between 2nd Street and the Fox River.
“We’ll have both Living Windows and painted windows that artists have prepared for the event,” Tibbetts said. “We have six windows that are painted and around the same number of living windows. We invite members of community groups to coordinate themselves to do something of their choosing. (The number of actors) can vary pretty widely. The themes also vary from year to year.”
The tree lighting is at 7 p.m. at West Dundee Village Hall, with performances from the Dundee-Crown High School Varsity Treble Chorus and Chamber Choir. Visits with Santa will be from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Village Hall. Free hot chocolate and cookies will be provided, and the Fox River Valley Public Library District’s booth will be giving away free children’s books.
The evening continues with Fezziwig’s Ball from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the VFW Post 2298, 117 S. 1st St. Local band Controlled Burn will perform and food and drinks available.
“There are a couple businesses that do things during the Living Windows,” Diehl said. One business is doing pictures with The Grinch and another is doing a hot cocoa bar, she said.
Saturday’s focus is around the Grafelman Park area, she said.
Dundee Township Historical Society’s Dickens of a Sale is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, which is also offering a soup-and-sandwich lunch, bake sale and craft bazaar. Proceeds will support the FISH food pantry.
“People can come inside, get warm, do a little shopping, have lunch and the proceeds of that go back to things that help the community,” Tibbetts said.
The Dundee Lions Club Festival of Trees is Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Grafelman Park. Community groups decorate trees that will be on display for the weekend.
“It’s my favorite part,” Tibbetts said. “They’re always really beautiful. It’s so festive to see the way the groups decorate their trees.”
A Winter Wonderland event is presented by the village of West Dundee from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. It’s been moved to the Village Hall because of the cold temperatures and will include cookie decorating, concessions and visits with Santa from 1 to 3 p.m. Santa will arrives by firetruck, she said.
Retired schoolteacher Victoria Wilbrandt will do a reading of “A Christmas Carol” is at 2:30 p.m. at The Mansion Bed and Breakfast.
“It’s more than 20 that she’s been doing the reading for Dickens in Dundee. It’s an abbreviated version, but it still is about 40 minutes long,” Tibbetts said. “But it’s nice and cozy by the fireplace.”
Also at 2:30 p.m., McHenry County College professors Jim Gould and Ted Hazelgrove will present “A Christmas Carol Revisited: Scrooge’s Reclamation” at the Dundee Library in East Dundee, using uses role play and film to discuss Scrooge’s transformation.
“I think the things that people get most excited about are the Living Windows and just coming to the park,” Tibbetts said. “They may not express that it’s the trees that bring them there, but I think it’s a big draw because they’re so festive and so colorful, you can’t miss it. I really enjoy the Living Windows too … everybody is very creative about the way they go about that, deciding what idea they’re going to express and how they’re going to do it.”
Carpentersville
Winterville in the Park is from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Triangle Park in Carpentersville. The village tree is lit at 4:30 p.m. followed by visits with Santa, Christmas carolers, hot cocoa and cider and a Homer Depot workstation where kids can create a make-and-take keepsake.
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
