Kids celebrate Almost Winter Day in S. Elgin
Five-year-old Caleb Williams' favorite animal is the ostrich.
Naturally, the Elgin boy gravitated toward the llama at the petting zoo during An Almost Winter Day, two hours of fun organized on Saturday by the South Elgin Parks and Recreation Department and its FUNdation nonprofit organization in South Elgin.
“It has a long neck,” Caleb said when asked why he liked the llama so much.
Caleb and his parents, Justin and Heather Williams, were among hundreds who attended the 10th annual event held at the Municipal Annex and SEBA Park.
Next to the cookie decorating station, Jacqueline Rizzo and her boyfriend, Jason Zimanek, watched Zimanek's 2-year-old daughter Samantha Rose happily lick a sugar cookie, with most of the frosting ending up on her rosy cheeks.
“She frosted it herself, and daddy put on the sprinkles,” said Rizzo, a sixth-grade teacher in Elgin Area School District U-46.
For those craving something more substantial than a cookie, South Elgin police officer John Rothecker and his brother, South Elgin firefighter Mike Rothecker, manned the Guns 'n Hoses booth.
“We brought 60 Italian sausages and 250 hot dogs,” John Rothecker said. “I set up, and my brother cooks.”
All proceeds go to charities and programs supported by the police department, the fire department and the recreation center, John Rothecker said.
The horse-drawn sleigh rides were so popular that people waited for up to 25 minutes to get their turn.
Among them were Pam Tiffany, of South Elgin, and her children Paige, 8, Brooke, 4 and Nathan, 2, plus grandma Barbara Landwehr, of Elgin, and Tim Frazier and his daughter Rhiannon.
“It's a tradition for us. We brought Paige when she was a baby just to walk around,” Tiffany said.
With temperatures in the 50s, Martha and Scott Chesterfield, of South Elgin, and their daughters Alison, 13, and Theresa, 26, were chilly enough to want to warm up by a bonfire with coffee cups in their hands.
Theresa, who lives in Wisconsin, said she planned a weekend visit with her nearly 2-year-old daughter Ava to catch the event. “There is always fun stuff to do,” she said.