Reagan Lunceford, 4, of Carpentersville hangs on tight to her parents Jake and Dina as they skate at Elgin's City Skate arena during the 16th annual Downtown Elgin Window Wonderland event Saturday. This was the family's first time coming to the event and Reagan's first time skating. Her older sister, Rebecca, 6, has skated before and was doing well on her own, skating ahead of the trio.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Families filled the ice arena at Elgin's City Skate in the late afternoon Saturday during the city's 16th annual Downtown Elgin Window Wonderland, kicking off the city's holiday season.
Trying to skate for the first time, Dominic Cuchiara, 7, of Elgin exclaimed "I'm doing great!" as he enjoyed the event with his extended family. His father, Daniel, said "I just like being with the family.
"We're really making an effort to do more stuff together, and stuff like this makes it a lot easier for families to come together, more sense of community," he said "It's great just to be out with family and take lots of pictures and get ready for the holidays."
Not far from the rink, children in Santa hats were taking a ride on a sleigh driven by a pair of white mules from Long Eared Livery Service in Sycamore.
This year's activities, done in conjunction with the Downtown Neighborhood Association, included decorated storefront windows, roasting of chestnuts, decorating cookies, holiday music, Santa's reindeer and included an open house at the Elgin Police Department. Later in the evening, Mayor David Kaptain, city council members and Santa Claus turned on the holiday tree lights near the Civic Center Plaza.
For details on Elgin holiday events, visit elginhomefortheholidays.com.
Bruce Sims of Long Eared Livery Service out of Sycamore drives the mule team of Zelda and Shania as they carry families on a sleigh ride past the Elgin Police station Saturday. The rides were part of the activities offered during the 16th annual Downtown Elgin Window Wonderland event.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Dominic Cuchiara, 7, of Elgin giggles after taking a spill at the City Skate arena, one of the festivities his family participated in at the 16th annual Downtown Elgin Window Wonderland on Saturday. This was his first time skating.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Reindeer handler Steve Dart pets the neck of Cupid, a four-year-old reindeer, during the 16th annual Downtown Elgin Window Wonderland event Saturday. Cupid and his brother, Comet, were two reindeers that Dart of Santa's Crew in Luxemburg, Wisconsin brought for families to look at.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com