Vernon Hills gives away generations of holiday memories
With more than 500 cutout characters and lighted displays lining a meandering path through the woods on the former Cuneo estate, the drive-through holiday light show in Vernon Hills was among the largest of its kind in northern Illinois.
But last year was the end of the show's 21-year run, and the village must dispense of decades of hand-painted memories stored in four semitrailers and shipping containers beyond a locked gate on the majestic grounds.
“I'm being contacted already left and right by folks who might be interested,” Village Manager John Kalmar said. “What people don't understand right now is we're only talking about the wood cutout figures.”
Through the years, public works staff and others helped created 219 colorful cartoon and other characters out of plywood. Since they no longer are needed and don't figure in future holiday plans, the village will give them away.
“We've given staff a lot of latitude,” village Trustee Jim Schultz said. “At this juncture, we're just kind of gauging interest.” Several inquiries have been received, including from Lambs Farm, Lake County Fairgrounds, Aurora Rotary, Forest Preserve District of Cook County and village of Hawthorn Woods, according to a report to the village board.
Of equal interest are the 300 or more lighted displays depicting a variety of themes. Some are in bad shape and will be tossed. Because of the need to individually light them, they likely won't be used in future village displays.
A lottery in which organizations select on a rotating basis — think sports draft — will be used if there is interest from many groups. But local organizations or those that serve Vernon Hills will get preference, Kalmar said. The village board is expected to discuss June 16 how to deal with the lighted displays and holiday decorating in the post-light show era.
Some of the cutouts are damaged and can't be reused, but there is a wide selection.
“We've got a lot of themes that go together,” said Mark Fleischman, a village maintenance technician who worked on the show the last three years. Nearly all can be carried by one person, but there are a few that encompass a full sheet of plywood, which can be heavy, he added.
The size of the lighted displays could pose a challenge for would-be takers, Kalmar noted.
“They're quite large (and) they're in multiple pieces. It's not just a matter of pulling up and tossing them in the back of a pickup,” he said.
Because of the need for power and other considerations, the displays are meant to be used in a self-contained environment, he added, and the suggestion will be to dispose of most of them as well.
“I would anticipate we'll re-use some of those (lighted) displays but it will be of a limited scope.”
Setting up and taking down the displays, which ran the roughly mile and a half length of the course, took about 12 weeks each year.
The northern portion of the 88-acre Cuneo property, which included much of the light show route, was donated to Loyola University Chicago in 2010.
Loyola intends to sell the land for development of 128 single-family homes but plans have not been submitted to the village for review.