St. Charles flips switch on holiday season
It's that time of year when turkeys can breathe a little easier - whew, made it through another Thanksgiving! - but things start to get a little hectic if you happen to be an elf or a chubby guy with a long white beard and a red suit that smells a little like reindeer and a little like a busy toy factory.
Just in case you needed another sign that Christmas is fast approaching, folks in St. Charles gathered downtown Friday night for the annual tree-lighting ceremony at First Street Plaza.
And the season will continue gathering steam like Rudolph on Christmas Eve when the village plays host to Holiday Homecoming festivities from 1 to 4 p.m. today in advance of the Electric Christmas Parade at 5:30 p.m.
Santa, of course, will be the star of the parade, but he'll be sharing the billing with the parade grand marshals - Donnie Wahlberg, star of TV's "Blue Bloods," and his wife, actress and radio host Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg.
The Wahlbergs, of course, live in St. Charles, where they also film their reality show, "Donnie Loves Jenny."
Last year's event attracted roughly 23,000 people, no small plate of gingerbread cookies for a town of about 33,000.
For details on all the village's holiday festivities, visit www.downtownstcharles.org.