Jolly, happy souls at West Chicago Frosty Fest

Many great scholars have studied the legend of Frosty the Snowman.

OK, we just made that up. It's entirely possible no great scholars have probed the hidden depths of Frosty's story.

But if they had, here's one of the messages they surely would have deciphered: Life's short, so it's better to be a jolly, happy soul than some crusty old Scrooge - especially during the holidays.

That, at least, was the general feeling Saturday in downtown West Chicago as the city celebrated its annual daylong Frosty Fest with music (thumpety thump, thump!), a tree-lighting ceremony, dance performances, reindeer, ice sculptures and horse-drawn wagon rides.

The only thing missing was a snowman-building contest.

For those who prefer their frosty festivities in a slightly warmer setting, there were activities and exhibits in Gallery 200, Republic Bank, the City Museum, the American Legion Hall and Fox Community Center, where Santa and Mrs. Claus set up shop.

No offense to the ill-fated Frosty, but the whole celebration was enough to melt even the coldest of holiday hearts.