Lisle plans a busy holiday
On the first day of December, Lisle will celebrate the start of the Christmas season with an official tree lighting and a weekend of events sure to make you start singing carols.
The two-day festival will merge three events: "Once Upon a Christmas," Saturday and Sunday at the Museums of Lisle Station Park; the "Lights of Lisle," also Saturday, centered on Main Street; and the "Polar Express" Santa train Sunday at Lisle Metra Station.
You can start early Saturday when Friends of Lisle Library has a used book sale at noon in the museums at Lisle Station Park. The sale will feature children's books and audiovisual items, curator Britta Arendt said.
Arendt will set a traditional tone, dressed in period clothes for the event. Her own family traditions include a special homemade Swedish fruit soup on Christmas Eve.
Traditional festivities will continue Saturday afternoon at the museums, where "Once Upon a Christmas" runs 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Enjoy the decorated trees, watch the model trains and stop at the Heritage Gift Shop. Listen to volunteer Robin Sprietsma read to the children, watch Fred and Nadine Filipiak and Donna and Tom Osborn bake in the summer kitchen and enjoy the Lisle High School Jazz Band.
Kids can do crafts in the Beaubien Tavern and Inn, watch blacksmiths pound out ironwork in the blacksmith's shop or enjoy a warm gingerbread cookie from the Depot's kitchen.
Head to the kitchen for free samples, then stop to appreciate the family ornaments hanging on two trees dedicated to Lisle families.
Diane Tuscher-Ancede, chairwoman of the Lisle Historical Society's portion of the activities, encourages local families to hang an ornament on the tree. Ornaments should bear the family name and the date they came to Lisle.
Tuscher-Ancede's own family traditions include spending some Christmases with her in-laws in Brazil, where it might reach 100 degrees, or closer to home, to visit her brother and eight sisters.
Also on Saturday, sleigh bells will ring when the jolly Mr. Claus makes his official seasonal debut in the village at its annual Santa Parade.
The parade steps off at 3 p.m. from the commuter parking lot on Front Street, travels north on Main Street to School Street, to Center Avenue and on to Lisle Village Hall. Mayor Joseph Broda will lead the parade aboard a Lisle-Woodridge Fire District truck.
Children who won the chamber's coloring contest will ride in a decorated trolley. After the parade, the trolley will give free rides between four anchor points in the downtown area: the Museums of Lisle Station Park, Main Street, Traviata and Home Arcade.
The merriment will include a children's choir and piano music inside the village hall, where complimentary hot chocolate and cookies will be available.
Outside, it will begin to look a lot like Christmas when Broda officially lights the village's holiday tree at 6 p.m. and the Lisle Community Band leads a sing-along of Christmas favorites.
Any group or business that wants to be part of the parade should call Tom Althoff, executive director of the Lisle Area Chamber of Commerce, at (630) 964-0052.
Althoff's own family Christmas traditions include Christmas Eve festivities with his five siblings, their families and countless nieces and nephews.
Also Saturday, adult volunteers, scouts and teens will join forces to line long stretches of downtown streets with 3,000 glowing luminarias. Along with the 25 decorated trees on Main Street, it's a beautiful sight walking in a winter wonderland.
Along with the continuing "Once Upon a Christmas" festivities at Lisle Station Park, the Polar Express Children's Christmas Train will add to the fun Sunday. Children, with parents in tow, eagerly climb aboard special Metra trains departing at 9:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. sharp.
The $10 tickets are limited and available at the Book Nook on Main Street, Lisle Savings Bank on Maple Avenue and the 7-Eleven (formerly White Hen) on Ogden Avenue at Main Street.
During the 75-minute round trip to the North Pole, which may look suspiciously like Chicago, every child will visit with Santa and receive a bell from his reindeer's harness. The event is based on the popular children's book "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg.
The 11-car double-decker Metra commuter train will feature Lisle resident Jack Kelly as the conductor, organizer Wayne Dunham as engineer and countless volunteer elves to make the experience fun for children.
Costumed characters will stroll through the train while clowns make balloon animals for each child. Volunteers will read the book and lead participants in holiday songs.
Apart from the train tickets, all the weekend activities are free thanks to the help of bighearted volunteers.
Call (630) 882-6740 or (630) 435-9749 to volunteer.
If you go
Santa Parade
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: From the commuter parking lot on Front Street to village hall
Tree Lighting ceremony
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Village hall, 925 Burlington Ave.
Once Upon A Christmas
When: 3-8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Museums of Lisle Station Park
Polar Express
When: 9:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. Sunday
Where: From the Lisle Metra station
Cost: $10; tickets available at some Lisle stores