Lake Wonderland festival is back -- now, with reindeer

If you like looking at live reindeer and taking rides in a horse-drawn sleigh, the Lake Wonderland Winter Festival in Des Plaines is for you.

It's 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Lake Park on Lee Street, between Howard Street and Touhy Avenue. Admission is free, but sleigh rides and food cost extra.

Sponsored by the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce and the Des Plaines Park District, the fest is back in its fourth year with some new attractions and previous crowd pleasers, said Gene Harring, Des Plaines Park District's marketing and communications director.

The reindeer are new this year, Harring said. But one of the most popular attractions, the horse-drawn sleigh ride, is back.

The cost is $3 for kids and $5 for adults.

Also new is a variety of entertainment, with "Magic by Randy," the Des Plaines Public Library Singers, the Mark Nichols Puppet Theater and the Northwest Percussion Brigade.

Mary Edsey, author of "Best Christmas Decorations in Chicagoland," will have a book signing from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.

But there will be some acts that are back, Harring said.

One of the most popular attractions last year was Cheryl Phelps, the Des Plaines Park District's dog obedience instructor, who will bring several Siberian huskies to the fest.

Some of the dogs will have competed in the Iditarod, the world-famous sled race in Alaska. She'll talk about the history of the race and what the dogs go through.

Also back this year will be the band Route 66, dance group Artistry in Motion, the Martha and Mary Lutheran Church Bell Choir, Sol Azteca - a traditional Mexican dance group - and the Maine West High School Brass Ensemble.

Money raised through food sales and sleigh rides will go to the scholarship fund, which pays for residents who can't afford park district programs, Harring said.

Last year, the fund awarded $18,000, he said.