Elgin gets in the holiday spirit
Christmas has a way of bringing animals from drastically different climates together.
About 20 onlookers stood around a small pen in the Elgin civic center parking lot Saturday while the two reindeer inside observed them meekly and munched on hay.
Nearby a small camel paced around a pen in a lot off Grove Avenue as Elgin residents sipped hot chocolate, listened to carolers and watched the Living Nativity scene presented by local churches.
The animals were part of Elgin's annual Window Wonderland holiday celebration, which marked its tenth anniversary Saturday.
Elgin families walked around the city's downtown, enjoying freebies and promotions from businesses. Some carried Elgin passports, which they could stamp at each business and later redeem for a Nutcracker ornament.
The theme of this year's event - like the original 1998 celebration - was the Nutcracker, and store windows were painted and decorated with scenes from the story.
The bitter wind and snow that had set in by midafternoon didn't seem to scare families away.
"It's a winter event, so you've got to expect that," said Steve Munson, a volunteer with the Downtown Neighborhood Association, the group that organizes the event. "It's nice to have a little snow to have the spirit."
The event culminated with the annual tree lighting ceremony in Elgin's Festival Park.
As part of Saturday's celebration, Vicky Zibert, owner of the Lily Falls gift shop on Douglas Avenue, joined Ravenheart Coffee and Salon Couture in marking the anniversary of their store openings.
"People have been so reserved, but today, everybody's out," Zibert said of Window Wonderland. "It's so nice when someone comes in and says, 'Wow, I didn't know you were here.'"
The Muneton family of Elgin visited Window Wonderland for the first time Saturday, stopping in businesses they hadn't shopped at before and taking their little girls ice skating.
"It was fun, especially the ice skating," mom Jeannette Muneton said, adding that she "definitely" plans to return next year.