Schaumburg cancels Christmas market

No, they're not canceling Christmas in Schaumburg.

But once the holidays arrive, don't bother looking for Schaumburg's annual Christkindlesmarkt. Officials have nixed the event as part of larger budgetary cuts, Village Manager Ken Fritz said.

The village projects a $6 million deficit overall for next year, Fritz said. Schaumburg doesn't collect property taxes and instead depends on income from sales tax from Woodfield Shopping Center and other retailing spots to fund local services.

But last month, the village's sales tax receipts came in $900,000 less than projections - even after those had been adjusted downward because of the slumping economy, Fritz said.

Last year, the village suffered a net loss on Christkindlesmarkt in the range of $10,000 to $15,000, Fritz said. This year's budget featured a bevy of cost-cutting actions, including the suspension of Schaumburg's mulching program. The village has also left 28 jobs unfilled.

Schaumburg has sponsored the three-day market for 11 years. The European-style, open-air holiday festival, which usually took place after Thanksgiving at Town Square, was an opportunity for vendors to sell crafts and food, and it also featured live entertainment.

The reductions were reflected in the budget adopted in May, though Schaumburg officials as recently as March said they expected to continue with the event.

Village officials prioritized events when compiling this year's budget, Fritz said. They tried to keep marquee festivities like Septemberfest and the Prairie Arts Festival as unaffected as possible. Officials still went ahead and cut the fireworks displays at Septemberfest from three nights to one night.

The market could return next year in the same format as previous years.

"It will depend on the economy and whether the folks involved in organizing think it's worthwhile bringing back," Fritz said.

Arlington Heights announced earlier this year it was canceling its version of the event, also for budgetary reasons.

Though the market won't be in Schaumburg this year, there's still plenty of opportunities to show your Christmas spirit in the village. Fritz noted the Prairie Center for the Arts regular "Nutcracker" productions, which typically sell out, will go forward.