Glen Ellyn Holiday Walk features tree lighting, dance

There will be some pretty happy feet at Glen Ellyn's annual Holiday Walk. And they will not only belong to children running to line up and meet Santa Claus at the firehouse.

Students from a downtown dance studio have been preparing for weeks to perform at the event, which serves as the kickoff to the holiday season with festivities from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 26.

Christine Marcinkowski, owner and instructor at Elite Feet Dance Center, said the 15 to 20 girls have rehearsed for two hours every Saturday for about a month.

“The nice thing is they are very dedicated to dance,” she said of her students, who range in age from 4 to 14. “They really enjoy the performance aspect of it. We just tried on our costumes for the first time, and doing that together makes it more exciting.”

The dance group will perform at 479 N. Main St., which is an empty storefront right now, immediately following the tree-lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. The Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce also will welcome the Madrigal Singers from Glenbard South High School and, of course, good old St. Nick, who will set up shop at the firehouse on the corner of Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

The family atmosphere gives downtown businesses a chance to interact with the community, said Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce Co-Director Georgia Koch.

“It's a real community-type of event,” she said. “You see your neighbors there, you see your friends, you see all of the people you know.”

Holding the event downtown is only natural because, Koch said, it represents all of Glen Ellyn.

“When people come to town, they come down the hill and see our downtown,” she said. “It's the face of our community.”

And a part of that face is Marcinkowski's dance studio. Now open five years, she has made it a real family affair. Her mother answers phones. Her husband is a graphic designer who puts his talent to use for her. And Marcinkowski's father, a woodworker, helps build sets and anything she needs for the studio.

Only recently has the studio started performing for the public. This will be the third such performance this year, following one at Taste of Glen Ellyn and one at the annual sidewalk sale.

Marcinkowski said it gives her a chance to spend time with her extended family: the girls she has worked with since her studio opened.

As she watches them perform, she says she gets just as excited as she did when she used to dance at Columbia College.

“I think I have just as much fun watching from the wings and watching them do the dances I have made up as when I used to dance,” she said. “That's why I chose to open my own school.”

<p><b>Glen Ellyn's annual Holiday Walk</b></p>

<p>When: 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. today; tree lighting at 6 p.m.</p>

<p>Where: Tree lighting at the corner of Main Street and Crescent Boulevard; Santa Claus at Fire Station 1, Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue; dance performance at 479 N. Main St.</p>

<p>Info: (630) 469-0907 or glenellynchamber.com</p>