Making merry in Cary, Fox River Grove
Holiday festivities continue Sunday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 11, in Cary and Fox River Grove.
Merry Cary: On Sunday, Dec. 5, the Merry Cary Holiday Parade and Festival kicks off at 1 p.m. The parade winds down West Main Street and turns at Jandus Road through downtown Cary. With hundreds of participants, the parade is one of the largest holiday parades in McHenry County. After the parade, stay downtown for horse-drawn sleigh rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, holiday wagons rides and more all free. Inside the Harris Bank lobby, you can play chess, enjoy storytelling performances by the Cary Area Public Library and music performed by the Cary Junior High Jazz Band and the Prairie Hill fifth- and sixth-grade band. Storytelling begins at 2 p.m. Santa, who will be riding in the Merry Cary parade on a horse-drawn sleigh, will stop at Cary Travel Express, 9 Jandus Road, to visit with local children until 3:30 p.m. Christmas Elves Wally and Victor from “Those Funny Little People” will perform downtown. Back on West Main Street, you can listen to music from Stax O Wax and enjoy food from The Tracks, Galati's Pizza & Pasta, Cary Coffee Station, Cary Pub and Orchard Prime Meats & Wine Shoppe. All festivities and rides are free.Santa Sightings at Stone Hill: From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, you can stop by the Stone Hill Shopping center at the intersection of routes 14 and 22 in Fox River Grove for Santa sightings. Santa will be roaming the center to visit with local children and hand out treats. Listen for his jingle bells.Holiday Walk: Kick off the holiday season and join the Cary Park District for the lighting of the Jaycee Park Holiday Walk from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11. Enjoy holiday lights from trees decorated by families and groups from all over the community, visit with Santa and his live reindeer, skate on the Jaycee Park pond, weather permitting, and snack on light refreshments. Admission to this event is free. If you would like to decorate a tree in the Holiday Walk, trees may still be available. Tree decorating will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 11, at Jaycee Park. Each group is responsible for its own decorations, including display and removal. Trees will be on display for approximately three weeks. Preregistration to decorate a tree is required. Registration is $25 per tree and is accepted at the Community Center. For information, call (847) 639-6100 or visit carypark.com.