Weather doesn't deter feast celebration plans

Plans to celebrate the Catholic feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe tonight at Maryville Academy in Des Plaines are unchanged despite the weather, Deacon Manuel Dorantes said today.

The vigil, which runs through Wednesday evening, was expected to draw about 100,000 people.

Des Plaines police will be on extra alert tonight, given the forecast for some sleet and freezing rain, Dorantes said.

Central Road from East River Road to Wolf Road will be closed from about 4 p.m. Tuesday to 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. It'll be open during the day Wednesday, and then closed again from 4:30 p.m. to midnight. Shuttle buses will carry people from remote parking lots.

More Coverage Stories Travel, parking tips [11/21/07]

According to tradition, the Virgin Mary - called the Virgin of Guadalupe - appeared to an indigenous native named Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin outside Mexico City from Dec. 9 to Dec. 12, 1531.