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Holiday spirit takes over Barrington
Lake Barrington four-year-old Maddie Anderle looks at the beautiful, handmade ornaments on Barrington's Christmas Tree at the Village Center. | Mark Ukena~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: January 7, 2013 6:39AM
BARRINGTON — On an unseasonably warm Dec. 1, many Barrington residents converged on the downtown to celebrate the holiday season.
The festivities started with the Candy Cane Festival in the Foundry Shopping Center. Children were able to enjoy a petting zoo, get their photos taken with Santa and view Ambrosia bakery’s popular gingerbread houses.
The Winter Wonderland started ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ice House Mall, where residents gathered for a story hour with Mrs. Claus, followed by cookies and a dance presentation of The Nutcracker performed by the Midwest Dance Collective.
The area around The Shops on Lageschulte also received a festive makeover as the street was turned into Gingerbread Lane with giant candy canes and gingerbread people lining the street. Stores offered special treats and deals throughout the day to help draw in business.
Carriage and trolley rides also were offered all day, connecting the festivities across town.
At 5 p.m., several hundred people gathered in the Village Center to watch the annual tree lighting, and await the highly anticipated arrival of Santa in a fire truck.
Fritz Wichman, who brought his kids to see Santa, said he waiting in line two hours to introduce the kids to Santa.
“I think the village put on a pretty good show this year,” Wichman said.
Mayor Karen Darch, who participated in her eighth tree lighting ceremony, said it was great to see the large turn out.
This year, Richard and Rachel Honquest were the honored guests to help light the tree. They were selected because they announced they are retiring from their long-running local business, Honquest furniture.
