By LEE B. ROBERTS
Journal Times | Posted: Wednesday, December 3, 2008 12:00 am
From a holiday home tour to parades, tree-lighting ceremonies, cookie walks and lots of good cheer, Christmas comes to the countryside this weekend as Waterford, Union Grove, Burlington and their surrounding communities welcome the holiday season with a whole sleigh-full of festive activities and events.
The revelry starts tonight in Union Grove, where a community gathering in the Village Square (10th and Main streets) will feature Christmas music, the official Christmas tree lighting, Santa's arrival on a fire engine, refreshments and giveaways. Most of tonight's events will take place between 5:30 to 6:30 and the fun will continue in Union Grove on Saturday with a Holiday Gift and Craft Fair and a Cookie Walk, both of which start at 9 a.m.
The fair, which goes until 3 p.m., will feature 90 vendors, crafters and specialty booths at Union Grove High School, 3433 S. Colony Ave. Holiday treats, children's crafts and games, and photos with elves will also be available.
The Cookie Walk, which runs until 2 p.m., is a village tradition in which participants can purchase a limited-edition souvenir tin for $4 and then visit 30 area businesses, each of which will offer one cookie to fill the tin. A total of 100 tins are available and have been on sale at area businesses since the day after Thanksgiving. All proceeds go to the Union Grove Christmas Decorations Fund.
Visitors to Union Grove on Saturday can also get their children's and pets's photos taken with Santa Claus. The children's photo session at the Community State Bank, 1500 Main St., costs $2 or two nonperishable food items, and is a benefit for the Union Grove Area Food Bank. It goes from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. A free photo with Santa, for kids and pets, is available at The Country Store, 107 200th Ave. (Highway 45 just south of KR) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information about Christmas Comes to Union Grove, call the Chamber of Commerce at (262) 878-4606.
Love a parade!
Burlington will celebrate Santa's arrival on Friday night with a downtown parade that starts at 6:30. The parade, which is Burlington's 27th annual edition, will start at Kane Street and Chandler Boulevard and take a U-shaped route through downtown along Milwaukee Avenue, Chestnut and Pine streets, and back to Chandler. Horse units, live reindeer, motorcycle and snowmobile clubs and much more - including the big guy in the red suit - will be featured.
Afterward, folks can follow Santa to Wehmhoff Square Park, 355 N. Pine St., where they'll find caroling, reindeer and cookies, as well as the opportunity to visit Jolly Old St. Nick in his holiday chalet.
Santa's Chalet in Burlington will also be open on Saturday and Sunday, from 2 to 4 p.m. For more about Christmas in Burlington visit http://www.burlingtonchamber.org
Also on Sunday in Burlington, Our Savior Lutheran Church, 417 S. Kane St., will offer its eight annual Festival of Sacred Music at 4 p.m. "Carol of the Birds" will be presented by Our Savior's choir and refreshments will be served afterwards. Admission is free and an offering will be taken.
For more about the concert, call (262) 248-3000, ext. 4817.
Home for the holidays
Saturday is when things will start hopping in Waterford. That's when the seventh annual Holiday Tour of Homes will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring the sights and scents of the season in four specially-decorated private homes.
One of this year's highlights is a former church building which has been transformed into a home by Lori Keiser. Keiser, who moved to Waterford from Greenfield when she purchased the church a couple years ago, is an antique collector and her love of old buildings and furnishings is evident in her holiday decorating themes.
While her new home is still somewhat of a work in progress, Keiser said she is excited to be able to share its unique spaces, which include a loft bedroom and open/concept living areas, with tour goers. Along with Christmas trees and other seasonal touches, Keiser has decorated her home with vintage dress forms draped in period costumes, a bathtub filled with holiday ornaments and displays of her collections, including perfumes, compacts and mesh purses.
Also on the tour are two newer homes located in Fowlers Bay, as well as a 98-year-old traditional farmhouse. All will feature a wide variety of holiday accents, including antique and festive decorations, flowers and candles donated by local merchants and "more Christmas trees than you can count," according to Reagan Dexter, executive director of the Waterford Chamber of Commerce. For more details, go to http://www.waterford-wi.org
Each year, the Holiday Tour of Homes draws visitors from as far away as Chicago and Milwaukee, as well as throughout Racine County, Dexter said.
"It has become a wonderful holiday tradition for many people in the area," said Dexter. "And that has been really neat to see."
Tours will start at St. Peter's Lutheran church (Sixth and Main streets), where elf-escorted busses will depart every 15 minutes for the approximately two-hour event. The church's gathering hall will offer tour goers complimentary cookies and hot beverages, as well as shopping opportunities and a Cookie Walk at its Holiday Village Square. Food will also be available for purchase at the church.
Tickets for the Holiday Tour of Homes are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. They can be purchased online at http://www.waterford-wi.org or at all Community State Bank locations and the Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce office, 102 E. Main St.
After the tour, revelers can head to Waterford's downtown area for its Wonderland Parade. The parade will start at Reineman's True Value, 217 N. Milwaukee St., at 5:30 p.m. and travel along North Milwaukee and East Main to the Waterford Public Library, where Waterford's official Christmas tree will be lit following the parade. In between, viewers will be treated to floats, fire trucks and lots of bells and whistles. A television celebrity will also be on hand.
For more about holiday time in Waterford, call the Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce at (262) 534-5911.