The countdown is on for Barrington’s second annual ChristKindlFest, a four-day outdoor and tented holiday festival coming up on December 4th through the 7th. During the festival, downtown Barrington will be transformed into a small European village with festive holiday booths selling chocolates, pastries, ornaments, handcrafted items and more. ChristKindlFest is hosted by both the Barrington Village Association and The Barrington Breakfast Rotary Club in an effort to bring surrounding communities together for a festive holiday event that GIVES BACK to those in need during the holiday season.
ChristKindlFest features authentic German and international food, drink, outdoor shopping, bands and fun for all ages. For children, there will be carousel rides, bumper cars, face painting, photos with Santa & reindeer plus many more festive activities, indoors and out.
And – NEW THIS YEAR – the number of holiday huts has doubled from ten to twenty vendor booths showcasing handcrafted, one-of-a-kind products created locally and around the world.
Elves (a.k.a. carpenters) at Pepper Construction have been busy building the additional ten vendor booths this week, which they’ll be transporting to the BMO Harris Bank parking lot at Cook & Station Streets for the festival.
In response to last year’s chilly weather, organizers are moving the food vendors INDOORS this year so you can enjoy the festival food as you soak up the sights and sounds from seating near the entertainment stage inside the warm, toasty tent. To accommodate both the food AND entertainment, they’ll be erecting a tent that’s DOUBLE THE SIZE of last year’s tent with high powered heating systems in place. They’ve taken great care to ensure a comfortable and complete blend of activities, inside and out!
Also new this year, they’ve hired four awesome, big-name bands to headline the fest at night. That’s in addition to a full schedule of local performers of all ages who will take the stage throughout the festival. (See below for the list of performances by the hour.)
Headlining bands include The Johnny Wagner Band to open the festival from 3 to 6 p.m. on Thursday night with an eclectic blend of traditional Bavarian, Austrian and Slovenian styles of polka music, as well as authentic rock & roll, country, jazz, and swing.
Thanks to the support of ChristKindlFest’s generous sponsors, there is no charge to watch the Johnny Wagner band and the cover charge for evening entertainment after 7 p.m. only costs $10. (It’s highly recommended that you visit ChristKindlFest.com to purchase tickets in advance.)
From 8:30 to 11 on THURSDAY night, the world’s premier Beatles tribute band, American English, will be performing songs covering the entire Beatles career from 1963 to 1970, with meticulous attention to every musical detail.
On Friday, December 5th from 8:30 to 11, Western Sky Band will put a festive spin on their “Top 40″ Country hits along with favorites from the likes of Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban.
And you don’t want to miss Saturday night’s concert from 8:30 to 11 p.m. featuring Think Floyd USA, America’s #1 Pink Floyd tribute band, delivering all the sights and sounds you’d expect from what Full Throttle Magazine called, “The best Pink Floyd tribute anywhere.”
Throughout the event, there will be a festive variety of international foods available. Enjoy the tastes of the holidays in Calabria, Italy, courtesy of Mandile’s Restaurant in Algonquin. If the holidays have you in the mood for a little Mexican food, Tacos El Norte of Lake Zurich will be serving up their signature authentic Mexican cuisine. Savor the flavors of eight Finnish cheeses from 4th generation rural Wisconsin artisan cheesemaker, Brunkow Cheese, and sink your teeth into the truffles, turtles and decadent delights of Chocolate Enrapture. And, back by popular demand, be sure to find The Nut Hut where you’ll discover your newest addiction, cinnamon roasted nuts.
Just like last year, the beverages will be flowing throughout the four days including delicious wines, beers and the oh-so warming Gluehwein, which is a traditional German hot, spiced wine.
To help neighbors in need, ChristKindlFest doubles as an opportunity to give back to the community with a food collection for the Barrington and Cuba Township food pantries. Bring food donations to the fest and deposit them in the bins you’ll find inside the main tent. Throughout the Fest, high schoolers with Rotary’s Interact Club will be busy preparing 15,000 “Merry Meals” for distribution to families in Guatemala.
Also at ChristKindlFest, sports fans won’t want to miss a chance to win a drawing for Bulls tickets on the rail where the Bulls enter the arena and see them play the world champion San Antonio Spurs on January 22, 2015. Attendees can also enter a drawing for a limited edition hand-pulled lithograph from Theodor Seuss Geisel’s original drawing done for the book How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1967).
In short, the 4-day event will be packed with new opportunities daily for shopping, dining, live music, kids events and entertainment at ChristKindlFest 2014. Here’s a list of all planned ChristKindlFest activities and entertainment – at a glance:
December 4, Thursday
Kids Activities
11:00 am to 9:00 pm Carnival Rides
11:00 am to 7:00 pm Cookie Decorating
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Kaleidoscope Ornament Decoration
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm Merry Meals
* Carnival Ride Tickets Purchased Separately
Music & Dancing
3:00 pm to 6 pm The Johnny Wagner Band
8:30 pm to 11 p.m American English
December 5, Friday
Kids Activites
10:00 am to 9:00 pm Carnival Rides
11:00 am – 7:00 pm Cookie Decorating
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm Merry Meals
* Carnival Ride Tickets Purchased Separately
Music & Dancing
4:00 pm The Flag Team, BHS
5:00 pm Harmonizing Hawks
5:00 pm The New Tradition Strolling Carolers
5:00 pm BYDE Nutcracker character appearance
6:00 pm The New Tradition Strolling Carolers
6:00 pm Madrigal Singers, BHS
7:00 pm Jazz Ensemble, BHS
8:30 pm to 11 pm Western Sky Band
December 6, Saturday
Activities
10:00 am to 9:00 pm Carnival Rides
10:00 am to 7:00 pm Merry Meals
11:00 am – 5:00 pm Face Painting
11:00 pm to 1:00 pm Kaleidoscope Ornament Decoration
11:00 am to 7:00 pm Cookie Decorating
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm Beading by Meg Gems
* Carnival Ride Tickets Purchased Separately
Music & Dancing
12:00 pm Tuba Christmas
1:00 pm Stingray Singers
2:00 pm Soprano Tina Beverly
3:00 pm Barrington Youth Orchestra
4:00 pm Bataille School of Danse
6:00 pm KindlFest Dancers
8:30 pm to 11 pm Think Floyd USA
December 7, Sunday
Activities
11:00 to 5:00 pm Santa is visiting!
10:00 am to 5 pm Carnival Rides
12:00 pm to 4 pm Reindeer Photos
11:00 am to 5 pm Face Painting
11:00 am to 5 pm Cookie Decorating
11:00 am to 5 pm Balloon Creations
11:00 am to 5 pm Merry Meals
* Carnival Ride Tickets Purchased Separately
Music & Dancing
11:30 am Chicago Red Hots Acapella
1:00 pm Bell Choir, Lutheran Church of the Atonement
3:30 pm The Village Church Choir
4:30 pm Drawing Winners Announced
5:00 pm Close
Food Donations Accepted Daily
They’ll be accepting non-perishable food items during all ChristKindlFest hours to benefit Barrington and Cuba Township food pantries.
For a trip down memory lane, take a look at our photos from last year’s Barrington ChristKindlFest. CLICK HERE to find the full album and enjoy our video report from ChristKindlFest 2013, courtesy of 365BarringtonTV reporter, Catherine Goetze.
ChristKindlFest takes place in the heart of downtown Barrington at the corner of Cook and Station Streets. Walking distance to the Metra Train station, visitors can take the train or park in the station lot near Spring and Station Street. A free trolley will be running between Barrington retailers and ChristKindlFest on Saturday.
ChristKindlFest runs from December 4th to 7th: Thursday 10 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 10:00 am to midnight, and Sunday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more details and the latest festival updates, CLICK HERE to follow ChristKindlFest’s Facebook page and visit the festival’s brand new website at ChristKindlFest.com.