Join your friends and neighbors for the Village of Barrington’s annual Holiday Festival and Tree Lighting Ceremony coming on on Saturday, December 1st! The FREE Holiday Trolley begins at 10:00 am at Cook/Station Streets and travels in a loop until 5:00 p.m. between the Ice House Mall, Shops on Lageschulte, the Foundry, and Barrington’s White House.
There are plenty of FREE family-friendly activities all day, including carriage rides, visits with Santa, a petting zoo, facepainting, balloon artist, Madrigal singers, and holiday music by Bob the DJ. They’ll light the holiday tree and Santa arrives on the fire truck at 5:00 p.m. at Cook Street & Park Ave. Visits and photos with Santa until 6:30 p.m.
Enjoy this family tradition with a day of FREE Holiday Events around town!
- Candy Cane Festival | Foundry Shopping Center, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Santa visits from 10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Also: Pet live animals at the Petting Zoo; festive reindeer antler headbands at Calico Corners; Write Letters to Santa at Light Drawn Studios; Ornament crafts with Huntington Learning Center; Goodie bags and a raffle at Van Dam Dermatology; Play on a Barrington fire truck; Cookies at One Life Kitchen & more. - Winter Wonderland | Ice House Mall, 11:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Santa’s Grand Welcome and holiday parade of characters, 12:00 p.m. (Santa visits until 3:00 p.m.) Also: Magical story time with Mrs. Claus at 11:00 a.m., including a “ Nutcracker” dance performance by Dancewerks. Free cookies & milk with Santa. Magical holiday music by Suzuki Strings, 1:30 p.m. Bring donations for “Meals of Hope” food drive. - Magical Reindeer Lane | The Shops on Lageschulte, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Santa visits at Norton’s USA from 3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Also: Free gingerbread cookies at Norton’s USA plus a special surprise event between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Free cider and cookies at English Daisy. - Home for the Holidays | Barrington’s White House, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Take a family photo by the beautiful tree in the living room.
Also: Docent tours of this 1898 mansion; refreshments, performances by BHS Madrigals and Barrington Children’s Choir. - Snow Much Fun | Village Center (Cook & Station St.), 1:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Annual Community Tree Lighting Ceremony, 5:00 p.m., South Cook Street. Santa arrives on the Fire Truck at 5:15 p.m.; visits at the Santa House from 5:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Also: Free carriage rides around downtown & face-painting, 1:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. See festive holiday characters; holiday carols by BHS Madrigals at 4:00 p.m.; see Barrington’s window displays; cookies & hot chocolate from Heinen’s.
Trolley & Schedule of Events
On Saturday, December 1, park once and enjoy FREE activities all day! FREE TROLLEY is sponsored by Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, Barrington Bank & Trust, Wickstrom Auto Group, Heinen’s Grocery Store, Norton’s USA, Ice House Mall, the Foundry, and the Village of Barrington.
TROLLEY STOPS: Trolley Route Begins at 10:00 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m.
- Cook & Main Trolley leaves on the hour; travels to Ice House Mall
- Ice House Mall Leaves at 12 min. past the hour; travels to Shops on Lageschulte
- Lageschulte St. Leaves at 24 min. past the hour; travels to the Foundry
- The Foundry Leaves at 36 min. past the hour; travels to the White House
- White House Leaves at 48 min. past the hour; travels back to Cook & Main
Timeline of Events: Saturday, December 1, 2018
- 10:00 a.m. Trolley begins its loop at Village Center (Cook & Main)
- 10:00 a.m. Candy Cane Festival & Petting Zoo Begins at Foundry
- 10:15 a.m. Santa arrives at Foundry until 12:00 p.m.
- 11:00 a.m. Winter Wonderland at Ice House Mall Begins
- 11:00 a.m. Interactive story hour with Mrs. Claus and Nutcracker performance at Ice House Mall (11:30 a.m.)
- 11:00 a.m. Magical Reindeer Lane on Lageschulte begins
- 11:00 a.m. Home for the Holidays begins at Barrington’s White House; docent tours of the mansion; family photos by tree; Madrigals perform
- 12:00 p.m. Holiday Parade of Characters at Ice House Mall; Santa arrives at Ice House Mall until 3:00 p.m. Free cookies & milk
- 1:00 p.m. Free carriage rides & activities in Village Center until 5:00 p.m.; free cookies & hot chocolate from Heinen’s
- 1:30 p.m. Special event at Norton’s USA
- 1:30 p.m. Magical holiday music by Suzuki Strings at Ice House Mall
- 3:30 p.m. Santa arrives at Norton’s USA until 4:45 p.m.
- 4:00 p.m. BHS Madrigal Singers sing in Village Center
- 5:00 p.m. Annual Community Tree Lighting Ceremony in Village Center
- 5:15 p.m. Santa arrives on the Fire Truck; Santa visits on South Cook Street until 6:30 p.m.
Learn more at Barrington-IL.gov.
About the Village of Barrington
Residents, business owners, village government and civic leaders work hard to make the Village of Barrington a great place to live, work, and play! Located just 40 miles from downtown Chicago, the Village of Barrington offers unique access to both the big city hustle & bustle plus the scenic beauty of a charming village setting surrounded by a wide variety of destinations for outdoor recreation including parks, forest preserves, horse and hiking trails.
For more information, visit Barrington-il.gov and, for a list of upcoming events, visit EnjoyBarrington.com.
