Celebrate the holidays in Illinois

• Winter Events

For 32 years, the Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival has been a beloved tradition for Chicagoans and people across the nation that visit the Windy City for the holidays. The Magnificent Mile Light Festival is located along the heart of Michigan Avenue. The festival is hosted annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. This year it will be held on Nov. 18.

The history of holiday celebrations on Michigan Avenue date back to 1949 when members of the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association displayed a 50 foot tall Christmas tree in Water Tower Park. The grand tree was adorned in 1,500 lights and a six foot star topper. However, the Magnificent Mile Light Festival as we know it developed after the Saks Fifth Avenue shop decided to decorate the trees outside of the their shop with white lights instead of their traditional ornaments. Soon after, other shops along Michigan Avenue began to adopt the tradition and displayed their own lights. This trend evolved into the festival which now displays 200 trees in sparkling lights with one million lights scattered along the mile.

This year, the holiday festivities that will be available include pictures with Santa, musical performances, a tree lighting ceremony and a fireworks show at the conclusion of the event. Shops along the Magnificent Mile will also be participating in the holiday activities and booths will be located in Pioneer Court. Activities will be held throughout the day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information about the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, visit their website here.

Happy holidays!

Hobnob Market: Vintage and antique emporium coming to Springfield this weekend

Hobnob Market is coming to Springfield this weekend – a great time to start your holiday shopping!

The market sells stylish goods with a vintage edge and clothing from boutiques. This year, there will be over 120 handmade and boutique vendors at the market.

The market will be open from 4-8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4. The market is located at the Illinois State Fairgrounds inside the Expo Building.

The first Hobnob Market was hosted in November of 2012, and the event drew 800 shoppers. In the last decade, the market has grown substantially.

Hobnob Market was created by Scott and Holly Snelling. They began the market in 2012 after soul searching on how they wanted to live their lives and raise their children. They like to encourage anyone dreaming of starting a business to just do it, because while making risky decisions can be scary, but it is also often worth it.

For more information on the Hobnob Market, please visit https://hobnobmarket.com/.

Celebrating National Author’s Day

National Author’s Day is celebrated on Nov. 1 each year and serves as a day to appreciate our favorite authors for their dedication to the art of writing and their persistence to sharing their stories to the world. Whether you are a fan of fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, romance, poetry or any other topic, you can appreciate the realm of literature and the impact that authors have on our lives and society.

The origin of National Author’s Day is here in Illinois’ Village of Bement. Bement is a small village in Piatt County which currently has a population of about 1,470 individuals. Back in 1928, Nellie Verne Burt McPherson, president of the Bement, Illinois Women’s Club was inspired to set aside a day to celebrate American authors. She had a profound love for reading her whole life and as an educator emphasized the importance of reading and literature to her students. After writing a note to Irving Bacheller about how much she enjoyed his book, Eben Holden’s Last Day A’ Fishing, he sent her back a signed copy of another one of his works. To adequately thank him for his gift, she submitted her idea for National Author’s Day to the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.

In May 1929, the club endorsed a resolution for National Author’s Day to be observed to honor American writers. It wasn’t until 1949 that the U.S. Department of Commerce officially recognized the day. Now, years later, National Author’s Day has been globally recognized and serves as a day to celebrate countless authors for their contributions to literature and inspire people to become avid readers and writers.

In celebration of the day, here is a list of note-worthy Illinois authors:

Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan in 1920 and was an author and screenwriter. His works consist of a variety of genres including fantasy, horror, mystery and others. His most popular works are Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles.

Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park in 1899. He was a novelist, short-story writer and journalist. He is one of the major American novelists of the 20th Century and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954 for “his mastery of the art of narrative” highlighting his work The Old Man and the Sea.

William Maxwell was born in Lincoln in 1908 and grew up in Chicago. He was a novelist, short-story writer and long-time editor for the New York Times. Many of his short stories and novels consist of themes from his childhood. Some of his works are Bright Center of Heaven, The Folded Leaf and So Long, See you Tomorrow. He is considered to be a “writer’s writer” as he never had an exorbitant amount of commercial success but was highly respected by other writers.

To learn more about Illinois authors, visit the Illinois Secretary of State website.

Sycamore to host its 62nd Annual Pumpkin Festival from Oct. 25-29

Every year, the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival takes place in downtown Sycamore near the corners of Main and State Street. This year’s festival will take place from Oct. 25-29.

The festival is Sycamore’s biggest citywide event. It begins with an opening ceremony and cake cutting, and ends with a parade. The festival has over 1,000 entries in the Lions Club Decorated Pumpkin Display, two different carnivals, non-profit vendors, indoor craft shows, entertainment and other various activities.

Back in 1956, Wally Thurow began what would become the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival by displaying decorated pumpkins on his front lawn. In 1962, Thurow and the Sycamore Lions Club created the Festival, which became an official celebration in Sycamore.

Each year, more than 30 non-profit groups from DeKalb County are united under the Pumpkin Festival. They display thousands of decorated pumpkins, do a house walk, a pie eating contest, a fun fair, a race and more.

The mission of the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival is to showcase local non-profit organizations.

Be sure to check out the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival this week!