St. Charles Holiday Homecoming poised to dazzle Nov. 24-25

Making spirits bright is at the heart of St. Charles Holiday Homecoming festivities unfolding Nov. 24 and 25.

The Lighting of the Lights ceremony takes place at 5 p.m. the Friday after Thanksgiving, followed at 5:30 p.m. Saturday by the Electric Christmas Parade. For added fun, there’s a free holiday movie at the landmark Arcada Theatre, and the debut of the St. Charles Holiday Shop Crawl with a grand prize.

The exciting, rain-or-shine lineup is designed to bring people together to spread a whole lot of holiday cheer, said Amy Curione, events manager for the St. Charles Business Alliance, which organizes the festival.

Lighting of the Lights is set on the riverside First Street Plaza, where Santa will take up his residence and greet guests until 7 p.m. that evening. Visitors will be treated to free nuts roasting on the plaza, and cookies and hot chocolate from La Mesa Modern Mexican, as high school chorales sing carols.

Santa will continue to welcome children from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 23. The visits are free and a great photo op, Curione said, adding that added lighted photo ops await outside the Municipal Building.

With 60 illuminated floats plus marching bands and special guest Santa, the Electric Christmas Parade travels Main Street from Sixth Street to Fourth Avenue, with volunteers along the route handing out lighted giveaways for children.

On Saturday, the two-day Holiday Shop Crawl debuts, in which 19 businesses offer promotions. “They are putting a lot of effort into this,” said Curione, noting details are at stcholidayhomecoming.com, including an app offering chances to win the grand prize.

Arcada Theatre adds to the fun with a free screening of “Home Alone” at 10 a.m. Nov. 25. Ron Onesti, president of Onesti Entertainment, also invites people to drop in at the Arcada’s new holiday kick-off party from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its Rock ‘N Za restaurant for face painting, balloon artistry and holiday characters, along with food and drink available for purchase.

“We’re celebrating a huge renovation of the (1926) building still,” said Onesti, noting free tours are offered that afternoon on a drop-in basis.

After the parade, entertainment events continue at venues throughout town, including the Arcada’s Cornerstones of Rock concert starring The Buckinghams, The Ides of March, New Colony Six and The Cryan’ Shames.

“Local Chicago garage rock … was the whole genre they created here in the Midwest,” Onesti said.

Across the river at the Filling Station Pub & Grill, co-owner Peter Milligan invites people to drop by the outdoor patio between 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday for festivities next to the parade route, with heaters and fire pits offered on a first-come basis.

“Immerse yourself in the magic of the Electric Parade,” Milligan said. “We’re going to have … the Jack Macklin Trio, a jazz band [playing] all the holiday favorites. We’re going to have the Boy Scouts – it’s always nice to spread the holiday warmth with one of their beautiful handcrafted wreaths. We’ll have our hot cocoa bar with all kinds of different hot cocoas and [a smorgasbord of] toppings. We’ll have these little s’mores kits for kids. It’s a wonderful experience.”