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1. Celebrate the Season in downtown Genoa from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2
The Genoa Area Chamber of Commerce will host its Celebrate the Season event to help kick off the holidays, starting with a 6 p.m. Jingle Bell parade, with a special guest arrival by Santa himself. The event will also feature a tree lighting ceremony, photo opportunities with a sleigh or Santa Claus, a petting zoo, horse-drawn wagon rides, take home crafts, cozy fires to keep warm, a live Nativity scene, food and vendor booths, a chance to write letters to Santa, charity booths and face painting.
The event will also feature the Genoa-Kingston girls volleyball team being honored after they clinched the state championship title for the first time in program history.
2. The 48th annual Genoa-Kingston Christmas Craft Walk runs through Saturday, Dec. 3
A great chance to support local business and get some holiday shopping done, more than 90 vendors will set up shop during the craft walk, featuring 15 participating businesses throughout Genoa and Kingston.
For a map and complete listing of area businesses, visit www.facebook.com/GKChristmasCraftWalk. Those interested can also stop by OpenDoor Coffee, 502 W. Main St., in Genoa to pick up a paper copy of the map.
The event runs through 5 p.m. Saturday.
3. Help support The Salvation Army with WLBK radio’s annual Freezin’ for Food drive runs through noon Saturday, Dec. 3 at Hy-Vee Shopping Center, 2700 DeKalb Ave. in Sycamore.
The annual food drive features WLBK FM 98.9/AM 1360′s longtime morning show host TD Ryan, who will brave the cold temperatures to sit outside the store and collect donations for three days,
Food and monetary donations will go directly to the DeKalb Salvation Army, which will provide aid and holiday items for local families in need. Non-perishable food items are preferred.
For more information, visit WLBK’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/1360WlbkRadio.
4. Holiday events abound in Sandwich this weekend, with the Sandwich Park District’s Holiday Lane Craft Show and Festival of Trees.
The Holiday Lane Craft Show will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4 at Sandwich High School, 515 E. Lions Road in Sandwich. The event will feature a variety of vendors offering opportunities to get some holiday shopping done.
The Festival of Trees starts Dec. 3 during business hours at Classic Cinema 7, 101 Duvick Ave. in Sandwich.
For more information, visit www.sandwichparkdistrict.org/programs-and-events.
5. Village of Shabbona’s Winter Holiday Festival from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3.
The festival will be held inside parks and buildings along Navaho Avenue between Illini and Pontiac Streets.
Visit with Santa, enjoy games and activities, shop for gifts at the craft fair, witness the tree lighting, get on a horse-drawn carriage ride, watch the children’s parade and more.
Food will be offered from Tinez Taco Truck and Shabbona Cafe.
Event organizers are also inviting others to participate in a toy drive to benefit the NICE Center. Items encouraged are kids toy, games, puzzles, books, gift certificates for adolescents and more. Items can be dropped off at the Shabbona Community Church, 104 E. Navaho Ave., and the United Neighborhood Center at 105 E. Navaho Ave.
Would you like your event featured in this weekly feature? The first step is submitting your events to the Daily Chronicle’s community calendar at https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/local-events/ where they are then considered for inclusion in this feature. Submissions to the community calendar are also printed in the Thursday edition of the Daily Chronicle.