Toy cars race at McHenry Riverwalk Shoppes; customers invited to Crystal Lake store for Sunday races

McHenry shoppers want things to do with their children, so the owners of Marvin’s Toy Store offered parents and children parents the store’s first-ever car races Saturday at their McHenry Riverwalk Shoppes store.

“McHenry is very family-oriented,” co-owner Kate McConville said. “They are seeking things to do with them, and the Chamber [of Commerce] and the city have listened to that. Our next step is more kid-friendly opportunities.”

Kate McConville, who owns the store with her mother, Lori McConville, invited families to the McHenry tiny shop Saturday and Crystal Lake store Sunday after seeing a toy car manufacturer’s booth at a convention earlier this year. The company offers low-cost wooden cars and a racetrack that stores can rent for a weekend, then ship to their next destination.

Kate McConville teamed up with some of the other tiny shop owners to make the event a little bigger. Bumble Bread Co. gave one of its cookies to each child who bought a car to build, decorate and race, and The Pieceful Project sponsored the two grand prizes including car Lego sets. Each child who bought a $15 race car kit received a ticket for the two grand-prize drawings.

Made by wood toy manufacturer Candylab, the cars come in three sections. The base and cab section are wood, and the wheels are mounted on die-cast metal. The three parts are connected by a wooden dowel with the use of an Allen wrench.

Once the cars are assembled, the next step is decorating. For Kelly Clementi’s sons, Nolan, 5, and Levi, 3, the designs were chosen Friday night. Levi wanted his in robin egg blue, like Chick Hicks from Disney’s “Cars” movie. Nolan wanted his in Lightning McQueen red with a lightning bolt.

“They kept talking about it, what they wanted their cars to be.”

But there wasn’t a fight about who got to be the hero car. Levi, Clementi said laughing, likes the bad guy characters and picked Chick Hicks himself.

The event is a great way for children to learn a few things and display some of their own personalities, Lori McConville said.

“I find the incubator concept fascinating, the chance for shops to try out their ideas.”

—  Ryan Deering, Crystal Lake resident

A former kindergarten teacher, Lori McConville said she sees all of the lessons children get while putting the toys together, including fine motor skills, problem-solving, following steps to get to the final results and working as a team.

She also sees the parents learn about their children. “They will get frustrated, and the parents can tell. The kids will give them hints when they are ready for them to help,” Lori McConville said.

While the weekend events at the two stores are good for business, the McConvilles still are determining how their store and business model fits into McHenry. That is why the duo, who have had a toy store at 64 N. Williams St. in Crystal Lake for more than 11 years, applied for one of the 10 tiny shops last year.

The McHenry tiny shops are designed to be retail incubators, giving entrepreneurs with ideas low-cost rents and time to learn what they need and what customers want before opening their own storefronts. But the McConvilles already have that in Crystal Lake.

The McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce leadership suggested they apply, Kate McConville said. “We were ready to look at going into other markets, and we wanted to try our store and its business model in McHenry.”

During the Riverwalk Shoppes season, May 1 through late December, “we can decide if [McHenry] is a good fit,” Kate McConville said.

The Saturday car races attracted Ryan Deering, his two children, a nephew and his brother and sister-in-law to the Riverwalk Shoppes. The children decorated cars and sent them down the ramp while Deering learned more about the shops. The Crystal Lake resident said he’d like to see his town do something similar.

“I find the incubator concept fascinating, the chance for shops to try out their ideas,” Deering said.