5 things to do in McHenry County: Mark Veterans Day with ceremony, presentations

1. Communities and veterans organizations across McHenry County and beyond will be marking Veterans Day on Thursday and through the weekend.

Antioch American Legion Post 748, Antioch Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4551 and their auxiliaries will host their Veterans Day ceremony 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the VFW post, 75 North Ave. in Antioch. The event is free.

St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 451 W. Terra Cotta Ave. in Crystal Lake, is hosting Veterans Day concert and Mass at 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday. The event is free but 50% of donations will benefit Veterans Path to Hope.

The American Legion Lake Region Post 703 will be hosting a Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Thursday at Lakefront Park building, 71 Nippersink Blvd. in Fox Lake. Doors open at 10:30 a.m.

The village of Huntley is hosting a ceremony and collections event Sunday where donors can drop of items to stock the shelves at the New Horizons transitional living program for veterans.

Requested items include canned goods, pasta, rice, copy paper, deodorant, gas station gift cards, paper towels, razors, soap, shampoo, new socks, Tide pods, toothpaste and new winter coats, hats and gloves.

The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. and volunteers will be at the Huntley Veterans Memorial to collect the items from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.

The village of Lake in the Hills will host a ceremony at 9:15 a.m. Thursday in the Village Hall community room. The Lake in the Hills American Legion Post 1231 will present the colors followed by a moment of silence at the Veterans Memorial. The keynote speaker will be Trustee Stephen Harlfinger, an Army veteran.

Marengo Community High School and Marengo American Legion Post 192 will host Thursday a series of presentations, some of which will be outdoors and open to the public and all of which will be broadcast on WXMR 94.3 FM Marengo Radio.

The outdoor events include an American Legion Ceremony 8 to 8:30 a.m. at Calvin Spencer Park, a humanities presentation by Morgan Coffman 8:45 to 9:25 a.m. at Circle Drive and a subsequent presentation by Coffman on World War II artillery vehicles from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. at Circle Drive

Panel discussions will take place in the high school auditorium beginning 10:20 a.m. and will continue throughout the day. These sessions for students are not open to the public, but they will be broadcast live by Marengo Radio.

McHenry VFW Post 4600, 3002 Route 120, will open its doors at 9:30 a.m. Thursday A ceremony will take place 10 to 11 a.m. A free lunch will be provided for veterans.

The village of Richmond and the American Legion Post 253 are holding a ceremony at 11 a.m. Thursday at Stevens Park, 10314 N. Main St., followed by free coffee and doughnuts at the Hideaway Inn, 10331 N. Main St.

Woodstock VFW Post 5040, 240 N. Throop St., will kick off Veterans Day with a ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Thursday. A luncheon will follow 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. along with an open house 2 to 6 p.m. and pizza dinner 6 to 7 p.m. The lunch is $5 for adults, $3 for children and free for veterans.

The Woodstock VFW also has a celebration planned for Saturday marking the post’s 75th anniversary. The event features Two Beer Tommy Band and starts at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $5 at the door but is free to veterans.

The McHenry County Historical Society Museum, 6422 Main St. in Union, will host “Memories of Wartime in Hampshire – 1944-45″ where Sleepy Hollow resident John Fenzel will talk about his childhood job delivering newspapers to the German POW camp in Hampshire. The event will take place at 7 p.m. and costs $5 at the door. To watch online, go to mchenry-county-historical-society-and-museum.ticketleap.com/fenzel/.

2. The village of Gilberts is hosting its annual tree lighting ceremony 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday in Town Square Park, 301 Columbia Lane.

The event will feature a hot chocolate bar with s’mores and children can get the chance to meet Santa.

For more information, go to the Facebook event page at bit.ly/GilbertTreeLighting.

3. The winter market at the McHenry County Fairgrounds continues this Saturday.

The market takes place 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. select Saturdays through April at the fairgrounds’ Building D, 11900 Country Club Road in Woodstock. Along with the usual farmers market offerings, the market hosts several artisans at each market.

For information, go to woodstockfarmersmarket.org.

4. Why walk when you can ride your horse through the corn maze at Richardson Adventure Farm?

Horses and their rides can explore the corn maze 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The farm is located at 909 English Prairie Road outside Spring Grove.

The cost is $12 A horse. Attendees can register the day of the event and should bring a Coggins health certificate.

For information, go to bit.ly/CornMazeHorses.

5. The Legend of the Christmas Pickle contest starts Sunday in Woodstock.

Participating Woodstock businesses will have a pickle ornament hidden on a tree in their establishment. Scavenger hunters will have to unscramble clues to find which businesses to search.

After finding 20 of the 47 pickles, hunters can turn in their game cards to receive a Legend of the Christmas Pickle craft ornament. They also earn a chance to win an iPad or other prizes.

There is no fee to participate. Game cards can be picked up at participating businesses or downloaded from the Woodstock Area Chamber of Commerce’s website at woodstockilchamber.com starting Sunday.

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