Princeton to host Christmas Walk, kicking off the holiday

Princeton’s Christmas Walk is scheduled this weekend, putting a spotlight on local downtown businesses and kicking off the holiday with seasonal activities.

Stores will be open late to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, and they will have normal business hours Nov. 23-24.

The activities Saturday include the Christkindlmarkt at Open Prairie Church, the annual elf hunt on Main Street, carolers, visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, free trolley rides on Main Street, reindeer food with the Bureau County Farm Bureau, horse drawn carriages, a fresh greenery sale, pottery painting with The Knack, s’mores with the Bureau County Senior Center and Handmade for the Holidays at the Prairie Arts Gallery. Many of those activities will be centered around the Prouty building, 435 S. Main St.

The Princeton Lions Club will be serving complimentary popcorn in exchange for a donation to the Bureau County Food Pantry. The Friends of Strays also will be conducting a bake sale.

The Christkindlmarkt at Open Prairie Church is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the church, 25 E. Marion St., behind the Apollo Theater. Coffee, hot mulled cider, lebkuchen and other German sweets will be sold throughout the day. At 11 a.m., the Market’s Brathaus will begin serving a traditional German lunch, three varieties of soups and mac and cheese. At the Market’s International Cookie Bazaar, shoppers will be able to select from 25 kinds of cookies representing 20 countries. The Princeton High School German Club will sell German Advent calendars.