We enjoy the Lighting of the Square to kick off Christmas in Woodstock. We made a night of it. First we ate dinner at the always-delicious Pirro’s. Then, with winter coats and gloves on we took a stroll around the Square stopping in a few stores: Cobblestones, Read Between the Lynes and Starbucks. We spent a little time sitting and drinking our mochas/hot chocolates and watching the horse and carriage riders and the swelling crowd. Making our way around we then spent a bunch of time just watching the model trains in the front of La Petite Creperie.
Finally we made it onto the Square to sing Christmas Carols along with the Woodstock City Choir and the thousands who had gathered. Thirty minutes later Santa said something Christmas-y and Miss Woodstock threw a big switch and the Square lit up. Buildings outlined. Trees coated. A beautiful sight and cheers from the crowd. A few more songs capped off the night for our family and we went home with a song on our lips.
Got a Victorian Christmas schedule of events for Woodstock at Read Between the Lynes. The card is really well done and the schedule is also found at the Chamber of Commerce site. I posted it below.
How will you be enjoying our great city this holiday season? We get both free things to enjoy and opportunities to support local retailers. So much to enjoy!
OPEN HOUSE AT SELECT RETAILERS
Saturday & Sunday, November 21 & 22
Start your holiday shopping early!
A WEEK OF HOLIDAY SHOPPING & FAMILY FUN
November 23 – November 27
Enjoy late-night shopping!
LIGHTING OF THE SQUARE
Friday, November 27, Festivities begin at 6:30pm
This annual event is fun for the entire family, including a special visit by Santa himself! Enjoy cozy carriage rides all weekend, live entertainment and late-night shopping & dining. Delight in the warm glow of lights, decorated trees and the wonderful aroma of roasted chestnuts. Be a part of our Woodstock winter tradition!
THE DICKENS CAROLERS
Saturday, November 28, 2:00 – 5:00pm
This festive group will stroll the Square singing traditional carols and contemporary songs of holiday cheer.
SANTA & HIS REINDEER
Saturday, November 28, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Santa’s bringing some of his helpers … Come see the magic of the holidays through your kids’ eyes!
CHRISTMAS PARADE AROUND THE SQUARE
Sunday, November 29, 2:00pm
Be sure to stop for milk & cookies with Santa after the parade!
LADIES NIGHT OUT
Thursday, December 3, 5:00 – 10:00pm
By offering special items for gift-giving and entertaining, Woodstock retailers once again salute the women who bring the holiday season home to friends & family.
TREE OF LIGHTS
Sunday, December 6th, 4:00 – 6:00pm
Presented by Woodstock Hospice at the Old Courthouse Arts Gallery.
THE WAVERLY HOLIDAY FIZZ
Thursday, December 10, 7:00 – 10:30pm
Join the holiday crowd at Woodstock’s beautiful ballroom for an evening of music, dancing, food and friends.
KIDS HOLIDAY FUN
Saturday, December 12, 10:00 – 5:00pm
Jingle all the way down to the Square for an afternoon geared for your kids. Visit participating stores for activities.
AUNT HOLLY
Sunday, December 13 & Saturday, December 19, 12:00 – 2:00pm
Join Aunt Holly reading Christmas stories in her rocking chair to children at the Stage Left Café in the Opera House.
CARRIAGE RIDES
Friday & Saturday, November 27 & 28, 12:00 – 6:00pm
Sunday, November 29, 12:00 – 4:00pm
Fridays, December 4, 11 & 18, 4:00 – 8:00pm
Saturdays, December 5, 12 & 19, 3:00 – 7:00pm
Sundays, December 6, 13 & 20, 12:00 – 4:00pm
SANTA’S HUT
Saturday, November 28, 1:00 – 3:00pm
December 9 – December 23,
Monday – Friday 5:00 – 7:30pm
Saturdays & Sundays 2:00 – 5:30pm
(SPONSORED IN PART BY The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Industry)
Would love you to join with us in supporting the Got Hope Benefit at the Waverly House ballroom & Oddfellows Tavern on October 10th. From the Got Hope Benefit website…
On July 29, 2009, twelve year old Hope Fuller was diagnosed with Stage 4 Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, a very aggressive tumor.
Hope Fuller is the daughter of Deb & Jay and the sister of JD. She loves swimming, acting, running, shopping and music (especially Taylor Swift). She is involved with school band playing the saxophone. She is an accomplished singer in her hometown’s “Youth Chorale” and is in her school’s choir.
This past year Hope joined the cross country and track teams at school, following in her brother’s footsteps. Hope also has a great passion for food and if you didn’t know better, you’d think she was Italian. Pasta or anything with noodles is what she would prefer for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
“Sauce on the side, please.”
Buy your tickets today and join us on October 10th for a lot of fun at the Waverly House and a lot of benefit for someone in need. If you can’t go, you can donate here.
A main goal of this website is to point to the great stuff happening while living in Woodstock, IL. While I talk a lot about my experiences living here, I don’t talk all that much about what I do as a pastor. I’m going to make an exception for this post because at the heart of who I am and what I do is the church I serve. And we are here for the good of Woodstock and McHenry County.
I’m the pastor of Doxa Fellowship, a church in Woodstock – on mission in McHenry County. This Sunday, August 30th, is Doxa’s first “Pack-the-Place” worship service.
While our worship services are always open to the public, we are holding occasional services geared to introduce you to Doxa, our message and mission. Our hope is that we get many guests for these special Sundays. As I’ve mentioned here before, we are also now meeting in the beautiful and historic Waverly House in downtown Woodstock and are excited for our friends and neighbors to experience this beautiful place.
Join us this Sunday morning at 10:30am and find out what Doxa is all about as we seek to be a church for the glory of God and the good of Woodstock and McHenry County. I hope we will
see you there!
Where: Waverly House ballroom (3rd floor. Main entrance on Main Street, across from Woodstock movie theater. Use Benton Street entrance for elevator.) (MAP) When: Sunday, August 30th at 10:30am More Info: doxafellowship@gmail.com
It was a great Little League season for my boy, Elijah. I have some baseball photos including the 9 year old all-star team (he made the team but couldn’t play because he’s too young) and the 7-8 year old all-star team (he played on this team). Photography has been a very cool way to capture some of the summer fun found while living in Woodstock, Illinois.
A few weeks ago my church, Doxa Fellowship, started meeting for Sunday morning worship at the Waverly House in downtown Woodstock. The Waverly house has an interesting 150 history and a few years ago was beautifully restored to its classic look.
The first floor of the Waverly is OddFellows, a place to eat, drink and gather. I talked about it in my last post. The second floor includes a handful of offices. The third floor is where we meet for worship, the Waverly ballroom. From the Waverly House website…
If you are looking for a unique and timeless venue to host your wedding reception, rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, brunch, corporate function or birthday party, the Waverly Ballroom is an exceptional choice. The Waverly’s classic interior and charming location make it a natural choice for any special event.
Located just steps from the idyllic Woodstock Square, the Waverly Ballroom is a unique setting for your event. Each season on the square is stunning, from long summer days, to the brightly lit trees in the picturesque winter. The Woodstock Town Square is a perfect backdrop for timeless photographs or for your guests to take a relaxing stroll prior to enjoying your event
I just wanted to take this opportunity to encourage you to use this great facility for an event. We are very thankful for the way our music sounds on Sunday mornings. It’s a beautiful space, and another great place to enjoy living in Woodstock, Illinois.
OddFellows is a wonderful new bar/tavern in downtown Woodstock. I’ve had a handful of conversations with Bill, Dawn and Ryan over the past few weeks as my church (Doxa Fellowship) has moved Sunday morning worship to the ballroom at the Waverly House and OddFellows has been getting close to opening on the first floor of the Waverly House. I really like these guys.
So when we found out the first day OddFellows was open to the public would be tonight I had to put it on the calendar and run down with my wife for a drink, peanuts and the Cubs. Except for the Cubs playing like the Cubs it was a very enjoyable hour of our lives.
You may have already noticed OddFellows as the new place coming into the Waverly Gold Note Lounge building. You may have noticed it because of the beautiful open windows right across from the Woodstock Movie Theater. The other things you will notice when you try out OddFellows is the very cool 1914 bar, a big gold cash register, a handful of signature drinks in big mason jars, all-you-can-munch peanuts, free bar shuffle board, two stages for seating or live music, darts, a handful of flat screen TV’s, and more. We sat at the bar and talked with friends who passed by and had a great time.
While the food part of OddFellows isn’t up and running just yet, you can enjoy a drink with friends next time you are out. In a few weeks they expect to have some late night food selections. And it sounds like around Labor Day they hope to have the full restaurant open.
I think OddFellows will prove to be a great addition to living in Woodstock, Illinois. Hope to see you there!
Our family always enjoys Fair Diddley, which was last Sunday here in Woodstock. I’m always surprised to find Woodstockians who either don’t know about this great event or don’t care to go. For my family it’s great fun and a great way to enjoy the beauty of our downtown Square. This year we came home with two large bags of kettle corn, some really delicious toffee, and a fine writing instrument for my beautiful wife.
Let’s take advantage of the warm weather these next few months and enjoy living in Woodstock, Illinois. Make your way to the Farmer’s Market. Sit along the route of the Memorial Day parade (I’ll be walking with the Little Leaguers). Take a look at the Community Calendar and put a few events on your calendar.
It’s tough this year to not be a coach of my son’s team (though I help out). I volunteered to coach, but our team already had enough! Pretty cool. It has given me the opportunity to see the games a little more from a parent’s point of view, and that’s a good thing. Little League opening ceremonies were Saturday and we’ve played two games so far. The pictures are from that event. I should add that the new Merryman Fields at the Woodstock North High School are just great.
We have a good Little League system in Woodstock with caring volunteer leaders and coaches. I know it isn’t perfect, but it’s good. And it’s always a joy to meet new kids and parents and develop new friendships. Hopefully some of the cold spring days are passing us by and warmer, dryer days will win out as we enjoy another great Little League Season. Get more info at WoodstockLittleLeague.com.
We enjoy the Lighting of the Square to kick off Christmas in Woodstock. We made a night of it. First we ate dinner at the always-delicious Pirro’s. Then, with winter coats and gloves on we took a stroll around the Square stopping in a few stores: Cobblestones, Read Between the Lynes and Starbucks. We spent a little time sitting and drinking our mochas/hot chocolates and watching the horse and carriage riders and the swelling crowd. Making our way around we then spent a bunch of time just watching the model trains in the front of La Petite Creperie. 
