Without the Central Avenue Carousel, Highland Park's Holidays Run on a Calendar

In late September, signs went up in front of a row of storefronts on Central Avenue. They said the fountains, the carousel, the lights and the "mosaic holiday tree" were all free to anyone who called. The Record North Shore reported that the City later took the signs down under a rule against private signage on public property. By then, landlord Larry Hillman said, the carousel, the giraffe, three fountains, four mosaic panels and the mosaic fountain had already been given away.

The holiday season starts this month, and the block between First Street and Green Bay Road won't look the way it has. For years the downtown holidays partly came from one property owner's displays, running on his buildings' electricity. This year they come from the City, the Park District, the Ravinia District and Ravinia Festival, each on a fixed date. Most of those dates fall in a stretch of about two weeks, and one Saturday carries more than its share.

What came off the sidewalk, and the electricity question behind it

The City started maintenance in the public right of way on Central Avenue on Sept. 21. The work included removing two trees and five stumps, repairing a water line and planting a new tree. Everything that sat in the right of way had to come out for the work: the carousel, fountains, lights, the mosaic holiday tree, stained glass panels, Pegasus sculptures and more.

The question of whether the pieces come back turned on power. Hillman told The Record he had powered the items from his own buildings "for the past 20 years" and had asked the City to help. City Manager Ghida Neukirch said the only power the City has there is the streetlight circuit, and it can't run the streetlights, the holiday lights and the decor all at once. City officials said the items could go back after the maintenance. Hillman said he planned to keep giving them away.

Neukirch also spoke well of the work Hillman had put into the block:

"All of his investment in the public right of way have unquestionably added to the vibrancy and vitality of the downtown district."

The Record reported that Hillman put more than $40,000 into the items. That's the scale of what the block is losing. And because those displays stayed up all season, Central Avenue looked like the holidays on any afternoon. What's replacing them mostly happens on a set day.

What the City is putting on Central Avenue instead

The City's plan, as The Record reported it, is evergreen boughs in planters in November and perennials in the spring, plus repairs to holiday lights where needed. The goal was to have "everything ready" for the season. The photo running with that story shows a crew stringing holiday lights on Central Avenue where the carousel used to be.

The biggest City-run piece is the 2026 Holiday Lighting on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Port Clinton Square, 600 Central Ave. The program has DJ Julian, the Frozen Robins Carolers, Time To Dance, the Highland Park High School Choir, Santa and Hanukkah Harry, and free popcorn and hot cocoa. Photo spots include the menorah, an archway, a giant sleigh, an inflatable snow globe and a new America250 tree.

The City also lists a few additions for 2026. Olaf joins Anna and Elsa. Santa will hand out candy canes, and Hanukkah Harry will hand out gelt from Dynasty Coins, Jewelry, & Collectibles. Kids can write letters to the North Pole at a station run by Bright Bowls. Two local businesses are paying for parts of the evening, so some of the private support that used to show up on the sidewalk now shows up inside the City's event.

Getting there, per the City's event page:

• Parking: the garage under Port Clinton Square, the two-level deck south of Central at First and St. Johns, and the large lot at 525 Central Ave.
• Metra: take the UP-N to Highland Park station, a four-minute walk away.
• Pace: Route 472 stops at St. Johns and Central, a five-minute walk.
• Bike: the Robert McClory Bike Trail runs along St. Johns Avenue, with racks nearby.

Ravinia's winter series runs in one hall

Ravinia Festival has a renovation of its own on the schedule. Its oldest building, the 1904 Martin Theatre, closed after Jacob Collier's Sept. 23 show. WBEZ reported that the first phase of construction was set to begin in October. Work pauses for performances during the 2027 season, resumes after it, and the theater reopens to the public in 2028. The Record put the gift at $38 million, from the Negaunee Foundation. It's the largest donation in Ravinia's history, and the work is planned to finish by July 2028.

With the 850-seat Martin dark, Ravinia's December season runs in Bennett Gordon Hall at the south end of the park. It's a 450-seat recital hall that opened in 1988 and is Ravinia's year-round venue. Ravinia's current events calendar lists five Winter Weekend Series concerts there on five nights in a row:

Bennett Gordon Hall is already on the list for later work. Both WBEZ and The Record name it, along with the outdoor Carousel Stage, as future phases of Ravinia's Setting the Stages campaign. For now it's the one indoor stage hosting the festival's holiday music.

December 5 has the most going on

Look at the calendars together and one date has more on it than any other. On Saturday, Dec. 5, the City, the Park District and Ravinia all have events, in three parts of town, at times that don't overlap:

1. 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: the Ravinia District Cookie & Cocoa Crawl starts at Jens Jensen Park, 540 Roger Williams Ave. The City and the property owners of Ravinia District SSA 17 present it, and the City says more details are coming.
2. 2 to 5 p.m.: the Park District of Highland Park's Winter Wonderland at West Ridge Community Center, 636 Ridge Road, with a Hanukkah-themed craft, photos with Santa and a trolley ride.
3. Evening: A Merry Christmas with Brass, with the Dallas Brass at Bennett Gordon Hall.

The Ravinia District crawl and the Ravinia concert are on the same date, so the neighborhood around Roger Williams Avenue has something at both ends of that Saturday.

After the 5th, the season spreads out

After the first week of December, things move outdoors and to the west side of town. Here's what the Park District has scheduled.

The free Great Ornament Hunt runs at Heller Nature Center, 2821 Ridge Road, from Dec. 19 through Jan. 4. That covers both school breaks and New Year's Day.

For skating, the Park District says two outdoor refrigerated rinks at Glencoe's Weinberg Family Recreation Center, 305 Randolph St., are scheduled to run Nov. 27 through Feb. 28, with season passes at the Highland Park resident rate. Sunset Woods Park at 1801 Sunset Road has free open skating once the weather and ground frost allow, so its start date depends on the winter.

Back on Central Avenue, there's one new indoor stop this year, a block from Port Clinton Square. Central Brick Society opened at 461 Central Ave. with a grand opening on Oct. 24. It's a LEGO-focused creative studio and social club started by co-owners Lisa Sanders and Alyssa Pollack. The Record described a character workshop for designing a custom minifigure and trading card, a brick bar where visitors pick out pieces to take home, and timed group challenges. Drop-ins can stay as long as they like, and members get perks. On a cold Saturday after the Holiday Lighting, it's a new place on Central Avenue to go indoors and spend time.

Local displays and the people who keep them up are part of what a downtown is like to live near, and the same goes for its holiday calendar. If you're thinking about how your own home fits into Highland Park this season, the team at Abbie Homes Group is glad to talk it through over hot cocoa at Port Clinton Square or anywhere else downtown. When you're ready, Request Your Home Valuation.