If a little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness, then Northbrook Village Green Park on Nov. 22 was bright with holiday joy at the fourth annual Illuminate Northbrook Hot Cocoa Stroll.
Hot chocolate was sipped and popcorn was distributed from the Sunset Foods red trolley.
Receiving free popcorn were Carol Donahue of Northbrook and children Emily, 6, and Ryan, 4.
Carol Donahue was excited, “just to see the joy and the fun in their eyes, to see the holiday through them,” she said.
The event began at 5:30 p.m. and lights were illuminated with a countdown.
Northbrook School District 28’s children’s choir performed and the village’s Public Works Department, in collaboration with the Northbrook Park District, coordinated the lighting of downtown at 6 p.m. The lighted tunnel over a pathway was popular.
Talia Egger, 4, of Glenview used festive snowflake 3D glasses, which were given away, to see the lights in the pathway light tunnel.
Steve and Julia Egger, Talia’s parents, also made holiday memories as a family with Talia’s sibling Jacob, 18 months.
The Egger family is newer to the North Shore as residents after moving from Chicago’s Bucktown.
“Everybody’s been so welcoming,” Julia Egger said of the Glenbrook community.
Presiding over the countdown was Northbrook Village Trustee Michelle Z. Kohler, who discussed the significance of light after the big moment.
“I think that all of the people of Northbrook are really the light here,” Kohler said.
“It’s a great community, we’re very lucky to be here.”
Donors bringing coats to the “Coat Off Your Back” drive received a collectible 2024 event mug provided by the village.
Rick Rosenfeld of Northbrook, a member of the Rotary Club of Glenview-Sunrise and coordinator of the coat drive, said four local Rotary Clubs took part in the drive, including the Rotary Club of Northbrook, the Rotary Club of Glenview-Sunrise, the Rotary Club of Deerfield and the Rotary Club of Glenview.
A coat, “is like a hug, it’s a great donation,” Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld said this year’s drive has a goal to surpass the approximate 1,800 coats collected last year across the collection map.
Coats are sorted in Deerfield and distributed to northeastern Illinois agencies and recipients. The last collection day is Dec. 15.
“This is the biggest collection spot,” Rosenfeld said of Illuminate Northbrook, with a Nov. 22 collection of at least 200 coats, most of them gently used.
“We check to make sure zippers work, that there’s nothing in pockets, that they’re (coats) good to go,” Rosenfeld said.
Talia Evans of Northbrook, the parent of Payton Evans, 5, a kindergartner, summed the evening up.
“It’s a quintessential Hallmark Northbrook moment,” Evans said.
