Local artists and sponsors arrived at the Department of Public Works today, August 27, to pick up fiberglass sculptures for downtown Naperville’s Holiday Snowman/Mama exhibit, attracting a flurry of interest from local merchants, service providers and Realtors.
DPW’s Jim Goschey and Dennis Hinterlong rolled the 65-pound, 4-foot tall snowman-shaped sculptures from the air-conditioned storage room to the sunny garage where folks arrived, one by one, to haul them away to artists’ studios.
According to Katie Wood, Executive Director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance (DNA), who is coordinating the project, 18 sponsors purchased the sculptures and two are pending.
Folks at the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, Naperville Convention and Business Bureau and Edward Hospital as well as owners of Main Street Promenade, restaurants, banks, law firms and Hotel Arista have coordinated with artists to paint the soon-to-be jolly characters in a variety of designs and themes. A local snow removal company also is listed among the sponsors, she said.
“It’s been nearly five years since the Naperville United Way hosted a painted sculpture program, mostly along the Riverwalk and in downtown during the summer,” said Wood. “The DNA intends to bring back the painted sculptures, but during the holiday season and without a fundraising component.”
The Holiday Snowmen will make their debut in downtown Naperville on Fri., Nov. 23, the day after Thanksgiving.
Wood also noted this year’s holiday festivities will be seen in a new light, beginning earlier in November and lasting through New Year’s.
First, instead of waiting until the day after Thanksgiving, the twinkling display of tens of thousands of bright white lights known as downtown’s Grand Illumination will simply suddenly appear in mid-November.
The brilliant scene will set the stage for the arrival and unveiling of the Holiday Snowmen at 20 pre-approved locations throughout downtown on Fril, Nov. 23.
To break tradition, Santa Claus plans to arrive in downtown Naperville at 4:30PM, Sat., Dec. 1, during the Little Friends Electric Light Parade. According to Wood, the parade will follow a new route beginning on Water Street, with a north turn onto Main Street and west on Van Buren.
After the parade, the Riverwalk Santa House will open for the holiday season at Webster and Jackson.
Many other activities and attractions are planned to enhance the dining and shopping experience in downtown Naperville this Hometown Holiday season.
In the meantime, keep tabs on downtown happenings every week where more than 40 restaurants, an array of merchants, the Riverwalk and a theater district at North Central College offer plenty of practical and fashionable reasons to visit.
For information about the availability of one of the remaining sculptures for this year’s Holiday Snowman Display, contact Wood at (630) 544-3372 or kwood@naperville.net or her assistant, Ali Claudon, at aclaudon@naperville.net.
Teke Note of September Annual Attractions in Downtown Naperville
Jaycees Last Fling, Aug. 31-Sept. 3
Riverwalk Fine Art Fair, Sept. 15 & 16