Your Guide To Geneva’s Christmas Walk Weekend

GENEVA, IL – Geneva will ring in the season in style during this weekend’s Christmas Walk. Among the highlights of the weekend, which gets underway Friday and continues through Sunday, is the arrival of Santa Claus and the lighting of the great tree in downtown Geneva, a live nativity, strolling carolers, the holiday house tour, steeple walk and a candy cane parade. We’ve highlighted some of the events worth checking out below.

You can view the full schedule of events on the Geneva Chamber of Commerce’s website.

Holiday House Tour

Geneva's annual Holiday House Tour features five architecturally unique homes decked with boughs of holly and festive Christmas décor. Aglow with holiday spirit, you are sure to be inspired by the decorative holiday style. The homes are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Tickets are $35 each and include a traditional holiday tea at the First Congregational Church, 327 Hamilton Street.

Homes on this year’s tour include:

• The home of Jon and Chris Barr, 228 N. Fourth Street. Settled amid towering trees, this 1912 Historic National Register home was built by well-known local artisan Oscar Wilson for his family of eight. While over 100 years old, this historic gem has had only four families call it home. In 2007, extensive renovations were done to return the Craftsman bungalow to its original grandeur. The home was festively decorated by The Little Traveler.

• The home of Carmi and Ed Bonifas, 563 Creekside Drive. Double doors open to the spacious French cottage style home located on a quiet cul-de-sac. Built in 2000, the current family chose SG Geneva to decorate the interior and beautify the exterior. Plandscape, Inc also helped with decoratsion with contributions from All Chocolate Kitchen. The landscaping reflects an Italian garden, while the inside combines furnishings from multiple European countries.
• The home of Mindy and Dan DeVito, 1309 Cooper Lane. Built in 2017 by Havlicek Builders, this home is not only the newest on the house tour, but is the first home in Cooper Woods. Overlooking the 3rd hole, the views from the expansive windows are of a winter wonderland while the interior brims with fresh greens and abundance of holiday spirit. The home was festively decorated by Heinz Brothers Greenhouse Garden Center
• The home of Jim and Kathy Coe Mizgalski, 426 Maple Lane. Built in 1958, this lovely home is part of the Cherie Sansone subdivision, one of the oldest in Geneva. The homeowners have blended new additions with the original architecture, creating an eclectic style. Staying true to the original 50s design, new windows and most of the wood trim and crown molding have been updated. The home was festively decorated by bb Interiors, Avant Gardenia and Neri Landscape.

• The Santacaterina Family Home, 616 Fulton Street. Relaxing and welcoming describes this brick and cedar home built in 1988. With the assistance of Havlicek Builders, the second owners have made it their own by opening walls and creating spaces well-suited to their large family. Our decorators have created a wintery white wedding at this house. Festively decorated by Gatherings By Design and Plandscape, Inc. with contributors Cocoon and Midwest Fun Factory.

More via the Geneva Chamber of Commerce website.

Graham’s Candy Cane Parade, Friday Evening Festivities

The parade steps off at 6 p.m. from 318 Coffeehouse, 318 S. Third Street, and kicks off the Christmas Walk evening. There will be over 90 bell ringers and 15-foot soldier marionettes falling in line behind the trumpeters dressed in full regalia with Herald trumpets. Graham’s Fine Chocolates will present the first candy cane to Mayor Kevin Burns. In addition, the lighting of the great tree in downtown Geneva will take place Friday evening and Santa Claus will be on hand. The evening will continue with roasted chestnuts, strolling carolers and a live nativity.

More via the Geneva Christmas Walk schedule of events website.

Carriage Rides

Bundle up and take a festive carriage ride through historic downtown Geneva. Complimentary carriage rides are courtesy of Shodeen Homes and are available from 1 to 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday starting on Dec. 8 and continuing through Dec. 23. Rides begin at the corner of South Third and James Streets.

Visit Santa’s Workshop

Santa Claus is coming to town. And you can visit with him at Santa’s House, starting on Dec. 7 when he arrives downtown. His house will be open Fridays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 4 p.m. through Dec. 23. Santa’s House will also be open on Dec. 20 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Four Church Steeple Walk

Geneva's weekend of holiday magic is capped off with the Steeple Walk, greeting patrons with a variety of seasonal concerts at four local churches. Presented by the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission, the 10th annual event will take place from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9, according to a news release.

Two audience groups will attend 20-minute concerts played simultaneously at the United Methodist Church of Geneva, 211 Hamilton St.; and Geneva Lutheran Church, 301 S. Third St. Following the performances, the groups will switch venues to enjoy the other concert.

Patrons will then walk to the final performances – and similar rotation format – at both the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, 102 S. Second St.; and First Church of Christ, Scientist, 111 S. Second St.

A Steeple Walk guide escorts the groups to the next church, all within easy walking distance, and shares information about the architecture of each site.

Artists performing at each church include:

United Methodist Church

Geneva Jazz's ensemble celebrates the best of the big band tradition that has entertained crowds of all ages. The group's high-energy performances have been showcased locally at Festival of the Vine and the Geneva Commons' Summer Concert Series.

Geneva Lutheran Church

The Batavia High School Chromatics, an a capella ensemble, have received acclamations for its shows, including singing at the Batavia Fine Arts Festival and on WLS-AM 890. The group has a similar music style to Pentatonix, Home Free, the Real Group, Manhattan Transfer and New York voices.

Unitarian Universalist Society

The Cynthia Spiegel Trio will delight the audience via violin, piano and soprano. Cynthia has sung with the St. Charles singers since 2001 and earned her bachelor's degree in piano pedagogy. She continues her love of church music as a part-time choir director at Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva.

First Church of Christ, Scientist

Popular in both the Tri-Cities and the east coast, the Brown-Eakley Duo will greet patrons with holiday favorites via guitar and violin. The duo consists of Kevin Brown and Colleen Eakley.
Steeple Walk tickets cost $15 per person and are available for purchase on the City's website; the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, 8 S. Third St.; Circa, 123 S. Third St.; and City Hall, 22 S. First St. through Friday, Dec. 7.

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