There will be nothing small about Elgin’s Small Business Saturday, which starts with the Holiday Cheers Beverage Crawl, ends with the city’s official Christmas tree lighting and offers a few surprises in between. “We have a lot of people who come together with friends and family to make it a social outing,” said Jennifer Fukala, executive director of the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin (DNA). “Now that we’ve been doing this for a few years, it’s built a new tradition in the community.” The beverage crawl, sponsored by DNA and the city of Elgin, will feature more than 20 downtown businesses offering such drinks as peppermint hot cocoa, hot apple pie cider, ponche Navideño, mulled holiday tea and warm Christmas punch from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you fancy more adult fare, some places are offering to add a shot of alcohol for an additional fee. Tickets are in the form of a commemorative Holiday Cheers insulated cup, which can be purchased for $25 online at downtownelgin.com/hollydays and picked up from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the DNA’s dowtown office at 31 S. Grove Ave. One of the stops along the crawl will be Holidays at The Haight: A Makers Market, 166 Symphony Way, where visitors can shop items being sold by 40 local vendors. It’s free and open to everyone, not just those participating in the crawl. Besides beverages, there also will be 19 holiday murals to check out on the windows of local businesses — visitors can vote on their favorites — as well as attractions, activities and sales at the 39 participating businesses. Among them, WRMN Radio is inviting visitors to make Christmas ornaments at their 14-B Douglas Ave. location; Explore Elgin Area is partnering with Anderson’s Humane to showcase available puppies and dogs at 60 S. Grove Ave.; and Voice with Vee Music Studio, 66 S. Grove Ave., is offering Christmas cookie decorating and vendor shopping. Other deals and attractions can be found at www.downtownelgin.com/smallbusinesssaturday. Small Business Saturday was created in 2011 to support and promote local businesses on the busiest shopping weekend of the year. Among the participating stores are Meraki Market Hub, 66 S. Grove Ave.; Whatnots & Whimsies, 211 E. Chicago St.; Zooxae, 222 Dundee Ave.; Rediscover Records, 9 N. Spring St.; Steep N’ Clay, 8 Douglas Ave.; State Street Market Shops, 701 N. State St.; and Funky Rooster, 73 S. Grove St. Side Street Studio Arts is hosting an open house at its new location, 63 S. Grove Ave., and Santa will be on hand from noon to 4 p.m. for photos at Inspire Realty, 111 Douglas Ave. All restaurants downtown will be open, Fukala said. Many are selling gift cards. DNA also plans to unveil it new downtown Elgin logo, which should help build awareness of the many businesses in the area, Fukala said. There’s also Elgin-related merchandise — T-shirts and other attire, baseball caps, coffee mugs, pins, water bottles and other items — for sale at DNA’s website, www.downtownelgin.com/shop. At 5 p.m., the city of Elgin will hold its annual tree lighting ceremony in Festival Park. Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain, Elgin City Council members and Santa will be among those in attendance. Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
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