With faces illuminated by plastic candles, community members waited for the tree lighting ceremony in Independence Park — which reopened in June after two years of renovations — Saturday evening. To the crowd’s surprise, colored lights lit up not the evergreen tree by the entrance — but the sprawling branches of the larger tree behind it.
After the tree lighting, the Frozen Robins Carolers performed in the park, following an afternoon of music in front of various Central Street businesses at the business district’s annual Holiday Stroll.
As community members frequented local businesses, families also took photos with Santa Claus and elves, while others boarded trolley cars with rustic wooden interiors.
Quinn and Frank Sturges were one of those families. They took their kids on the trolley, picked up gingerbread people and got hot chocolate from Backlot Coffee.
The Sturges family was looking forward to their first tree lighting — in past years visiting the Holiday Stroll, they have never been able to stay for the tree lighting, Frank Sturges said.
“The last couple of weeks have been a little rocky here in Evanston, so it’s been nice to see everybody out,” Quinn Sturges said. “Seeing people come out and defend our community has been really pleasant and reassuring that we’re part of a group that cares about each other.”
This was not trolley driver Jerome Lonzo’s first rodeo with the Holiday Stroll. He also drove a trolley car last year.
This year, in light of recent federal immigration agent activity, he came prepared.
“I have my whistle ready and my camera, just in case ICE show(s) up, to help people escape the tyranny,” Lonzo said.
As the evening unfolded, not all conversations focused solely on holiday cheer.
Evanston resident Antwione Haywood said his daughter’s top priorities were taking a picture with Santa and riding the trolley. This year’s event felt more enjoyable, he added, because of the warmer weather and renovated park.
However, the community has felt more on edge recently due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity –– including reported activity near where the trolley route turned at the east end of Central, according to Haywood.
“We’ve lived here and have felt safe and communal over the years, and it seems like a lot of the stuff going on around, like the raids, has been really unnecessary for the community here,” Haywood said. “There’s tons of parks every few blocks with kids and everything, so anytime there’s an incident, typically there’s a lot of caution.”
Still, hundreds of community members attended the stroll, and the increased foot traffic was welcome for local shop owners.
For David and Ramie Gulyas, the owners of Follow Your Nose, a pet supplies store, the event was an opportunity for people to get to know the local businesses — not necessarily to shop. Ramie Gulyas said that business has been difficult since the summer, pointing to the general economic environment, but they had seen a steady stream of people Saturday afternoon.
According to Ramie Gulyas, when tariffs hit and groceries became more expensive, people cut back on purchases.
“All the little extras, people have quit buying. So instead of selling bags of food, or instead of selling beds and toys, people are coming in and buying a single dog chew — small purchases, very small purchases,” Ramie Gulyas said.
Seventh Ward resident Michelle Bezark (TGS Doctorate ’21) said recent ICE incidents — particularly around Halloween — and looming Evanston/Skokie District 65 school closures are on people’s minds. She added that she felt this year’s event was a little quieter than it has been in the past.
As the mother of two daughters attending Kingsley Elementary School, she said there’s a lot of frustration, but wherever her children end up, they’ll be fine.
“I hope events like this remind people what a lovely, walkable community this is,” Bezark said.
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