Dickens in Dundee still a go

Good thing the Dickens in Dundee festival has a history and doesn't cost much to put on; if it didn't, its future may have been in trouble this year.

Its demise would have come as a result of a lack of volunteers, said West Dundee Village manager Joe Cavallaro. His bosses, village trustees, pay for the two-day December festival, and give his the job of making sure it's held with as few problems as possible.

This year, the first problem was finding people to help coordinate such events as the holiday parade, craft fair, living shop windows display and carriage rides.

"After always volunteering for Dickens and Heritage Fest (in September) the same people who always volunteer as organizers get burned out," Cavallaro said.

"We were lucky this year. We put out a call for new volunteers and people came forward. I never doubted they wouldn't.

"People look forward to the Dickens festival. It's too important to let it go."

A dozen West Dundee residents are planning the Dec. 5 and 6 party. They are working with a $4,000 budget, $2,000 less than last year, but that should be enough money to keep its tradition going.

Tim Haley volunteered because his job on the committee is simple, he said. He's planning the parade.

"This is the third year I've planned the parade, there's really not much to do," he said. "I send out e-mails to local groups that have marched in it before and ask other groups if they want to participate."

Those electronic invitations will be going out this week. Other groups or people who want to march in the 10 a.m. parade on Dec. 6 should contact Haley at (847) 428 5849 or go to the village's Web site on the Internet at www.wdundee.org.

He expects 40 units to march with Santa from the West Dundee village hall, along Route 72 to Max Freeman Park in East Dundee. Some of them will be the Shriners, local Boy Scout troops, police and firefighters and the leaders of East and West Dundee and Carpentersville.

The deadline to register for the parade is Nov. 27.

Becky Gillam volunteered to help organize Dickens because she's worked as a community organizer in the past.

"I was with the Palatine Jaycees for years and I know community support is important for a lot of things," she said. "For the Dickens in Dundee festival I'm organizing the craft events. "

Like the parade, those events, such at the gingerbread house-making party for children, have been held for years. They started when the Dundee Jaycees organized and sponsored Dickens in Dundee more than a decade ago.

Village trustees began sponsoring it after the local Jaycees disbanded.

Not much has changed in the festival, but it's still being held, which is an accomplishment in itself, Cavallaro said.

"Dickens has become an important part of Dundee Township," he said. "It's not as big as Heritage Fest (which West Dundee also sponsors), but it still draws attention to the Dundee villages."

For more information about the festival, call the West Dundee village hall at (847) 551-3800.