June 2, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Willowdale Winter Wonderland to open tonight

The Willowdale subdivision north of St. Joseph has created a winter wonderland.


Resident Lacey Smith organized the multi-night event which features more than 20 homes decorated in Christmas lights.

The event starts Dec. 10.


“I love Christmas,” she said. “And we have a fantastic neighborhood.”


When Smith moved to Willowdale in 2015, she heard the neighborhood used to decorate for Christmas quite a bit.


“The idea just popped in my head that one day I would like to organize this for the community,” she said. “In the fall of 2019 we had some neighbors over for a bonfire and I casually brought the idea up. Everyone was interested and plans began to form for Willowdale Winter Wonderland.”


Smith said the event has brought the neighborhood together.

“It’s been a fun way to connect as a neighborhood-planning out what lights we want to put out and comparing ideas,” she said.


The subdivision includes everything from a lighted kickball field to lots of Santas and Snowmen.


“It looks really cool,” Smith said. “You can feel the excitement in the air among the neighbors. As we’ve been decorating, lots of people have been out walking and checking out one another’s displays, it’s been really fun to do this together as a neighborhood.”


Smith said many in the neighborhood are making plans for how they want to change their displays next year.

“Many of us are making plans for how we want to make this bigger and better next year,” she said. “We plan to hit up the after Christmas sales for more decorations, that’s for sure.”

The decorations will be on through Jan. 1.

Banner
Related Posts

Athletic complex to be dedicated tonight

April 16, 2021

April 16, 2021

 The St. Joseph-Ogden School District will honor Glenn Fisher tonight.The district voted in June 2020 to name the athletic complex...

Wagners celebrate 15 years and community support

September 29, 2022

September 29, 2022

In October 2007, Jim and Jen Wagner decided to take a leap of faith. They opened their own business Wagner...

‘Helping them reach their potential is humbling and rewarding at the same time’

January 26, 2023

January 26, 2023

A performance today will culminate one of the most powerful artistic and personal experiences Justin Lee has had in his...

Weekend Family Fun Guide March 29-March 31

March 29, 2019

March 29, 2019

March 29Royal Community Garage Sale 5-8 p.m. Royal Community Building 103 Park St. Royal, IL 61871 Over 5,000 square feet...

Pageant currently accepting applications

March 31, 2021

March 31, 2021

The Champaign County Fair Queen Pageant is now accepting applications.  The pageant will be held July 18 at 2 p.m....

Wentzloff brings Lurch to life in Addams Family

April 3, 2022

April 3, 2022

Lili Wentzloff knows how to portray a character with few words. She is portraying Lurch, the butler of the creepy...

Author to host talk at library

March 5, 2019

March 5, 2019

On Saturday, March 9th at 1 p.m. Maureen Hughes will be at the St. Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, 201 N....

Mayor asks residents to decorate windows, sidewalks

March 30, 2020

March 30, 2020

The St. Joseph Record and Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges are asking village residents to decorate their front windows, driveways or sidewalks....

Plotner scholarship event moved to Middle School

October 25, 2019

October 25, 2019

Forecasted rain may be changing the location but it won’t change the intent of the Haunted Halloween event on Saturday....

Talk of the Town… Jim and Jen Wagner

August 6, 2019

August 6, 2019

Every week we ask a village resident or official three questions. This week we spoke to Jim and Jen Wagner...

CU Feed the Need to distribute food this week

August 26, 2020

August 26, 2020

CU Feed the need has even more food to distribute this week thanks to the St. Joseph Food Pantry. The...

Around town Jan. 28-Feb. 2

January 28, 2019

January 28, 2019

If you want your event included please email us at stjosephrecord@gmail.com Jan. 28-31Used book saleSt. Joseph Township Library, 201 N...

Short hopes to light up St. Joseph

December 8, 2020

December 8, 2020

Audrey Short wants to light up St. Joseph for Christmas. Short is urging the community to take part in a...

Weekend family fun guide for Feb.8-10

February 7, 2019

February 7, 2019

Need something to do with the family to beat the winter blues? Here are our weekend picks for family fun....

Orr to celebrate 100th birthday with parade today

April 20, 2021

April 20, 2021

St. Joseph resident Audrey Orr is turning 100. To celebrate her family has organized a birthday parade for noon today....

Comments
Leave a Reply