The Central Evanston Business Association (CEBA) is hosting its first holiday festival and tree lighting ceremony from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at Church Street and Dodge Avenue.
For the past four years, without much hoopla, CEBA has adorned Church and Dodge with a Christmas tree, said CEBA president Gigi Giles, the owner of Ebony Barber Shop Evanston.
The business association was thrilled by the success of its first small tree lighting ceremony last year, Giles said. So this year the business association is turning the holiday cheer up a notch.
“The tree lighting was so amazing that we decided to put a celebration around it and make it more festive,” said Wendy Weaver, a member of CEBA and co-owner of C&W Market and Ice Cream Parlor.
The Fifth Ward community as well as the rest of Evanston are invited to celebrate the holiday season alongside CEBA, Fifth Ward businesses and six retail vendors. Local businesses will be giving away free food and drinks at the event, which comes just in time for holiday shopping.
Guests are encouraged to bring their own ornaments to decorate the community tree. There will also be an ornament-making station so the festivalgoers can create decorations on the spot.
The Evanston Township High School choir will be singing Christmas carols for the crowd too.
CEBA has been collecting toys for several weeks in preparation for its toy giveaway for children in the community.
“Events like these make us feel safer, more connected and generally more positive about the state of the city,” said Council Member Bobby Burns, 5th Ward. “They lift our spirits and give us hope for even better days in the months ahead.”
CEBA came together eight or nine years ago to uplift the Fifth Ward, Giles said. The business association helps coordinate outreach and infrastructure improvements for the ward and partners with the City of Evanston.
“We got together and started looking around at our area and noticed that we were missing a few things,” Giles said. “We just want our area to be beautified just as well, and for us to do that, we have to come together as one to make it happen.”