Downtown Downers Grove's Holiday Season, From the Thanksgiving 5K to the Last Candy Cane Cash Receipt

Downtown Downers Grove's holiday calendar runs from Thanksgiving morning to New Year's Eve, but most of it happens in the first four days. Between Thursday, November 26 and Sunday, November 29, downtown hosts the Grove Express 5K, the Village tree lighting, Small Business Saturday, the first Santa weekend and the season's only horse-drawn wagonette ride. The Candy Cane Cash rewards period opens that Friday too, and its pool is capped.

Because of that cap, the season favors anyone who starts early. Here is how it unfolds, starting with the morning Main Street closes.

Thanksgiving Morning Belongs to the Grove Express

The Grove Express 5K starts at 8:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day at Main and Grove Streets. The course is certified and runs through downtown and the center of the Village. The start-line program begins at 8 a.m. After the race, an Après Run party starts at the parking garage at 8:45 a.m., and streets begin reopening at 9:30 a.m.

If you're driving downtown that morning for any reason, the closures matter more than the start time. The organizers' course information page lists these closures, which they say may be updated closer to race day:

• Streets along the course can begin closing as early as 6:15 a.m.
• Main Street closes between the tracks and 55th Street by 7 a.m.
• The BNSF crossings at Washington, Main and Forest close to vehicles by 7 a.m. The Maple Avenue crossing stays open throughout the race.
• The parking deck stays open until 8 a.m. and can be reached only from Washington Street. Between 7 and 8 a.m., the route in is westbound Maple Avenue, then northbound Washington Street.

Designated parking includes the commuter lots north and south of the tracks, the library lot, Village Hall and the parking deck, plus on-street parking outside the course. Organizers encourage participants to walk, bike or use rideshare because parking will be in high demand.

RunSignup's early rate of $35 plus a $3.10 processing fee ran through November 2. Registration from November 3 on costs $45 plus a $3.70 fee. Proceeds and direct donations support local educational initiatives, youth programs and scholarships, and the race names District 58 and District 99 as beneficiaries.

Under the Village's parking rules, permit and fee spaces are free on Thanksgiving Day and the day after. Those are the race day and the tree-lighting day, the two busiest downtown days of the opening weekend.

Friday at 4:30, a Tree Decorated by Residents

The Main Street Tree Lighting takes place Friday, November 27 at 4:30 p.m. at the Main Street Train Station. According to the Downtown Downers Grove Management Corp., Santa helps light a tree decorated with ornaments made by the community.

Those ornaments come from residents, businesses and community groups, and you can still add one. The Village's guidelines:

1. Ornaments must be at least 8 inches in diameter and made of weatherproof material.
2. Avoid sharp edges, pointy ends and heavy materials.
3. Attach a looped hanging string 10 to 12 feet long.
4. Ornaments are not returned.

Drop off ornaments with the Village's ornament form at Public Works, 5101 Walnut Avenue, by Friday, November 20. Public Works is open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

How the Candy Cane Cash Math Works

Candy Cane Cash runs November 27 through December 31, 2026. The Downtown Downers Grove Management Corp. rules are short:

Email receipts to [email protected], or bring them to the Downtown Management office at 933A Curtiss Street, Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The program limit decides who gets rewarded. A $4,000 pool works out to 400 certificates. Each one requires at least $100 in receipts, so the full pool corresponds to at least $40,000 of downtown spending. At five certificates per household, as few as 80 households could use it up. If the limit is reached before December 31, the DMC says it will post that on its website and social media.

The dining-plus-retail requirement also shapes how a qualifying set comes together. Dinner out, one gift and a coffee would do it, and Thanksgiving weekend makes that easy. The program opens the same Friday as the tree lighting, and Small Business Saturday follows the next day from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. With certificates good through February 28, 2027, rewards earned in the opening days can carry well into the slow weeks after the holidays.

Curtiss Street Is Where the Season Happens

Most of the season's events sit on a short stretch near Main and Curtiss.

Santa's House is at the corner of Main and Curtiss. Visits are free on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. through December 20. The complimentary horse-drawn wagonette ride runs one afternoon only, Sunday, November 29, from 1 to 4 p.m., boarding at 1028 Curtiss Street. The DMC office that takes Candy Cane Cash receipts is down the street at 933A Curtiss.

Here is the full weekend calendar from the DMC's 2026 schedule:

Strolling carolers will also be out downtown, and the DMC has posted their schedule. There's a holiday scavenger hunt too, with a printable sheet on the DMC's kickoff page. Public voting in the Holiday Window Display Contest runs November 27 through December 13, so the shop windows on these blocks are part of the event.

The Second Half Moves to Weeknights

After Thanksgiving weekend, the calendar gets lighter. Santa's House stays open on weekend afternoons, but the main event left after opening weekend is on a Thursday evening. Merry Madness is Thursday, December 10, from 5 to 8 p.m., and the DMC describes it as an evening of shopping, dining and festive activities. Since it falls inside the Candy Cane Cash period, receipts from that night count toward a certificate.

Window contest voting ends that weekend, on December 13. The last Santa weekend is December 19 and 20. Village permit and fee parking is free again on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

One addition is on the way at 4917 Main Street in the Domain on Main development. Patch reported in late October that Oakwood Construction Services was in the rough construction phase on a 1,550-square-foot MilkShake Factory, the chain's first Illinois location. Its menu covers classic, signature, gourmet and seasonal shakes, nondairy options and an onsite chocolate bar. Oakwood president Troy Riley told Patch, "Downers Grove has a great sense of community, and it's exciting to see continued investment in our downtown."

For anyone collecting receipts, the dates that matter are November 20 for ornaments, the four days starting November 26, and December 31 for Candy Cane Cash, if the pool lasts that long.

Our office is in downtown Downers Grove, so these are our blocks too. If you're thinking about how downtown's year-round calendar affects what a home near Main Street is worth, Wenzel Select Properties can talk it through with you. Request a personalized consultation, and we'll go over it with you, maybe over coffee from one of the shops on your Candy Cane Cash receipts.