As the Northwest Herald told the story this spring, John Heisler Sr. came to America at 19 and found work as an ice cutter for Knickerbocker. In those years ice harvesting on Crystal Lake's namesake lake was a big business. After he was laid off, he opened a small workshop making leather horse harnesses, because farms still ran on horses. That was 1908, and the shop stood at 83 E. Woodstock St., in what was then called North Crystal Lake. The neighborhood didn't officially join the city until 1914.
Late this March, the city planted a hybrid spruce in Depot Park, within sight of that original storefront. It is called the Heisler Holiday Tree. On November 27, after the Festival of Lights Parade, it will be lit for the first time. The park around it was rebuilt to tell the same ice-harvesting story the Heisler family tells. This year, downtown's holiday season opens in a space designed around that history.
A Grassy Field by the Tracks, Until 2025
Before construction began in 2025, Depot Park was mostly grass and a few trees between Woodstock Street and the Union Pacific North Line tracks, west of Main Street. The Northwest Herald talked with a neighbor at the reopening who said that before the rebuild, "it was just the farmers market" that used the space.
The park reopened with a ribbon-cutting on June 13, 2026. Here is what it gained:
- Permanent concrete-and-wood bleachers facing a theater-in-the-round-style brick and concrete stage
- A gazebo, new benches and a water feature
- Terra-cotta pieces and glass blocks that honor ice harvesting on the lake
- A monument sign on the back of the bleachers that reads "Crystal Lake – A Good Place to Live"
- The Veterans Memorial, moved to a more prominent spot visible from Woodstock Street, with new plaques for residents who died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars
A resident who works as a civil engineer told the paper the stage tilts slightly on purpose, for drainage. The project was first estimated at $5 million. When bids came in during May 2025, the Northwest Herald reported Copenhaver Construction's approved bid at $6,677,095 plus a 10% contingency. City leaders covered the roughly $1.5 million jump by postponing the Main Street and Route 14 beautification project, according to the Northwest Herald.
Mayor Haig Haleblian spoke to the few hundred people at the reopening and framed it this way:
"Our goal was to make better use of this space while creating a true sense of place."
Why the Tree Stands Where It Does
The sense of place he described is built from the same material as the Heisler story. The terra-cotta and glass-block details point back to the frozen lake, and that lake is also where the family business began. The Northwest Herald reported that Jim Heisler, the third-generation owner of Heisler Bootery, chose to sponsor the tree because of where it sits. From the spruce you can see the old Woodstock Street storefront, which the Judith Svalander School of Ballet now occupies.
"It kind of makes it complete," Heisler told the paper.
The business never left downtown. Over the years it moved from harnesses to shoemaking and repair, passing from John Sr. to Leonard and Dorothy Heisler and then to Jim, one of four brothers who grew up working in the store. In 1966 it moved around the corner to 50 N. Williams St., where it still operates. That puts the tree, the original shop and the current shop within a short walk of each other. On parade night, the crowd will pass all three.
November 27, From Williams and Brink to the Spruce
The 2026 Festival of Lights Parade runs Friday, November 27, from 7 to 9 p.m., starting downtown at the corner of Williams and Brink. Downtown Crystal Lake's event listing calls it the traditional start of the season when Santa Claus comes to town. It invites everyone to stay for "the lighting of our new community holiday tree in Depot Park."
Because it is the night after Thanksgiving, out-of-town guests can come along. The full 2026 route and street-closure times are best checked on the Downtown Crystal Lake holidays page closer to the date. Last year's details are not a safe guide for this year.
The same goes for Santa. According to a 2025 Shaw Local feature, last year's Santa House was at Brink Street Market. It opened the day after the parade and ran Thursday through Sunday until December 22, with online reservations. Downtown's 2026 calendar lists Santa House visits for November and December, but dates, hours and location haven't been posted yet.
The Thursdays After the Lighting
The parade opens a December that keeps returning to the same few downtown blocks. Christmas Tree Lane goes up on Grant and Brink streets around the outside of the Brink Street Market lot. Local businesses and organizations sponsor and decorate the trees, and the schedule is set:
- Trees are installed the week of November 16.
- Decorating starts November 23.
- Every tree must be finished by November 27, parade night.
- Decorations come down by January 4.
So when the Heisler tree is lit, Tree Lane will be finished one block away. On Luminary Nights, luminaries line the Williams Street sidewalks and participating shops stay open until 8 p.m. Downtown's annual events page lists three Luminary Nights. The main events calendar shows only December 17, so check before you plan around the earlier two.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 27, 7–9 p.m. | Festival of Lights Parade and Heisler Holiday Tree lighting | Williams and Brink, ending at Depot Park |
| Nov 27 to Jan 4 | Christmas Tree Lane on display | Grant and Brink, around Brink Street Market |
| Wed, Dec 2 to Sat, Dec 5, 4:30–7:30 p.m. | Luminaria Walk | Veteran Acres, 431 N. Walkup Road |
| Thu, Dec 3, 10 and 17 | Luminary Nights, shops open until 8 p.m. | Williams Street |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Little Gift Event | Soil & Spade Plant Shop |
| Sat, Dec 12 and Sun, Dec 13, 2–4 p.m. | Saint Lucia Swedish Holiday Tea | Colonel Palmer House, 660 E. Terra Cotta Avenue |
| Fri, Dec 18 | Botanical wreath workshop | Soil & Spade Plant Shop |
| Fri, Dec 18, 5–9 p.m. | PJs, Popcorn and the Polar Express | Main Beach, 300 Lakeshore Drive |
The Crystal Lake Park District's special events page has the details for the three events away from downtown. The Luminaria Walk adds campfires, cocoa, cookies, carolers and Mrs. Claus on Saturday, December 5. That evening also overlaps with the Soil & Spade event downtown, so the Walkup Road walk and a downtown stop can share one night.
What the Park Still Has Room For
Not everything on the city's wish list made it into the final build. To stay within budget, the shade sails and the pergolas with swings from the concept plans were cut. "We had to decide what was a priority," Haleblian told the Northwest Herald. He described the finished park as "the base" for future additions as money becomes available.
This summer showed what the base can already do. The Downtown Crystal Lake farmers market ran in the park on Saturdays from June 13 through September 26, skipping July 4. Opening day brought the Crystal Lake Strikers drum line, music from Liv Antoinette and the Sticky Gumbo Band, and landmark sugar cookies from Cheshire Cakes. Vendors that day included Harms Farm, Honey Lake Bee Company and Three Measures Gluten-Free Sourdough & Co. The Dusk at the Depot series put the DBs featuring Kevin Purcell on the new stage June 18. On August 20 it hosted an art fair with Sara Jean Stevens & the Swamp Angels and Judith Svalander Dance Theater. That evening also absorbed a July 16 art event that was postponed for an Illinois EPA air-quality alert.
Every event so far has been held in warm weather. November 27 will be the first night the bleachers, the stage and the spruce are used for a winter crowd.
If your family has its own story of a downtown Crystal Lake business or a Festival of Lights night from years past, we'd love to hear it. At Zamudio Realty Group, we follow these blocks closely and in both English and Spanish. Whenever you want to know what your own place near downtown is worth this season, ask us for a free home valuation.
