Hosted by the Sharon Main Street Organization, which guides the restorations and revitalization of the Historic Downtown District, this 14th annual romantic Victorian night promises to delight all in attendance.

Christmas fireworks over Sharon, WI

Plan to start your evening at 5 pm sharp as all the downtown restaurants open with delicious homemade menu items and specialty eateries await the hungry Victorian visitor. An amazing magician will be on hand walking the Victorian Streets and captivating small and large crowds alike. Carolers, musicians, dancers, actors and their own Town Crier will entertain you all evening long.

Victorian Christmas dancers

Then it’s back to the town, where wassail will flow as well as hot chocolate and spiced cider.

As in long ago times, sweets of all description will abound, as well as hot roasted nuts, kettle corn, fried bread and hot soups. Don’t forget to stroll down the streets of Sharon and look for the Town Bum. He’ll be roasting chestnuts over an open fire and waits to share his words of wisdom with his guests.

Gather around the Village Christmas Tree at 6 pm for the lighting ceremony and enjoy the wonderful sounds of the season with the singing of holiday carols.

The most anticipated highlight of the evening is the Horse Driven, decorated and lighted, Carriage parade. As you wait to see the splendor of the carriages, you can hear the sound of sleigh bells off in the distance as they make their way into town. Delight in the beauty of these wonderful period carriages, buggies and wagons as they slowly enter the streets, pulled by everything form ponies to Clydesdales. Their drivers are dressed in vintage attire, complete with rosy cheeks and mitten clad hands.

Finally, with child-like anticipation and excitement, the crowd strains to see the man in the red suit and listens for those five cherished words, “HO, HO, HO, MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

A visit from Santa

Mark your calendars now and plan on creating a family tradition. Join everyone in Sharon, Wisconsin to make this Holiday Season one of Magic and Merriment, and a Victorian Christmas Memory that will last a lifetime. For more information, contact the Sharon Main Street Association at 262-736- 6246.

Unique Eateries

Street Peasants & Food Peddlers
Eat-in Restaurants with Entertainment
Roasted Chestnuts
Cinnamon Fried Bread
Freshly made Kettle Corn
Hot Chocolate, Cider & Wassail
Old Fashioned Bakery
Homemade Fudge and Confectionaries
Hot Cinnamon Roasted Nuts
Bob Crachit’s Plum Pudding

Entertainment

Magician
Dulcimer Players
Carolers and Victorian Dancers
Victorian Minstrels
Dog Sled Demonstrations
Old English Music throughout town
Bell Ringers
Mr. and Mrs. Claus
Children’s performances
Time Era Vocalists

Schedule

Restaurants Open at 5:00 p.m. for your dining convenience.
6:00 pm — Tree Lighting Ceremony
7:00 pm — Lighted Horse Drawn Carriage Parade
6:00–9:00 pm — Professional Entertainment, Shoppes to visit, Full Coarse Eat-in Restaurants, Photos with Santa, Horse Drawn Carriage Rides.

Map and Directions

Located on Highway 67, just 7 miles north of Harvard, Illinois, 18 miles west of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and 22 miles east of Beloit, Wisconsin; Sharon’s extravagant celebration is an easy drive from just about anywhere in the area.

The tour includes:

• Start out with a Roun’da Manure Pancake Breakfast at Christ Lutheran Church, 228 Martin St. (near the park where you register). Breakfast is served from 6:30am–10:30am and the cost is a freewill donation.
• Choice of three rural routes with lengths of 22, 44, and 64 miles. They follow lightly traveled paved roads that are clearly marked and suitable for road bikes. No stop lights but lots of cows!
• Maps and cue sheets listing turns, towns, and snack stop locations.
• Ice cream shop rest stops! Each rider will receive four coupons for ice cream or other snack treats at locally famous ice cream shops. Water and snack services are also available. Cool down with a thick milk shake, a real ice cream treat, or an early lunch time fast meal.
• Afterwards, you are invited to a free pig roast lunch. Kick back, swap bike tales with fellow cyclists, and enjoy a home cooked summertime meal.

Registration

You may register the day of the ride or pre-register by July 30. Pre-register three or more riders in one envelope and receive an additional $5 discount and free water bottle for each rider. Download the registration form.

“As a resident of Sharon and northern Illinois, I have ridden these roads for over 35 years. After 60 bicycle races and tours across America, I can honestly say that the roads in this area offer some of the best cycling in the United States.” —Lon Haldeman, Eight time cross country record holder and Race Across America Winner.

Free Admission!

• Pig Roast with all the Trimmings
• Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social
• Historical Shanty Town & specialty foods
• Gangsters and Time Era Skits
• 20’s/30’s Fashion Show
• Roaring Twenties Dixieland Band
• Dance Performances & Magician Acts
• The Singing Savino Sisters
• 30’s Ragtime Strolling Musicians
• Over 350 Model A Cars on Display
• Running Board Lunches
• Free Swap Meet & Vendors
• Understanding the Great Depression: An Educational Event

For more information, call: 262-736-6246 or contact us.

Sponsored by: Sharon Main Street Assoc. & the Rockford Model A’s

Date: Sunday, June 7, 2009
Staged Events: 9:00 am
Lecture: 11:00 am at the United Methodist Church, 225 Baldwin St., Sharon, WI.

Speaker: Dr. David E. Kyvig, Distinguished Research Professor, Northern Illinois University & author of Daily Life in the United States, 1920–1940: How Americans Lived Through the “Roaring Twenties” and the Great Depression.

Refreshments will be served from a recreated “Soup Kitchen”, while interactive displays will depict life during the depression. Be sure to stop and say “hello” to President Roosevelt.