Celebrate Christmas the Swedish way

Something Swedish and something sweet sums up the holiday season at Bishop Hill.

One of the first items on the agenda for the historic town is its Julmarknad (Christmas market). The event will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 27-29 and Dec. 5-6.

There is no cost to attend Julmarknad, so getting a look at Swedish holiday decorations and Swedish folk characters is quite a bargain.

Make and Take workshops are scheduled for Nov. 27-29. They will be in full swing at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Steeple Building, 103 N. Bishop Hill St. Also to be enjoyed is an old-fashioned Christmas holiday exhibit in the same building.

A Lionel train display will be on the first floor of the Steeple Building. Trains run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. Sunday of the first weekend, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday of the second weekend.

A Christmas cookie walk with homemade cookies and other baked goods awaits visitors. The cookies will be sold by the pound. This sale will only be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 27-29 at Colony School, Main Street and Olson Street.

The second weekend isn’t without its own special brand of holiday food. A chocolate walk will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 5-6 at the Steeple Building. Area chocolatiers will be selling their wares.

Music for the festival will be by Bonnie Talbot on the accordion from 3 to 4 p.m. Nov. 28-29 at Bishop Hill Fine Arts, 100 N. Bishop Hill St., and other village sites. She also will perform from 3 to 4:30 p.m. p.m. Dec. 5 in the same locations.

Marie Grafton will perform on the hammer dulcimer from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 5 at the VagnHall Galleri on Bishop Hill Road.

For a real treat, visit the Bjorklund Hotel, 100 N. Bishop Hill St., for cookie baking in the restored 1860s kitchen. The times will be 1 to 3 p.m. Nov. 27-29.

Another yearly event at Bishop Hill is Lucia Nights. This year the festival will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 11-12. Look for coffee and sweets in the shops and museums, as well as special music throughout the village. Among the music makers will be the Peoria Cooperative Academy Chorale performance at 7:30 p.m. at VagnHall Galleri.