The WPB Winter Wonderland & Tree Lighting takes place on Saturday, Dec. 5, from noon to 6 p.m. Its activities are spread out. Santa photos are on Milwaukee Avenue, and the tree lights up in the park on Damen. The Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce says the activities "run throughout the Wicker Park Bucktown Neighborhood."
Since September, three businesses have moved onto Damen Avenue between the Bucktown shops and the park's front lawn: an Italian fabric shop, a Chinese dumpling and noodle restaurant, and a Nashville hot chicken brand. All three are on the route you'd walk to get to the tree, so the day now works as a walk down Damen with the park at the end.
How the Chamber laid out Dec. 5
There are two main spots, and they are a few blocks apart. Metzger Court, at 1260 N. Milwaukee Ave., has the fireside activities. The tree-lighting ceremony is in Wicker Park, at 1425 N. Damen Ave.
Everything on the Chamber's list is free:
- Photos with Santa, fireside s'mores and letters to Santa at Metzger Court
- Holiday rickshaws
- A holiday gnome hunt
- Visits from the Grinch
- Holiday music and carolers
- The Wicker Park Holiday Tree Lighting, presented by WPB SSA #33
The biggest change this year is ice skating. The Chamber's event page lists free ice skating as "NEW THIS YEAR" and describes it as being "right in the heart of Wicker Park Bucktown." The Wicker Park Advisory Council's event listing adds that Christy Webber Landscapes is sponsoring the tree lighting. The day is a joint effort by the Chamber, SSA #33, the park's advisory group and the Chicago Park District.
The Chamber's own pitch is to "explore the neighborhood, shop local businesses," and that only works if there is something to stop for between the two spots. On Damen, this fall added three new places to stop.
The new stops on Damen, from north to south
Walking south toward the park, the addresses count down in this order:
- Folklore Fabrics, 1912 N. Damen Ave. Megan Lambert's shop sells Italian-sourced fabrics and sewing accessories and plans to offer classes. Block Club Chicago reported that it would open at noon on Friday, Oct. 30.
- Atelier Shang, 1613 N. Damen Ave. A Chinese restaurant that opened on Friday, Oct. 23, with a menu built on dumplings and noodle dishes. Eater Chicago named braised beef noodle soup as one of its standouts.
- Hattie B's Hot Chicken, 1542 N. Damen Ave. The Nashville brand's second Chicago location, in the corner space near the Damen Blue Line station. Block Club Chicago reported an Oct. 28 opening date.
- Wicker Park, 1425 N. Damen Ave. The tree, the end of the walk.
Together these cover three kinds of stop: a shop to browse, a sit-down bowl of noodles, and chicken you can eat on the way. You can plan a full afternoon on Damen and save the tree for last.
The timing helps too. Folklore Fabrics lists weekend hours of noon to 5 p.m., which overlaps most of the Dec. 5 event window. On weekdays the shop is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. If fabric or sewing supplies are on your gift list, those listed weekend hours cover both of this season's big Saturdays.
The corner by the Blue Line already has neighborhood history
Of the three, the corner at 1542 N. Damen has the longest backstory. It was Urbanbelly's home from 2016 until the Asian street food restaurant moved to Fulton Market earlier this year.
Hattie B's isn't new to the neighborhood either. Nick Bishop Sr. and Nick Bishop Jr. founded the chain in Nashville in 2012. It opened its first Chicago and Midwest location in Wrigleyville in February, and a River North location is planned for next year. Its first Chicago appearance was in Wicker Park, though. Brian Morris, the company's executive chef and vice president of culinary, said so in a press release quoted by Block Club Chicago:
"Chicagoans have always shown us a lot of love, and Wicker Park is a special spot for us. It was the first place in the city we brought Hattie B's to, back when we did a pop-up at Dove's Luncheonette in 2019."
The brand came in through a neighbor once before, and it did it again this fall. To mark the move, Hattie B's teamed up with Paulie Gee's Wicker Park, just north near Milwaukee Avenue, on a limited-run pizza. It had hot chicken tender bites, Hattie B's barbecue sauce, bacon, and a greens, corn and black-eyed pea succotash. It sold for $37 a pie or $5 a slice from Oct. 16 through Oct. 31, and part of the proceeds went to No Kid Hungry.
The pizza is gone now, but it shows how the new businesses on this stretch tie into the ones already here. The regular menu has jumbo tenders, chicken sandwiches, half-bird platters, pimento mac and cheese, collard greens, bacon-cheddar grits, banana pudding and peach cobbler. The heat levels run from no spice up to Nashville hot. Block Club also reported that the space would have indoor and patio seating.
Nov. 28 is the first shopping Saturday, a week ahead
The Damen walk is open before the tree goes up. The Chamber's WPB Small Business Saturday runs from Saturday, Nov. 28, through Sunday, Nov. 29. That's two days after Thanksgiving and one week before Winter Wonderland.
The Chamber is promoting a Wicker Park Bucktown Holiday Digital Shopping Map for that weekend, for Winter Wonderland and for the rest of the season, and it has invited local businesses to add themselves to it. The map covers the whole season, so a stop you find on Nov. 28 can be a place you return to on Dec. 5.
On the Milwaukee side, Blundstone, the Australian brand known for Chelsea boots, has announced a Wicker Park store at 1563 N. Milwaukee Ave., according to Block Club Chicago. That address puts it on the same stretch of Milwaukee as Metzger Court, which is where the Dec. 5 route starts.
Putting the day together
Here's one way to use the Chamber's schedule and this fall's openings. Start at Folklore Fabrics, whose listed Saturday hours begin at noon. Head south to Atelier Shang for dumplings or a bowl of braised beef noodle soup. Pass the Hattie B's corner by the Blue Line. Cut over to Metzger Court at 1260 N. Milwaukee for s'mores and Santa photos. Then finish at the tree at 1425 N. Damen before the event ends at 6 p.m.
Rickshaws, the gnome hunt, carolers, the Grinch and the new free skating will all be going on along the way. The event is free from start to finish.
Damen Avenue is changing one storefront at a time, from the fabric shop at 1912 to the old Urbanbelly corner at 1542. If you're curious how this fall's turnover on Damen fits into what's happening with homes in Wicker Park and Bucktown, Chicago Home Partner is happy to walk you through it. Schedule a complimentary market consultation, and we'll start with the blocks you know best.
