Publications & Sites 
Friday night festivities planned for Hawthorn Woods
Shoppers crowd to purchase fresh produce. | Rob Dicker ~ Sun-Times Media
What is your favorite activity of Hawthorn Woods' Friday night?
Friday family nights
Where: Hawthorn Woods Community Park, Quentin and Old McHenry roads
Featuring: Farmers’ market (3-7 p.m.), concerts (6:30-8 p.m.), Park in the Park car shows (4- 8 p.m.)
When: Friday evenings through September
Admission: Free
Article Extras
Updated: August 27, 2012 10:26AM
HAWTHORN WOODS — David Stebleton, David Parcels and Nathan Parcels leaned in to the open windows of a shimmering blue and silver Chevy.
They took in the gray interior, the wooden steering wheel, and a dashboard decorated with a tiny hula dancer whose green grass skirt wobbled in the breeze.
“It’s a ’55 Chevy,” proclaimed Stebleton, who lives in Caledonia, Mich., and was in the Hawthorn Woods area Friday visiting his son-in-law and grandson. “My mother had one.”
David Parcels, of Lake Zurich, said that he and his son, Nathan, have visited the Friday night festivities at Hawthorn Woods Community Park for a couple of years. They are among those delighted to see the car show added this year to the already existing concerts and farmers’ market.
“They just look fun to drive,” David Parcels said of the show cars, which included a silver-blue 1964 Corvette Stingray and a red ‘77 convertible Mercedes-Benz 450 SL.
Agreed, said August “Augie” Conte, whose British racing green Bugati kit car, a replica of a 1929 model, also graced the grounds.
Conte, of Kildeer, suggested the car show to the village.
“I called Joe Mancino, the mayor, and he was all over it,” Conte said.
Since it started in mid-June, the show has attracted only about five to 13 cars weekly, but Conte is confident that as word spreads, more will arrive.
It’s attractive not only because there also is a farmers’ market ongoing from 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays at the same park (Quentin and Old McHenry roads), but a free concert kicks in at 6:30 and goes until about 8 p.m.
In addition, food vendors are on-site, and spectators pay no admission. Nor do car owners, who are welcome to drive in at 4 p.m. or later.
And finally, show vehicles need not be from a certain era or category.
“If you like your car, we like your car,” Conte said. “When somebody goes out and buys a brand new Mustang, they love that car as much as somebody who has an antique. So who am I to tell them it’s not just as good?”
Hawthorn Woods Chief Operating Officer Pam Newton said the car show has added to the overall fun of what some have been calling mini-Ravinia.
“It brought out a whole new element to our Friday family nights,” she said.
The park is dog-friendly, as long as animals are behaved, cleaned up after, and leashed. And visitors are welcome to bring their own food and drink or buy from the vendors. Beer and wine are available.
Bands play under a gazebo surrounded by picnic tables.
To view band schedules, visit www.vhw.org, where people also can sign up to receive weekly emails announcing the band of the week, music genre and vendor specials.
To learn more about the car show, visit coolcarpix.com.
