One week from today, on Thursday, November 5, the shops along East Jackson Street start the "Pre–Black Friday Warm-Up." It's the November weekend of a program most of Virden's holiday shopping now runs through. The Route 66 Virden Historical Society calls it the Business Crawl Passport. You carry one card around the Square, get it stamped at each stop, and turn it in for a drawing. For the rest of the year the Square's shops, a cafe north of town, a free clothing closet and even a Girard soda fountain share one schedule, and the December weekend overlaps the Chamber's Country Christmas.
The Calendar Now Lives With the Historical Society and the Chamber
For a century, Virden's event calendar mostly ran in print. The Virden Recorder put out its last issue on June 3 this year, the same week as the Girard Gazette and the Northwestern News. All three belonged to Paddock Publications, and the Enquirer-Democrat reported that Paddock pointed to rising costs for gas, paper and other materials. The Recorder dated to 1921.
The season's schedule is now posted in two places. The Route 66 Virden Historical Society posts passport dates that already run into 2027, and the Virden Area Chamber of Commerce runs Country Christmas. Every month has a crawl weekend, and every weekend has a theme.
How the November Passport Works
The rules don't change from month to month, and they're easy to miss on a first pass.
- Pick up a passport on or after the 1st. It's good from the first of the month through the last day, so a November card collects stamps from November 1 to November 30.
- Collect stamps all month. The crawl weekend is the busiest stretch, but it isn't the only time a stamp counts.
- Fill two-thirds of the card. That works out to 6 of 9 spaces, 8 of 12, or 10 of 15, depending on how many businesses are in that month's passport.
- Write your name plus a phone number or email.
- Turn it in by the 10th of the next month. For November, that's December 10.
- Watch for the winner on the 15th. One person a month wins a $25 gift certificate to a participating business.
Crawl weekend is the first full Thursday through Saturday of each month, and all three days have to fall in that month. That's why November's runs from the 5th to the 7th. The society says businesses may offer special items, themed bundles, discounts or one-time coupons that weekend, and that each month is different. November's theme points to early deals, gift bundles and beat-the-rush specials.
Where the Stamps Are
Passports are picked up and dropped off at five spots. Four are on or near the Square. The fifth sits north of town at the bowling alley.
| Pickup and drop-off spot | Address | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Neatos Elements | 216 E. Jackson St. | Family-owned shop selling handcrafted bath, body and wellness goods |
| The Wildflower Patch | 145 E. Jackson St. | Family-owned florist and gift shop |
| Hangers of Hope | 179 E. Jackson St. | Community clothing closet offering free clothes and essentials |
| Books on the Square | 153 E. Jackson St. | New, used and rare books |
| Kaylee's Cafe at Showtime Lanes | 1515 N. Springfield St. | Restaurant inside a family-owned bowling center |
The September 2026 roster, the most recent one the society has posted, shows how far the passport reaches past the pickup spots. It also listed Jamies Jewelry at 137 E. Jackson, Silvernicks at 167 N. Springfield, Merrie Blossoms at 175 N. Springfield, The Rose Garden Salon at 146 N. Dye, and A Marc Above, an auto detailer on Bronaugh Street. It also included Docs Just Off 66, the old-fashioned soda fountain and museum at 133 S. 2nd St. in Girard, so the September passport stretched up Route 66 to the next town. The November and December lists may change, so check the society's page or ask at a pickup spot before planning a route.
Hangers of Hope fills a role the others don't. It's a free clothing closet with no income guidelines, it welcomes donations, and in September it listed free shopping during the crawl as its passport perk. Many households clear out closets ahead of the holidays, and the closet sits right on the stamp route at 179 E. Jackson.
Two Bookstores, and One of Them Is on Route 66
Books on the Square and The Sly Fox are two separate shops, a block or so apart. Books on the Square is at 153 E. Jackson and carries new, used and rare books. The Sly Fox is at 123 N. Springfield St. Its stock runs from children's books and mysteries to Illinois and Lincoln titles, cookbooks, poetry and Route 66.
In May, First Alert 4 profiled The Sly Fox and the Route 66 travelers it draws. The station reported that owner George Rishel's family has been in the 1915 building since 1922, when his aunt opened a women's clothing store there, and that he turned it into a bookstore in 1998. He told the station that about half the Route 66 travelers who stop in come from other countries.
"I think I might be the only one in Illinois on one of the Route 66 alignments," Rishel told First Alert 4.
That matters for December. The Sly Fox holds a Christmas Storytime from 6 to 7 p.m. on parade night, timed to end as the parade steps off. Books on the Square, meanwhile, was a passport pickup spot in September and one of two places to get the society's bonus stamp. Between them, the two shops can cover a lot of gift shopping in a single walk.
December Stacks the Crawl on Top of Country Christmas
The society's "Country Christmas Crawl" runs Thursday through Saturday, December 3 to 5, with a theme of holiday scents, gift sets and Christmas décor. The Chamber's Virden Country Christmas falls on December 4 and 5. So the crawl opens a day early, and its Friday and Saturday share the Square with the biggest crowd it sees all winter.
Here's how the weekend lays out from the Chamber's event pages and the society's schedule:
- Thursday, December 3. The Country Christmas Crawl begins, and the shops on the passport roster kick off their weekend.
- Friday, December 4, daytime. Christmas Hall vendors open at First Baptist Church's Pitman Hall, 157 W. Jackson, and at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 722 N. Springfield St. The Chamber lists crafts, local produce and honey, food, a cookie walk and cinnamon rolls.
- Friday, 6 p.m. Christmas Storytime at The Sly Fox runs until 7. Parade entries line up at North Mac High School.
- Friday, 6:30 p.m. Parade judging begins.
- Friday, 7 p.m. The 20th Annual Lighted Christmas Parade steps off toward the Virden Square. This year's theme is "Old Fashioned Christmas."
- Saturday, December 5. Breakfast with Santa at the Virden Fire House, with pancakes and sausage for donations. Virden Hardware has Christmas-cookie decorating, and the Christmas Hall vendors open for a second day.
The Chamber's main Country Christmas page still shows some dates from last year's event in a few of its sections. The separate parade, Christmas Hall and Breakfast with Santa pages carry the 2026 details listed above.
Timing matters most for the passport itself. If you pick up a card on December 1, Country Christmas weekend falls before the month is even half over, which leaves plenty of time to fill two-thirds of the card. The December passport is due January 10, 2027, and the winner is announced January 15.
What Comes After the Parade
The passport doesn't stop at Christmas. The society's 2027 schedule opens with "New Year, New Local" from January 7 to 9, built around wellness items, reset bundles and winter warmers. The Valentine's Sweetheart Crawl follows February 4 to 6, then a St. Patrick's crawl March 4 to 6. Each month starts with a new card, and the five pickup spots on Jackson and North Springfield stay the same.
If you own a building on or near the Virden Square, or a house within walking distance of the parade route, and want a local read on what it's worth this season, Land & Home Real Estate works across Macoupin County every day. Stop in or reach out to Request a Property Valuation.
