Kankakee County community cancels Christmas tree lighting due to cold

Village officials in Bourbonnais have announced they will cancel their annual Christmas tree lighting on Thursday.

According to the announcement, the cancellation comes before frigid temperatures grip the area, with readings expected to drop into the high single-digits late Thursday and into Friday.

“As much as we love kicking off the holiday season together, the forecast is projecting frigid risks that we cannot overlook,” officials said.

The event, titled “Rockin’ Around the Tree Lighting,” was set to take place at The Grove, a community area in Bourbonnais that also hosts events around the annual Friendship Festival in the community.

Village officials say there will be more free winter activities going on around the community in the weeks leading up to Christmas, with information available on the village’s website.

High temperatures Thursday are only supposed to be in the teens, with lows dropping back into the single-digits in the overnight hours. Wind chills are also expected to be brisk, dropping into the single-digits in the evening and below-zero overnight.

We will update this story with additional closures and cancellations if they occur.