The staff who work inside the Hawthorn Woods village hall barn keep lap blankets for winter. On humid summer days they can still catch the scent of dairy cows. Woodpeckers hit the siding often enough that the knocking became background noise, the Daily Herald reported last November in a profile of the building.
On October 17, that same building will host the first live performance of new jazz arrangements. Six days later it becomes a family movie theater, and on the Saturday after Thanksgiving it turns into a holiday market. Hawthorn Woods runs all of them through the structure where its board meets and its police department works. Between now and February, that's where most of the village's public calendar happens.
One building, five jobs
The barn at 2 Lagoon Drive holds the administrative offices, the police department, the village's meeting space, and its community event center, according to the Daily Herald. The police department is on the lower level. An attached brick building, thought to have housed farmhands, was turned into village offices.
The fifth job is the one most residents can actually book. The village's Fall 2026 Parks and Recreation brochure lists the barn as a rental venue. It seats 100 banquet style or 175 meeting style, and it has a kitchen with a refrigerator and freezer, stove, oven, microwave, and sink. The only other indoor rental space the village lists is the Community Room at the Aquatic Center, 94 Midlothian Road, which holds 60 banquet style or 100 meeting style. The barn is the larger of the two, and that makes it the default home for anything that draws a crowd.
The building also keeps its history on display. Donated farm pieces sit in the village office area, including a barnwood bench with wagon wheels for armrests, a seed sorter that still works, and a hand plow. Agendas are still posted in a case by the entrance, and there are no electronic signs.
Why the village kept a barn instead of building a hall
The building's history explains why it does all this work. The Daily Herald, citing Phil Gardner of the Ela Historical Society, reported that the barn was built in 1898 for M.E. Davis, who owned 243 acres. A photo caption in the same article says it is believed to date to the early 1880s. Either way, it is a dairy barn from the 1800s.
Hawthorn Woods incorporated on March 10, 1958. A large home and apartment proposal at the time would have added tens of thousands of people to the area, and the village incorporated to keep a country atmosphere. Nine years later, the young village bought the barn at Old McHenry Road and Lagoon Drive for $35,000. Rather than replace it, the village kept the original open interior largely intact. Pam Newton, the village's chief operating officer, told the paper that the barn is one of the oldest around that uses a Roman truss bracing system.
The barn is on the village logo, and Newton described it to the Daily Herald in terms that go past nostalgia:
"Our barn is like a living museum that we share with the community so we don't forget where we came from."
Keeping it up takes real work. In fall 2025 the village replaced deteriorating cedar siding on the barn's north and west sides with an engineered product made to look like the original and last longer. The old siding had warped and opened holes that let animals into the walls. A second phase for the remaining wall was planned for December 2025. Mayor Dominick DiMaggio told the paper, "We definitely want to preserve it."
Everything on the barn floor from now through February
The village's Fall 2026 brochure and the Lake County Symphony Orchestra's season listings put these dates on the calendar. Unless noted, each one is at the barn.
- Wednesday, October 14, noon. Monthly senior gathering for ages 55 and up. Most of these lunches are free.
- Saturday, October 17, 5:30 p.m. LCSO's Autumn Serenade: An Evening of Vince Guaraldi Nostalgia.
- Friday, October 23. Monsters, Inc. movie night. Doors and a craft at 5:30 p.m., showtime at 6:30, and a free bag of popcorn for everyone.
- Sunday, October 25, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Pumpkin Decorating Workshop for ages 3 and up, $20 for residents and $25 for nonresidents. No carving involved.
- Wednesday, November 11, noon. The senior gathering moves to Hawthorn Woods Country Club for this month, and registration is required.
- Saturday, November 14, 5:30 p.m. LCSO's Name That Tune: A Live Music & Trivia Night.
- Saturday, November 28, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The annual Holiday Craft Fair, with free admission.
- Wednesday, December 9, noon. The senior gathering returns to the barn.
- Sunday, December 13, 3:30 p.m. LCSO's Festive Fanfare: A Holiday Concert.
- Friday, January 15, 2027. Toy Story 5 family movie night, on the same 5:30 and 6:30 schedule.
- Saturday, February 27, 2027, 5:30 p.m. LCSO's Winter Reflections.
Three fall events happen somewhere else. The Fall Family Art Workshop on October 10, taught by Jenna Downing of Adrift & Found, met at the Aquatic Center Community Room, and her Winter Family Art Workshop on December 12 will meet there too. The season's big outdoor night, Party in the Park with fireworks, was September 19 at Community Park. Once the weather turns, nearly everything moves indoors to Lagoon Drive.
New arrangements of the Great Pumpkin music, with Serna's Grill at intermission
The October 17 concert is the biggest booking on the fall calendar. On LCSO's ticket page, pianist Connor Cowart leads a jazz combo through new arrangements of Vince Guaraldi's score for It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, including the Graveyard Theme, The Red Baron, and the Great Pumpkin Waltz. Cowart wrote the arrangements, and October 17 is the first time they will be performed live. The rest of the combo is LCSO principal Lauren Moldenhauer on flute, LCSO principal Karl EH Seigfried on bass, Octavio Escamilla on guitar, and Calvin Simmers on drums.
Doors open at 5 p.m. and the concert starts at 5:30, with an intermission. Serna's Grill will serve food on site all evening, and signature cocktails, beer, wine, seltzer, and nonalcoholic drinks will be for sale. Tickets are $40 general admission, $20 for students 17 and under, and free for children 5 and under with a ticketed adult. Seating is general admission in what LCSO calls "reserved-style intimate seating," and the orchestra recommends buying ahead because seats are limited.
The orchestra has been playing at the barn for a while. The Daily Herald covered an LCSO fall concert at village hall in October 2024, and that show was also priced at $40 general admission. The holiday show has gotten more expensive. Last December's LCSO Brass program at the barn was $30 general and $10 for students, the Daily Herald reported. This year's Festive Fanfare on December 13 is listed at $40 and $20, with seasonal favorites and two audience singalongs.
In the village brochure, LCSO describes itself as presently the only professional orchestra in Lake County. It was founded in 2004, its players come from as far as Milwaukee and Chicago, and it brings advanced students and community musicians onto its stage. Tickets and the full season are on the Lake County Symphony Orchestra's concerts page.
The craft fair is the one free Saturday
The orchestra charges admission. The village's own flagship holiday event doesn't. The Holiday Craft Fair on November 28 is free, and vendors bring handcrafted holiday décor and gifts. Details are at vhw.org/CraftFair.
Last year's numbers give a sense of its size. The village's 2025 vendor application offered 26 openings, and the Daily Herald's 2025 preview described more than two dozen local artisans and businesses. The village hasn't published 2026 vendor numbers yet. The fair has been around for years, though. The Daily Herald was already calling it annual in 2012.
Booking the barn for your own gathering
Residents can rent the space that hosts the orchestra and the craft fair. The village lists birthdays, anniversaries, business meetings, bridal and baby showers, and reunions as typical uses. Rentals have to be booked at least two weeks ahead through the Parks and Recreation Department at (847) 847-3503 or vhw.org/rentals. Outdoor shelters at Heritage Oaks Park and Community Park are also available to rent once the weather allows. If the barn at holiday time is what you want, two weeks' notice is the minimum, and a concert, the craft fair, and senior lunches are already on the barn's November and December calendar.
Program registration goes through apm.activecommunities.com/vhw, and the village office takes calls at (847) 438-5500. More about the village's parks and everyday spots is in our Hawthorn Woods neighborhood page and our list of hidden gems in Hawthorn Woods.
At Payes Real Estate Group, we pay attention to the buildings that hold a community together, whether that's a historic barn or the home you've spent years making your own. If you're curious how Hawthorn Woods' preserved, rural character shows up in what local homes are worth, we're glad to talk it through over coffee or after the October 17 concert. Work With Us.
