The city of Rochelle hosted its annual Old Fashioned Christmas Walk on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in downtown Rochelle.

The event included a lighted parade, the community tree lighting, the presentation of the Rochelle Gratitude Award, carriage rides by the Flagg Township Museum, appearances by Santa Claus, activities at the Flagg-Rochelle Public Library, and reindeer at Terri Schaefer State Farm.

“This has been an amazing night,” Mayor John Bearrows said. “There’s been a great crowd downtown despite the colder weather. I love seeing the community come together. This is the work of so many people that help put this together, from city staff to the Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and all kinds of volunteers that donate their time to help out to try to make this a great night for everybody.”

Bearrows thanked city staff for their work on readying the downtown for the celebration by putting up the Christmas tree and holiday decorations, clearing snow, and helping to facilitate the parade. He enjoys bringing the community to the downtown area, which has been a priority for the city in recent years.

Downtown shops, bars, restaurants and attractions were open for the Christmas walk, and Bearrows urged the community to shop local throughout the holiday season.

The Rochelle mayor said he was “incredibly proud” of the city’s 2025 as the year draws to a close.

“I’m thankful to our city council for being supportive of the things we’ve done,” Bearrows said, “I’m thankful for our city manager for being a leader for our departments. It’s just a great thing.”

Following the lighted parade, Bearrows led the community tree-lighting ceremony at City Hall and presented the Rochelle Gratitude Award, an annual tradition that he and his wife, Dina, started 16 years ago in an effort to give the community a person or organization to emulate for the next year.

Past recipients of the award include Lee Harris, the Rochelle VFW, the Rochelle Area Community Foundation, Ken Wise, the From the Heart committee, the Hub City Senior Center, Dan & Deb Wyka, the Rochelle Rotary Club, Kiwanis Golden K, the Rochelle Christian Food Pantry, Pal Colwill, Chuck & Lydia Roberts, Steve Strang, HOPE of Ogle County, and Jeni Hardin.

The 2025 Rochelle Gratitude Award was presented to Pete Alfano, owner of Alfano’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant. Bearrows said Alfano honors the spirit of giving, through support of various initiatives throughout the community with financial assistance or time.

Bearrows said Alfano has impacted the lives of many young people by giving them their first jobs and teaching them the value of responsibility, commitment, loyalty and work ethic.

“His name has always been heard within our community, including in schools, support for local events, or even when tragedy strikes a family,” Bearrows said. “The youth have always learned a valuable lesson from the recipient and that is: Lead by example. The youth are the future leaders of our community. Pete, you are truly an example of what this award stands for. You’re an amazing person to set an example for our community.”