Children with life-threatening illnesses make a trip to the North Pole

Two hundred Christmas trees decorated with thousands of lights and ornaments filled an event space, and toy trains weaved through displays as holiday music filled the air.

There were thousands of pounds of candy, elves in costume, the Grinch roaming the floor and children lining up to write letters to Santa — all part of a winter wonderland created for families who spend much of their year inside hospitals.

That scene greeted hundreds of children with life-threatening illnesses and their families Saturday at Operation North Pole’s holiday celebration, held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.

Operation North Pole is an annual charity event launched in 2009 to provide children battling serious illnesses with a full day of holiday activities. After a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, this year marked the organization’s return.

Families arrived aboard Metra’s holiday-themed Union Pacific Northwest Line train, boarding at Pingree Road Station in Crystal Lake. During the ride to the Des Plaines station, children sang along with carolers and laughed with Santa and his elves.

Once off the train, children and their families were escorted by local firefighters and police officers through two lines of uniformed first-responders before arriving at the celebration.

Inside, families found food stations serving hot dogs, pizza, chicken nuggets, cake and soda. Children hopped through activities, including miniature hockey, holiday crafts and visits with Santa. Special guests — including Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens, Mrs. Illinois of America Tracy Drost and Bluey — moved through the crowd posing for photos.

Lindsay Balistreri attended the event with her two daughters, the younger of whom, Olivia, 3, is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“Our train car was all pink and had feathers and nutcrackers everywhere,” Balistreri said. “I think my girls both think that this is the North Pole.”

Mayra Retana said the event was especially meaningful as her son transitions into the maintenance phase of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“I felt like it’s another sign we’re close to victory with him,” Retana said.

Barbara Dabler, president of Operation North Pole, said the goal is to give families a chance to forget about illness, even if just for a day.

“Unfortunately, there are so many sick children out there,” Dabler said. “We want everybody to be able to experience it once.”

For many families, the celebration offered more than holiday fun. It was a rare chance to step out of hospital routines and into a space where illness faded into the background — replaced, for a few hours, by music, lights and laughter.