The holidays are here in Highland Park after the city was decked out in its festive best at last Sunday's tree lighting. As we got closer to Thanksgiving, Patch gave you some ideas to make that Thanksgiving feast extra special — Highland Park style. And speaking of breaking bread, an interfaith Thanksgiving service was held at the Lakefront Congregation for Reform Judaism Wednesday evening for all people of faith. Maxwell Wilson reviewed the controversial film "Kike Like Me" which tackled complex perceptions of Jews internationally that screened recently at the North Suburban Chabad and …

This week was a good one to own a video camera. In our heaviest multimedia week since Highland Park Patch launched, we posted videos of everything from the city's newest barbecue restaurant to the Chamber of Commerce's centennial celebration. We also did a video profile of Alice Felice, the sole employee of the now-closed Ravinia Post Office. Our most adorable video of the week focused on Carole Yuster's K9 Reading Buddies of the North Shore program, where kids improve their reading skills by reading to therapy dogs. Yep, dogs and kids in the same video. It's a must see. In non-video news: …

This week started with another District 113 meeting. Residents heard some specifics about what renovations the school has in mind, but there's still no word on the cost. Also early in the week, Ravinia threw a Christmas ornament decorating event at the Whole Foods in Deerfield. On Friday, Ravinia hosts a performance by singer Teresa Eickel, who confided in Patch that she had a terrible voice when she first started. We immediately told everyone. This week, Patch finally got around to figuring out why so much of Highland Park reminds you of the Emerald City.  Meanwhile, Paul Frank dissected the…

This week was a big one for Highland Park politics, and not just because of the Nov. 2 elections. On Monday, three finalists for the remaining park district seat withdrew their applications, citing the community's distrust of the board. Two days later, Mayor Michael Belsky announced he would not seek a third term and Councilwoman Terri Olian announced she was throwing her name into the race, with Belsky's support. Currently her only opposition is Councilwoman Nancy Rotering, which means come April Highland Park may elect its first woman mayor. Then, of course, there were Tuesday's elections. …

This week was bookended by stories of departures. The former manager of Highland Park Theater discussed getting let go on Monday, and former Park District President Lorry Werhane talked about what he might do now that he's resigned. In between, congressional candidates debated, Ravinia shot a commercial and the Highland Park Players premiered their fall show. Oh, and a dinosaur went on sale. In between all of that, we found a moment to talk trash. Check out this week's top stories below.