Arlington Hts. will 'reopen' downtown in a grand way.(News)

After two years of construction and a summer's worth of openings and moving dates, the official celebration of downtown Arlington Heights' renovation has finally arrived.Today's festivities begin at 11aea.m., when the ninth annual Autumn Harvest festival begins at North School Park, and continues with the downtown "Grand Reopening" from 2 to 8:30 p.m.

Plenty of free parking is available in municipal parking garages, or by parking at Metra's Arlington Park station and paying an extra $1.75 to ride the train to downtown's new depot. As in years past, the Harvest fest runs until 4 p.m., featuring music, hay rides, a petting zoo, the scarecrow building contest, a children's story hour, a straw maze, McGruff the Crime Dog, a kids' craft corner, face painting and "old fashioned" games.

Then, armed with the theme, "Come Discover a Whole New World in Your Own Backyard," the downtown celebration marks the completion of construction on four major projects - Arlington Town Square, the new Metra station, the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre and the Village Green. The "Grand Reopening" kicks off with speeches and a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. on the Rock 'N Roll Stage in Parking Lot E, on Davis Street between Dunton and Vail avenues.

Music and other entertainment will be played on four stages at Arlington Town Square, the corner of Campbell Street and Dunton Avenue, North School Park and Parking Lot E, which hosted the successful "Ponies on Parade" auction.
A "Taste of Arlington," with 20 restaurants setting up booths outside their doors, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony are also planned.

Other attractions and activities will be held throughout the central business district, including the Chicago Department of Aviation's new "Community Outreach Vehicle," which will be on display from 2:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot at the southeast corner of Arlington Heights Road and Sigwalt Street. There, residents can learn more about aircraft noise monitoring, soundproofing programs, and noise reduction efforts.