Sept. 29: Quad County Art Show & Anniversary Celebration

DATE: Wednesday, September 29, 2010

TIME: 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

LOCATION: 1685 N. Farnsworth Ave /Aurora

Spoken Words at 7:30 p.m.

Contributions to support Quad County Urban League programs greatly appreciated.

Sept. 28 & 29: Aztec Stories in Aurora

Get your gourd in gear with Aztec stories! Both at Prisco Community Center (sponsored by Aurora Public Library) on Tues. and AU on Wed.

Tues. 6:30-7:30 at Prisco on Illinois Ave. and Rt. 31 in Aurora.

Wed. 7 p.m. - Perry Theatre at Aurora University.

Enjoy the best of storytelling!

Sept. 26: Hula hoop in downtown Aurora

When	Sunday, September 26 · 11:00am - 1:00pm
Location	Water St. park (between downer & galena) downtown aurora
Created By	HoOpAtOmIc on Facebook
More Info	Come out and enjoy the afternoon with us! Bring a lunch, bring a hoop (or get a new one from us), bring a friend...free lessons! We will be hoopin' it up and having a great time. All ages. Musicians welcome to perform. Water Street Mall is located near City Hall between Downer and Galena.

Sept.: Free fall! Fox Valley Park District and beyond...

Fall into fitness at the park district! Commit to get fit this season and beyond. FVPD makes it easy with a free, 7-day pass to any fitness center this month. You can test out the equipment and attend group exercises classes for free. Learn how beneficial it can be to have a first-class facility to call home for your workouts! But hurry - the promotion ends Sept. 30.

First-time visitors who take advantage of the free week-long trial will learn about the many health benefits that result from being a fitness club member. The offer is available to guests age 16 and over.

A free seven-day pass can be redeemed at the Eola Community Center (555 S. Eola Road), Prisco Community Center (150 W. Illinois Ave.) and the Vaughan Athletic Center (2121 W. Indian Trail).

For more information, call any fitness center or visit the Park District website at www.foxvalleyparkdistrict.org.

It's always free to explore the park district trails by foot or bike! Take a trip to Red Oak Nature Center and collect leaves to identify or turn into craft projects with your children. Nature and imagination - always free! The Gilman trail is a great place to enjoy a fall bike ride. Or visit Phillips Park on Aurora's East Side. Free zoo, free fun!

Sept. 25: Art opening at the Paramount Theatre

Greta Bell is showcasing her paintings at Paramount Theatre's second floor gallery this fall. Join Bell at the opening reception on Sat., Sept. 25 from 7-9 p.m.

Meet the artists, enjoy artwork, conversation, and light appetizers.
Most artwork is for sale.

Paramount Theatre is located on Galena in downtown Aurora. Parking is plentiful on adjacent streets, public lots and two parking lots -- all within walking distance.

Make it a night out and visit Restaurant Row on New York Street!

Sept. 18: The future of Downer Place in downtown Aurora

Sat., Sept. 18 from 9-1.

Please join Aurora Downtown for a visioning workshop
focusing on re-inventing Downer Place and the West Branch
of the Fox River between Downer Place and Benton. Topics to be
...discussed include streetscape, landscape, identity and marketing,
the upper Riverwalk and more.

Come give us your thoughts!

For more information or to RSVP, please call
Dan Hites at (630) 624-7369.

Saturday, September 18
9 am to 1 pm
NORTH ISLAND CENTER
8 Galena Blvd.
Aurora, IL 60505

Sept. 25: Museums Un-crated at Aurora Regional Fire Museum

On Saturday, September 25, 2010, the Aurora Regional Fire Museum will open their new exhibit “Museums Un-Crated” which features nineteen rare firefighting artifacts recently transferred from the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History to the collection of the Aurora Regional Fire Museum.

It’s a well-known movie ending. The legendary Ark of the Covenant has been rescued from evil, only to be boxed up in a wooden crate, stenciled ...with an identification number, and then seemingly lost inside a vast storage warehouse.

Although the movie’s plot is pure fiction, large museums such as the Smithsonian do have gigantic collection warehouses where objects are stored in wooden crates. The catalyst for the new exhibit at the Aurora Regional Fire Museum is the recent transfer of nineteen rare firefighting artifacts from the collections storage warehouse of the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History to the Aurora Regional Fire Museum. Why did the Smithsonian decide to offer these objects to another museum, and why did the fire museum accept them? Who decides what a museum should collect and what should be exhibited? How do museums use the things in their collections, and where do they keep the objects not on display?

In short, the Aurora Regional Fire Museum’s new exhibit "Museums Un-Crated" opens the mythical wooden storage crates of a museum, and gives visitors an inside look at how and why museums collect, use, and preserve things.

In addition to the new exhibit, the Aurora Regional Fire Museum will join participating museums and cultural institutions nationwide in opening their doors free of charge on Saturday September 25, 2010 for the Smithsonian Magazine’s sixth annual Museum Day.

In a journey to celebrate our world’s dynamic heritage and cultural life, participating Museum Day venues emulate the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, DC-based facilities. Museum Day 2010 is poised to be the largest to date, outdoing last year’s record-breaking event. Over 300,000 museum-goers and 1,300 venues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico participated in Museum Day 2009.

Listings and links to participating museums, and a free Museum Day Ticket is available to download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission for two people at participating museums and cultural venues. One ticket is permitted per email address. -- from Facebook event listing

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The exhibit "Museums Un-Crated" will be open Sept. 25th though 2011. For the latest hours, exhibit, and special event information, visit the Aurora Regional Fire Museum's website:
http://www.AuroraRegionalFireMuseum.org/

Sept. 23: Duck Race at Alden of Waterford

Event Date: 9/23/2010

Venue / Location Information:

Name: Alden of Waterford Rehabilitation and Health Care Center
Address: 2021 Randi Drive
City: Aurora
State: Illinois

Event Time / Additional Information: 4:oo p.m. - Duck Race starts at 5 p.m.

Contact Info: Cindy, 630-851-7266

Hundreds of people will cheer on nearly 2,000 ducks at the ‘2nd Annual Duck Race,’ which will start at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23 at Alden of Waterford Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, 2021 Randi Dr. in Aurora. The race begins at 5 p.m. The Aurora Fire Department will be on hand to assist the ducks in racing across the Alden of Waterford pond.

Participants will have the opportunity to enjoy appetizers catered by the rehabilitation center’s professional chef, a cocktail hour featuring Alden’s signature wines, live entertainment by the Emerald Society Bag Pipers, McNulty Irish Dancers and games for children. The owner of the first duck to cross the finish line will receive $500 in cash. The 2nd place winner will receive a dental basket valued at $300 featuring a Sonic Care electronic toothbrush and more. The 3rd place winner will receive a $150 entertainment basket that features gift cards to local movie theaters and restaurants. On-site mini-raffle sales feature additional prizes, including a Starbucks coffee basket, spa basket, several retail gift cards and more.

All proceeds from the ‘Duck Race’ will benefit the Donald Davidson-Alan Brin Memorial Chapter of the Leukemia Research Foundation. Rubber duckys are being sold for $5 until 4:30 p.m. the day of the race. To register or for more information, call 630-851-7266. -- from www.Triblocal.com.

Sept. 26: Critical Mass in Aurora

Critical Mass is a bike ride plain and simple. A Critical Mass is created when the group of riders comes together for those few hours to take back the streets of our city.

The right of the people to assemble is guaranteed in the Constitution, and Critical Mass helps people remember that right. The Mass itself has no political agenda, though, no more than the people of any other community do. Critical Mass is open to all, and it welcomes all riders to join in a celebration of riding bicycles. Why? Because bikes are fun!

Sure, as with any community, you'll see people of all types. Some people see Critical Mass as a forum for grassroots political change. Some people see it as a protest against cars. Some people just like to ride. The Mass, however, is just that...a bunch of bike riders. You can drive a car the whole month and ride in the Mass. You can be an anarchist and ride in the Mass. The point of the Mass is the Mass, nothing more. Critical Mass has no leadership. It is a ride where no one is in charge. At any time, riders are free to leave, stay, stop, or even help out. Everyone is responsible for themselves and the Mass. -- from ChicagoCriticalMass.org

Meet at West High on New York Street in Aurora on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m.

Learn more about Aurora's first Critical Mass on Facebook: More Bike Lanes in Aurora, IL

Sept. 19: Bluegrass Jam at Dickson-Murst Farm

Get your toes a-tappin' at the Bluegrass Jam at the Dickson-Murst Farm on Sunday, September 19th, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dickson-Murst Farm is located in Montgomery - take Orchard Rd. to Rt. 30 west to Dickson Rd. (turn left - there are usually signs).

The Dickson-Murst Farm Partners invite Bluegrass musicians and music lovers to The Conservation Foundation's Dickson-Murst Farm for a day of unstructured jamming and enjoyment. Wander from impromptu band to band, enjoy the artists and antique vendors with a background of live bluegrass. Visit the Country Kitchen for a snack, tour the neighborhood on a hay ride, and let your cares float away on the notes of the music.

Free Things highly recommends this family-friendly event! Have a picnic and let the kids run around on the farm!

This event will be held rain or shine, and will be moved under cover in case of rain. Admission and parking are FREE! Call 630-272-0686 for more information.

Sept. 16: Penny pancakes at Colonial

Sept. 14 - Dec. 17: AU Schingoethe Gallery celebrates 20 years

“Just as Curious When It’s Sung,” an art exhibit by Katie Kahn, Chicago resident and Northern Illinois University associate professor of painting, will open a 20^th anniversary celebration by Aurora University’s Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures.

The free exhibit is open to the public Sept. 14 to Dec. 17 at the Schingoethe Gallery in Dunham Hall, 1400 Marseillaise Place in Aurora. The show will open Sept. 14 with a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The reception will be followed by a lecture by the artist at 6:30 p.m.

According to Meg Bero, Schingoethe Center executive director, “In this show, Kahn explores a place of engagement between the personal, political and natural worlds in order to examine that interaction, and to discover wherein lies individual and communal responsibility.”

Kahn earned a master’s degree in fine arts from Yale University School of Art and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from California College of Arts and Crafts. Additionally, she received a fellowship to Yale Norfolk Summer School of Music and Art and attended the University of Chicago.

Her grants and residencies include National Endowment for the Arts Individual Fellowship Grant; Roswell Artist-in-Residence Fellowship Program; Ucross Foundation; and Ragdale Foundation.

Sept. 18 & 19: Fiestas Patrias

Fiestas Patrias 9/18 & 9/19: The Aurora Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board is pleased to announce Fiestas Patrias Aurora 2010, a celebration of Latin American heritage and culture.

The two-day music festival will take place in downtown Aurora on Saturday, September 18th from noon to 10 pm and Sunday, September 19th from noon until 8 pm. Reestablishing the Fiestas Patrias festival is timely considering the bicentennial anniversary of Mexico and several other Latin American countries’ declarations of independence from Spain in 1810. Fiestas Patrias Aurora 2010 invites the community to celebrate and recognize this event.

The festival series will be staged at North River Street Park and the parking lot immediately south of the park. Main stage entertainment will take place throughout Saturday and Sunday. Various genres of music will be performed, including banda, mariachi, cumbia, tejano, norteno, and rock. A children’s amusement area will be featured on both days.

Vendors will provide booths specializing in festive foods and many different culinary delights from Latin America, along with traditional festival food fare of hamburgers, Bar-B-Que, corn on the cob, hot wings and other delights. Additionally, local businesses will provide booths with offerings for festival patrons.

The parade steps off at 12 noon, Sunday, September 19th at the corner of River Street and Benton Street; then to Broadway, Galena Boulevard, Stolp Avenue, Downer Place, and ending at Middle Avenue. The parade program begins at 11:15 am in front of the Paramount Theatre.

Admission to Fiestas Patrias Aurora 2010 is free to all ages.