Santa in the house! 2012

Aurora children who want to give their holiday wish list to Santa Claus in person can visit jolly St. Nick in December at the David and Karen Stover Visitors Center at Phillips Park, 1000 Ray Moses Drive. 
 
Santa will be available from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Dec. 1 to 2, 8 to 9, 15 to 16 and 22 to 23.  Parents are encouraged to bring their cameras. 
 
The free event is sponsored by the Friends of Phillips Park, a non-profit group that has been working behind the scenes to help preserve, restore and promote park amenities and programs since 1985. 
 
For more information on the Friends of Phillips Park, call the Visitors Center at            630-256-3750      .

Dec. 7: Grand Gallery Art Opening at the Paramount

The Paramount Theatre is pleased to announce the opening of a solo exhibit featuring the work of photographer Brian DeWolf in its visual Art Gallery, located on the 2nd floor of the Grand Gallery of the Paramount Theatre. The opening reception Meet & Greet  will take place on Friday, December 7  from 7 – 8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Please join us to support the arts in Aurora.  Cash Bar. The DeWolf exhibit will hang from December 1 thru January 31, 2013. The exhibit will feature a collection of large scale banner prints from the Croissy exhibit in France along with more recent works and images of the Fox Valley area. Most pieces are available for purchase.

"The more carefully we look, the more there is to see.” DeWolf's photography began as an exercise to produce artistic images from the places that were most familiar to him. "People no longer see the luster on what has become dull from familiarity. I learned that we need not travel far to find light falling seductively upon an object."  In 2006, about 80 of DeWolfs images of the Fox Valley were chosen for “A Toast to the 14 Congressional District” event and fundraiser for Speaker of the House, United States Congressman Dennis Hastert.  The featured guest speaker was the late Whitehouse Press Secretary Tony Snow.

DeWolf  is a member of Professional Photographers of America (PPA). His image “Foggy Morning Ride” was accepted into the PPA Loan Collection for 2002.  Marathon Press, publisher of the Loan Collection, describes the collection as “the best of the best” from over 8,000 entries. “Foggy Morning Ride” was featured as the introduction to a special advertising section for Geneva, IL in Chicago Magazine June 2003. It also won the Denise Kavanagh Award at the St. Charles Fine Art Show 2003.  In 2008, he was awarded the Bronze Level Photographer of the Year award when four out of four entries merited in PPA’s international print competition. Thirteen of his images have “merited” in these international print competitions since 2002.

 In 2007 representatives of the Geneva, IL International Cultural Exchange Committee and Croissy sans Frontieres in Croissy sur Seine, France invited DeWolf to photograph Croissy as a step in developing an artist exchange program between the two cities. Croissy and surrounding villages along the Seine River are called “the playground of the French impressionists”. It resulted in a 2009 solo exhibit in France that was attended by a member of the French Parliament, a French Senator, three local mayors, and the family of a former French Ambassador.

The Paramount Theatre Art Gallery located on the 2nd floor of the Grand Gallery, opened in the Fall of 2006. The Gallery features the work of both established and aspiring artists. For more information regarding the Art Gallery, or the hanging of a show, please contact: melmeisch@comcast.net.

Dec. 1 to Dec. 23: Aurora Aglow

Join us for Aurora Aglow, the first ever holiday pop-up emporium located at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center in downtown Aurora.  The first floor gallery will be transformed with 15 artists, crafters and vintage dealers displaying their finest wares.

The museum will be open extended hours for this event, running Wednesday through Sunday, December 1-23, from 12-5 p.m. with hours extended to 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

Nov 16: Winter Lights in downtown Aurora

Winter Lights And Holiday Walk

Bring the family to celebrate the start of the holiday season. Join us for our inaugural holiday walk Friday, Nov. 16 starting at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place. Strolling through the streets lit with luminaria, patrons will be warmly greeted by carolers, find artwork and holiday crafts from Cultural Creatives and be treated to light refreshments and warm cocoa.

The Miss Merry Christmas and Jack Frost winners will join Santa and Mayor Tom Weisner in lighting the City’s official holiday tree at 6 p.m. at North Island Center, 8 E. Galena Blvd. Immediately following the tree lighting ceremony, Santa will be available for photo opportunities with children at the Art and History Center.