Community Calendar

Spring is here and NIAAA is having our 2nd photo contest. We hope to have all nine counties we serve represented. We are looking for an iconic photo to represent each county: it should be something easily recognizable, a hidden treasure or notable view.

Please remember, this contest is open to everyone so please feel free to submit your own entries.

Caring for a loved one with dementia can be both rewarding and overwhelming. To support family caregivers, the Senior Resource Center, in partnership with Lifescape Community Services, is offering a free, evidence-based, 9-week Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers™, designed to help caregivers manage stress, improve their well-being, and develop effective coping strategies.

This program has been proven to enhance the quality of life for family caregivers by teaching stress management techniques, problem-solving skills, and ways to navigate the emotional challenges of caregiving. Each week, participants will receive practical tools and supportive guidance to help reduce stress and maintain their own health.

Program Details:
📅 Dates: Wednesdays, April 16 – June 11
⏰ Time: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
📍 Location: Senior Resource Center, 206 E. Stephenson St., Freeport, IL 61032
💲 Cost: FREE (Includes weekly gifts to aid in stress management)
☎ Registration: Call 815-235-9777 (Limited to the first 10 participants)

What Participants Will Learn:
• The effects of stress on the mind, body, and spirit
• Relaxation techniques to reduce stress
• How to manage challenging behaviors in dementia patients
• Coping with grief, loss, and depression
• The power of positive thinking and self-care

Caregivers will gain practical skills, emotional support, and valuable resources to help them navigate their caregiving journey with greater ease and confidence.

This annual competition is open to artists living in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The Freeport Art Museum's annual Regional Juried Exhibition (RJE) mission is to offer established and emerging artists the opportunity to debut work created in the last two years. Opening on Saturday, May 10, 2025, the show runs through July 19, 2025. As FAM has gained a distinguished reputation for displaying a wide range of contemporary art, this exhibition has become a visitor's favorite.

Each year, FAM invites a new juror to select approximately 50 artworks for inclusion, and to give awards for first, second, third place, and honorable mention. This year's juror is Rodrick Whetstone, an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design teaching in the Department of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Award winners are announced at the opening reception.

The museum is open 10-5 Tuesday-Friday; 12-5 Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday

The Coliseum Museum welcomes Joy Meyer as our Taft Gallery Artist for April & May.

Joy Meyer earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Art and Art Education from Northern Illinois University. She retired in 2005 after teaching art for thirty years. Joy also taught many workshops for both teenagers and adults during her career and shortly after retirement. She has won numerous awards for both her painting and her teaching.

Joy has enjoyed working in many different media including watercolor, pen and ink, pencil, glass etching, stained glass, and silk painting, but the medium she has chosen to specialize in during recent years is Acrylic Painting. She enjoys working in a fairly realistic style using primarily bright, cheerful colors. Her actual painting techniques vary depending on the subject matter being painted and the mood desired, often using many techniques within a painting to better represent the details within the painting. Joy also enjoys the challenges of working in an increasingly wider variety of subject matter.

The Coliseum Museum of Art, Antiques and Americana presents Focus on Photography, juried exhibition of works by photographers working in all photographic mediums -- digital, film, mixed and unique processes -- now through May 17.

The Next Picture Show is excited to once again host the Illinois Watercolor Society for their 41st Illinois Watercolor Society National Exhibition throughout the month of May. This show features talented artwork by artists from the USA, Canada, and beyond!

Speaker:

Marc Macaranas, Assistant Professor and Dance Program Coordinator
School of Theatre and Dance

Marc Macaranas is a dance artist and movement media maker, as well as an assistant professor of dance and head of the dance program at NIU. Marc will discuss the process of choreographing for proscenium stages, non-traditional spaces and even cell phone screens. He’ll also talk about how he constructs and implements interactive digital media installations and creates projection design for dance and theatre. Marc hopes the audience will consider how digital devices and interfaces in their own lives work to “choreograph” their activities.

Marc’s performance career began in 2006 with Lucky Plush Productions and Mordine & Co. Dance Theater. In 2008 he joined DanceWorks Chicago as a founding dancer. Since then, he has performed in Chicago, across North America and in Europe with companies that include Lucky Plush Productions, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Luna Negra Dance Theater, and RUBBERBANDance Group. Marc has conducted workshops, master classes and teaching residencies across the country for dance studios, circus schools, professional companies and university dance programs. He holds a BA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, and an MFA in Dance from the University of Iowa.

Spring is here and NIAAA is having our 2nd photo contest. We hope to have all nine counties we serve represented. We are looking for an iconic photo to represent each county: it should be something easily recognizable, a hidden treasure or notable view.

Please remember, this contest is open to everyone so please feel free to submit your own entries.

Homecoming: In Color celebrates the reopening of Rockford Art Museum after a year-long renovation closure. This exhibition features a selection of popular pieces and hidden gems, showcasing the rich diversity of our revered collection.

Homecoming is organized by Rockford Art Museum Chief Curator, Carrie Johnson. The exhibition is sponsored by Dean Alan Olson Foundation and partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

This annual competition is open to artists living in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The Freeport Art Museum's annual Regional Juried Exhibition (RJE) mission is to offer established and emerging artists the opportunity to debut work created in the last two years. Opening on Saturday, May 10, 2025, the show runs through July 19, 2025. As FAM has gained a distinguished reputation for displaying a wide range of contemporary art, this exhibition has become a visitor's favorite.

Each year, FAM invites a new juror to select approximately 50 artworks for inclusion, and to give awards for first, second, third place, and honorable mention. This year's juror is Rodrick Whetstone, an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design teaching in the Department of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Award winners are announced at the opening reception.

The museum is open 10-5 Tuesday-Friday; 12-5 Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday