Community Calendar

Our Feature Wall Artist for March is Betty Predmore.

Betty an award-winning artist and teacher based in Dixon. You have probably seen her work on display at many of our area art fairs and galleries including the Grand Detour Art Festival, Nuts About Art, Encore, and TNPS. Betty also serves as a volunteer at the Coliseum Museum.

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.

The NIU Art Museum hosts its Mysterious Dream Suite of 4 exhibits through May 10: "Windows to the Subconscious," "Surrealist Classics from the Museum Collections," “Phantasmagraphica: The Early Psychedelic Work of British Artist Douglas Binder or Nightmares of alienation in post-industrial England” & “A Deb Sokolow Sampler: 20 Years of Speculative Drawing."

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!

Give the Gift of Life! The American Red Cross will be conducting a blood drive at the DeKalb Public Library.

American Red Cross blood donors are critical to ensuring those in need receive relief and care. Right now, we’re urging donors to continue to help us strengthen the blood supply. Donors of all blood types – particularly type O blood donors – are crucial to meeting daily hospital demands.

An advance appointment is preferred. Visit the American Red Cross website, type in your zip code, and select the DeKalb Public Library to make an appointment, or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or ask questions about giving blood.

You can also visit the Red Cross website for more general information about the donation process.

For additional information, please contact Chelsea at chelsear@dkpl.org or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1700.

This one hour class will gently stretch and rejuvenate your body as you simultaneously experience a soothing sound bath. Led by Amelia of Inner Prana Yoga and Missy of The Sacred Tree. Limited yoga mats and props available for usage. 

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.

Our Feature Wall Artist for March is Betty Predmore.

Betty an award-winning artist and teacher based in Dixon. You have probably seen her work on display at many of our area art fairs and galleries including the Grand Detour Art Festival, Nuts About Art, Encore, and TNPS. Betty also serves as a volunteer at the Coliseum Museum.