Northern Illinois Community Calendar

Why have poisons fascinated humanity for thousands of years? From the hemlock that ended the life of Socrates to the arsenic scandals of the Victorian era, poisons have shaped history, medicine, crime, and popular culture in surprising ways.

Join us for an intriguing journey through some of the world’s most famous deadly substances, exploring their historical uses, cultural myths, and lasting impact on science.

This program is intended for adults and teens. No registration is required.

For additional information, please contact Barb at barbp@dkpl.org or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 6106.

Join us for a Trivia Night based on the U.S. Constitution! Come early to get a table, order some food or drinks and have some fun with friends/family! FREE and Prizes for the winners! Share your knowledge and maybe learn something new. Lead by the League of Women Voters of DeKalb County, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. www.lwvdkc.org for more information. Or email treasurer.lwvdkc@gmail.com

SECOND NATURE
Salvaged Metal Sculpture & Haiku Michael Zant + Thomas L. Vaultonburg A benefit for Wild Roots* Second Nature brings together the salvaged metal animal sculptures of Michael Zant and the haiku of Thomas L. Vaultonburg. Created from reclaimed and repurposed materials, each sculpture is paired with an original haiku inspired by the animal it depicts. The exhibit celebrates the wild lives around us, the possibilities of discarded things, and the idea that everything deserves a second chance.

Hike You!: Six Years of Photographs and Haiku from the Heart of Rockford comes to RevHaus for Fall ArtScene 2026.

For more than six years, photographer Ryan Davis and poet Thomas L. Vaultonburg have explored Rockford one walk at a time, finding familiar streets, forgotten places, strange objects, and unexpected moments through photography and haiku. Hike You! brings those two ways of seeing together, following a journey through the city in which the familiar gradually becomes new, mysterious, and magical. The exhibition also offers a preview of the forthcoming Hike You! book.

Hike You! is part of a larger four-artist exhibition at RevHaus, a creative automotive space bringing craftsmanship, design, and art together. Also exhibiting are Oscar Pagles of Foraged, with reclaimed metal and wood artwork, and Shayne Pagles of VinGogh, LLC, with metalwork. Visitors can also see live metalworking and woodworking demonstrations throughout ArtScene.

This Science Saturday invites local Indigenous groups to utilize Severson Dells Nature Center to teach community members about stewardship of nature and Indigenous culture and traditions. Join us at Severson Dells for these family-friendly, open-house style events. Each month will have a different nature theme full of hands-on, minds-on activities for guests of all ages to participate in. Weather permitting, there will also be guided hikes.

NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR THIS FREE EVENT!

For more information, visit WildRootsNatureCenter.org/Science-Saturdays

Celebrate fall at Da Vinci Waldorf School’s annual Fall Festival in Wauconda! Bring the whole family for an afternoon of pony rides, pumpkin carving, face painting, fall crafts, storytelling, woodworking, blacksmithing demonstrations, live music, homemade food, fresh popcorn, and plenty of autumn fun.

This beloved community celebration brings families together for hands-on activities, music, storytelling, traditional crafts, and a beautiful fall afternoon together.

Event Details: https://davinciwaldorfschool.org/fall-festival-2026/

A century ago, these stories were read aloud for family entertainment. Today they come alive in performance.

Michèle LaRue tells a tale of sudden death, family secrets, and things that go bump in the night as she presents Mary E. Wilkins Freeman’s “The Shadows on the Wall” (1903). Next she speaks of strange sightings on the prairie in Elia W. Peattie’s “The House That Was Not” (1898).

Freeman (1852 – 1930), a popular and prolific short-story writer, was born and lived most of her life in Massachusetts, continuing her work after marrying and moving to Metuchen, New Jersey. She wrote insightfully and with sympathetic humor about her fellow small-town New Englanders—and she penned many ghost stories.

Peattie (1862 – 1935) grew up in her native Michigan. With her husband, a fellow journalist, she made her home, first in Chicago, then in Omaha. She was the Chicago Tribune’s first woman reporter and wrote fiction, as well as observant editorials and reviews, for major papers in both cities.

Michèle is a professional actress who has toured nationally for 24 years with dramatizations of stories by America’s Gilded Age authors. Her one-woman performances are sure to leave you wanting more.

“You transported us totally to another time, another place, and filled our lives with new friends.” - Livingston Public Library, NJ

This show is intended for ages 12 and up. No registration is required.

For more information, please contact Samantha at samanthah@dkpl.org or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1701.

SECOND NATURE
Salvaged Metal Sculpture & Haiku Michael Zant + Thomas L. Vaultonburg A benefit for Wild Roots* Second Nature brings together the salvaged metal animal sculptures of Michael Zant and the haiku of Thomas L. Vaultonburg. Created from reclaimed and repurposed materials, each sculpture is paired with an original haiku inspired by the animal it depicts. The exhibit celebrates the wild lives around us, the possibilities of discarded things, and the idea that everything deserves a second chance.

Hike You!: Six Years of Photographs and Haiku from the Heart of Rockford comes to RevHaus for Fall ArtScene 2026.

For more than six years, photographer Ryan Davis and poet Thomas L. Vaultonburg have explored Rockford one walk at a time, finding familiar streets, forgotten places, strange objects, and unexpected moments through photography and haiku. Hike You! brings those two ways of seeing together, following a journey through the city in which the familiar gradually becomes new, mysterious, and magical. The exhibition also offers a preview of the forthcoming Hike You! book.

Hike You! is part of a larger four-artist exhibition at RevHaus, a creative automotive space bringing craftsmanship, design, and art together. Also exhibiting are Oscar Pagles of Foraged, with reclaimed metal and wood artwork, and Shayne Pagles of VinGogh, LLC, with metalwork. Visitors can also see live metalworking and woodworking demonstrations throughout ArtScene.

Don’t miss this opportunity to score wholesale prices on rocks, minerals, jewelry, carvings, and more! This exciting two-day event features treasures for collectors, hobbyists, and curious visitors alike. Browse a wide selection of unique finds, meet fellow rock enthusiasts, and enjoy free admission to the Museum while you shop and explore.