Community Calendar

Discover the rewarding hobby of harvesting and saving seeds at this hands-on workshop! You’ll learn how to collect, dry, and store seeds from your garden favorites so you can replant them next year. It’s a simple way to save money, skip the shopping trip, and keep your garden thriving season after season!

This event is free and is intended for adults. It is first come, first served, as supplies are limited.

For more information, contact Amy at amyf@dkpl.org or (815) 756-9568 ext. 6108.

Lean into your creative side and practice drawing wildlife step-by-step while learning about native species. This weekly series is geared for ages 6 through adult. Paper, pencils, and crayons provided. Bringing your own drawing supplies is encouraged! No session on June 19th or July 3rd.

Come One, Come All!
Books on First once again is sponsoring "Find Waldo Local" in Dixon, all the month of July. Based on the children's Where's Waldo books in which we seek and find Waldo and friends in various locations around town and the world within the pages, children from anywhere can seek and find Waldo in 25 locations around Dixon, IL, including the Parks District building, the Next Picture Show art gallery, Discover Dixon Main Street Chamber of Commerce HQ and other fun places including of course, Books on First.
We have lots of prizes for those participating, those seeing Waldo in at least 10 spots and those becoming eligible for entry into drawings for Where's Waldo books as well as contributed prizes from There's Fun Inside and more. Get involved in a Dixon-wide search for Waldo and experience the Local Small Businesses all around town. The hunt ends in a "Bye, Waldo" party on Saturday, 1 August!

Join us for a fun, informative family friendly afternoon as we explore the Elkhorn Creek Biodiversity Preserve for the many butterflies that are found there.

From 9 am to noon. participants may join guided butterfly tours or look on their own for those winged beauties. Tours will begin at 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00 a.m.

“Illinois Butterflies and Moths” pocket guides will be distributed at no charge while supplies last. We’ll have a shady rest area with chairs, as well as a restroom, cold beverages, snacks and information about pollinators.

If the weather is questionable, call Mary Blackmore at 779-302-7281

To date 38 species of butterflies and skippers have been documented at the preserve among which are Buckeye, Great Fritillary, Coral Hairstreak, Milbert’s Tortoiseshell, Peck’s Skipper, Red-spotted Purple and American Snout.

The preserve is located about 3 miles southwest of Forreston in the southeast corner of West Grove and Freeport Rds. The parking lot is off of West Grove Rd. This event is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

Meet our native Illinois birds of prey and learn why they are so important!

Northern Illinois Raptor Rehab & Education will introduce you to several of their animal ambassadors, including a hawk, owls, and falcons. You’ll learn about their basic anatomy, their role in the food chain, and find out how conservation efforts can help protect these magnificent birds.

You will also be able to explore and touch displays of biological artifacts such as wings, tails, pellets, and feather-boards, which include real wing and tail feathers.

Birds will not be free flying; each animal ambassador will be secured and held by a handler during the presentation.

Northern Illinois Raptor Rehab & Education is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of native birds of prey, with the goal of returning healthy birds back to the wild. Through their specialized programs, they aim to inspire a love for wildlife and foster a sense of responsibility towards the environment and its inhabitants.

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

This event is part of the America 250 initiative, celebrating our nation throughout the year. It is sponsored by the Friends of the DeKalb Public Library.

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

Join oudist, vocalist, and composer Dr. Aboud Agha for an intimate evening of original music, and reimagined classical melodies as part of ‘Melodies of the East’.

The performance unfolds through the expressive voice of the oud, intricate rhythms, and improvisation. This concert takes audiences through an immersive musical experience to fire the imagination, drawing inspiration from ancient cultures and timeless artistic traditions.

Aboud Agha was born in Syria and immigrated to Boston at the age of twelve. He is an accomplished performer and composer of Arabic and Middle Eastern music. Aboud is a master of the Oud (Middle Eastern lute) and of many vocal styles from this part of the world. He has a master’s degree in musical performance from Northern Illinois University and a doctorate in ethnomusicology from UCLA in California. He now teaches at the American University in Dubai.

Aboud will be accompanied on by percussionist and DeKalb native Sven Oscar Hansen. Sven has lived and studied in Norway and India, and has created and performed events incorporating music, poetry, and sound healing.

There will be an opportunity after the show to meet and chat with the artists.

This concert is free and open to all. Doors will open at 6:00 and music will begin at 6:30 p.m. No registration is required. This event is part of the after-hours concert series in partnership with the Friends of the Library and 94.9 WDKB.

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

Come One, Come All!
Books on First once again is sponsoring "Find Waldo Local" in Dixon, all the month of July. Based on the children's Where's Waldo books in which we seek and find Waldo and friends in various locations around town and the world within the pages, children from anywhere can seek and find Waldo in 25 locations around Dixon, IL, including the Parks District building, the Next Picture Show art gallery, Discover Dixon Main Street Chamber of Commerce HQ and other fun places including of course, Books on First.
We have lots of prizes for those participating, those seeing Waldo in at least 10 spots and those becoming eligible for entry into drawings for Where's Waldo books as well as contributed prizes from There's Fun Inside and more. Get involved in a Dixon-wide search for Waldo and experience the Local Small Businesses all around town. The hunt ends in a "Bye, Waldo" party on Saturday, 1 August!

Come One, Come All!
Books on First once again is sponsoring "Find Waldo Local" in Dixon, all the month of July. Based on the children's Where's Waldo books in which we seek and find Waldo and friends in various locations around town and the world within the pages, children from anywhere can seek and find Waldo in 25 locations around Dixon, IL, including the Parks District building, the Next Picture Show art gallery, Discover Dixon Main Street Chamber of Commerce HQ and other fun places including of course, Books on First.
We have lots of prizes for those participating, those seeing Waldo in at least 10 spots and those becoming eligible for entry into drawings for Where's Waldo books as well as contributed prizes from There's Fun Inside and more. Get involved in a Dixon-wide search for Waldo and experience the Local Small Businesses all around town. The hunt ends in a "Bye, Waldo" party on Saturday, 1 August!

Come One, Come All!
Books on First once again is sponsoring "Find Waldo Local" in Dixon, all the month of July. Based on the children's Where's Waldo books in which we seek and find Waldo and friends in various locations around town and the world within the pages, children from anywhere can seek and find Waldo in 25 locations around Dixon, IL, including the Parks District building, the Next Picture Show art gallery, Discover Dixon Main Street Chamber of Commerce HQ and other fun places including of course, Books on First.
We have lots of prizes for those participating, those seeing Waldo in at least 10 spots and those becoming eligible for entry into drawings for Where's Waldo books as well as contributed prizes from There's Fun Inside and more. Get involved in a Dixon-wide search for Waldo and experience the Local Small Businesses all around town. The hunt ends in a "Bye, Waldo" party on Saturday, 1 August!

Historian Lucy Worsley investigates the tensions and turning points that led to America's declaration of independence from Britain in 1776. With access to expert insights and original evidence, she asks whether this explosive split could have been avoided.

Lucy travels to New York's City Hall Park, where Washington's troops heard the Declaration of Independence read aloud, and rebels melted a statue of King George III into musket balls. She crosses to London to see the war through British eyes — King George's maps, Benjamin Franklin's home, and the punishing taxes that made revolution inevitable. From the Boston Massacre to the Tea Party, from John Wilkes to Thomas Paine, she traces the radical ideas that lit the fuse.

At Portsmouth Royal Dockyard, Lucy uncovers a shocking arson plot to cripple the Royal Navy. She follows Franklin's secret mission to Paris, exposes the British spy at the heart of it, and examines Britain's mounting fears as France and Spain entered the conflict. In London, riots. In Ireland, resistance. In Yorktown, defeat. In 1783, Britain formally recognized American independence. This free public screening runs 110 minutes, not rated, and is made possible through PBS.