Community Calendar

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. Come witness the power of art and community as we welcome you back to a vibrant space of creativity!

Interested in the JFK assassination records? What about federal records about UFOs? The National Archives needs help transcribing original documents to make them easier for the public to access. Learn how to decipher cursive and create keyword tags in a short presentation before getting hands-on experience in contributing to the transcription process.

Creating a login using two-factor authentication for the National Archives will be required to contribute.

This program is limited in spaces and is first come, first served. Laptops will be provided. All ages are welcome.

For questions and more information, contact Emily at emilyk@dkpl.org or (815)756-9568 ext. 6106.

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra and point2pointproductions are bringing a concert-style performance of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” to The Hemmens Cultural Center on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.

This lushly scored retelling of Victor Hugo’s epic story of love, acceptance and what it means to be a hero showcases music from Disney’s Academy Award nominated 1996 animated film and incorporates new songs by the legendary creative team of Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

This production will include dramatic lighting, exquisite costumes, the musicians of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, point2pointproduction actors, and a large chorus. The performance, underwritten in part by The Palmer Foundation, lasts approximately two-and-a-half hours, including one intermission, and is appropriate for ages 12 and older.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, at www.ElginSymphony.org. Tickets range from $25 - $65. Student tickets are $15.

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director, Chad Goodman, received Orchestra of the Year and Conductor of the Year Awards in 2025 from the Illinois Council of Orchestras.

Select members of the Plein Air Painters Of Rockford (PAPOR) are exhibiting their interpretations of "The Thankful Path" to coincide with Klehm Arboretum's event by the same name. A selection of 24 original artworks is on display December 2 through mid-January 2026.

PAPOR posts their activities and Art results on their Facebook fan page - Plein Air Painters of Rockford

Chicago-based artist Michael x. Ryan gathers the quiet imprints we leave behind — from sidewalk stains and river paths to shower puddles and fallen tree limbs — and gives them form, weight, and voice. Through drawing, mapping, wood relief, and 3D printed objects, Ryan captures traces of human presence — the edge of a river, the imprint of a wet body, the marks on a street — and renders them as physical forms that evoke movement, memory, and place.

This exhibition brings together key installations spanning over four decades, from early works shaped by the Ox-Bow landscape to large-scale reliefs inspired by the streets of Chicago to one tree of interest on the family property in Woodstock, Illinois. By drawing attention to overlooked details, Ryan invites us to consider how our everyday movements shape the spaces we inhabit — and how those spaces, in turn, record and reflect our presence and passage through time.

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. Come witness the power of art and community as we welcome you back to a vibrant space of creativity!

In the spring of 1950, Agatha Christie accompanied her husband, archeologist Max Mallowan to Iraq and the ancient city of Nimrud. Join Debra Miller as Agatha Christie as she reminisces about her childhood, her life as a writer and adventurer.

This program is offered in partnership with the Cary Area Public Library and Algonquin Area Public Library and will be held at the Cary Library. Registration is open now. Free to attend.

Select members of the Plein Air Painters Of Rockford (PAPOR) are exhibiting their interpretations of "The Thankful Path" to coincide with Klehm Arboretum's event by the same name. A selection of 24 original artworks is on display December 2 through mid-January 2026.

PAPOR posts their activities and Art results on their Facebook fan page - Plein Air Painters of Rockford

Chicago-based artist Michael x. Ryan gathers the quiet imprints we leave behind — from sidewalk stains and river paths to shower puddles and fallen tree limbs — and gives them form, weight, and voice. Through drawing, mapping, wood relief, and 3D printed objects, Ryan captures traces of human presence — the edge of a river, the imprint of a wet body, the marks on a street — and renders them as physical forms that evoke movement, memory, and place.

This exhibition brings together key installations spanning over four decades, from early works shaped by the Ox-Bow landscape to large-scale reliefs inspired by the streets of Chicago to one tree of interest on the family property in Woodstock, Illinois. By drawing attention to overlooked details, Ryan invites us to consider how our everyday movements shape the spaces we inhabit — and how those spaces, in turn, record and reflect our presence and passage through time.

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. Come witness the power of art and community as we welcome you back to a vibrant space of creativity!