Community Calendar

The Freeport Art Museum is thrilled to host Resilient Wonder, two solo exhibitions through Dec. 27. These exhibitions feature impressive works by Chelsea Bighorn from Chicago Illinois and Hattie Lee Mendoza from Peoria Illinois.

Chelsea Bighorn was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona, and is Lakota, Dakota and Shoshone -Paiute. Bighorn’s work is the result of her combining traditional Native American design with elements from her Irish American heritage. Using this process, she tells her personal history through her art. Bighorn has shown her work at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art, SITE Santa Fe, Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco, and The Center for Native Futures in Chicago, IL. She graduated from The Institute of American Indian Arts in 2021 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts. Bighorn received her Master of Fine Arts in Fiber and Material Studies from School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 2024. She currently resides in Chicago, IL where she is an artist in residence with Chicago Artist Coalition.

Hattie Lee Mendoza is a multi-disciplinary artist who grew up in Fowler, Kansas, and now lives in Peoria, Illinois. She has an MFA from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and a BA in graphic design from Tabor College, Hillsboro, KS. She is influenced by her Great Grandmother and namesake’s Cherokee heritage and stories, desiring to revive and continue that legacy within her family after generational loss of cultural connection. She spent three years living in Thailand, as well as traveling to various countries, while working with a non-profit organization on their fine art and media team. The experience gave her opportunities to interact and learn from many people groups and tribes in Asia and the Middle East. Afterward, she returned to the States and was motivated to connect to her own ancestral heritages. Her maternal grandmother’s frugal values, stemming from a depression era childhood, are also reflected in Mendoza’s practice by including repurposed and recycled personal, family and community items, as well as thrifted and found objects.

A beloved annual tradition! Ring in the holiday season with traditional favorites. Local music ensembles will be featured in the lobby before the concerts, during intermission, and following the concerts. This concert is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

An annual tradition, Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday Spectacular returns for three performances on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 14, at 2:30 p.m. The program includes favorite carols, new spins on modern favorites, and an appearance by Santa Claus.

Christmas O’Carolan

Imagine an Irish winter evening filled with music, laughter, and stories passed down through generations. This concert celebrates the spirit of Turlough O’Carolan, the blind Celtic harper whose gift for melody made him one of Ireland’s most beloved composers. His joyful planxties—written as tributes to patrons and friends—are filled with warmth and wit, the kind of tunes that once held up weddings and funerals until he could arrive to play.

Joining us for this holiday celebration are Katie Grennan on fiddle, John Williams on accordion, harpist Lauren Hayes, and guitarist-fiddler Liam Kantor. Together, they’ll share Carolan’s music alongside festive melodies of the season, blending toe-tapping dance rhythms with moments of quiet reflection. It’s the sound of Ireland at Christmastime: full of heart, tradition, and joy.

Mary Foster
Visual Artist

Artist Mary Foster completes the evening with her striking paintings and woodcuts, inspired by the hidden geometry and bold colors of the natural world. Her art, like Carolan’s music, captures fleeting moments and transforms them into something timeless.

Irish tunes, holiday spirit, and the glow of nature’s beauty. “Christmas O’Carolan” promises to leave you smiling well into the season.

Share the joy of the season at this year’s CMS Christmas concerts, “O Radiant Dawn.” Accompanied by strings and piano, the chorus will sing lush pieces that will illuminate even the longest, darkest nights. Familiar carols such as O Holy Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, Bring a Torch Jeannette Isabella, and Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, plus choral favorites and our popular sing-along will provide a magical experience that is sure to get you in the holiday mood. Perfect for families and friends, these concerts are an annual tradition you don’t want to miss. Music Director John C. Hughes conducts.

Join us this holiday season for a unique dance-adventure into Wonderland!

WSSR Dance+Theater presents an original adaptation of Alice’s Adventures! Drawing on the traditions of ballet, modern, tap, and hip hop— and incorporating the poetry of Lewis Carroll— join Alice as she tumbles down the rabbit hole into an exciting world of curious characters and amazing adventures!

She’ll meet the White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and March Hare, the Queen of Hearts— and many more!

COME IN COSTUME!!

Audience members who come dressed as a character from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland get Wonderland Cash good for one free snack or candy from the concession stand!

The Galena History Symposium will be held in Galena, IL May 15-17, 2026 as a part of the Galena Bicentennial celebrations. Professional and avocational historians, archeologists, and preservationists will present papers, panels, and performances about the history of Galena, Illinois.

Galena history includes the stories of pre-historic mound builders; Native nations and struggles for autonomy and land rights; the booming lead mining trade; the illegal enslavement of Black workers; the busy Mississippi River port; the work of women leaders including Sarah Coates Harris; and Congressman Elihu Washburne and his most favored military man, General Ulysses S. Grant.

As Galena settled into small town life in the late 1800s, many families left Galena for better opportunities. The 19th century commercial buildings and homes were barely maintained. Today, with over 100 years of preservation efforts, Galena, a city of 3,250 people, is the third most visited tourist destination in the state of Illinois after Chicago and Springfield, with a remarkable assortment of historic buildings and homes on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Symposium will be held at the DeSoto House Hotel on May 15-17, 2026, with registration opening in December 2025. For more information, see galenahistory.org and click on the Symposium tab. For questions, email Tracey Lee Roberts, coordinator at galenahistorysymposium@gmail.com See our Facebook page: Galena History Symposium at https://www.facebook.com/groups/609040911815246

The Next Picture Show is pleased to welcome back the Winter Scenes & Holiday Dreams Art Exhibition. Winter Scenes & Holiday Dreams captures the beauty and magic of the holiday season. From snowy paths to fresh pine and the glimmering lights of the season, artists were encouraged to submit both 2-D and 3-D work that captures the whimsy of winter.

The opening reception and artist award ceremony will be held on November 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. We will provide light refreshments and a cash bar.

This exhibition is sponsored by G&M Distributors.

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!