Community Calendar

Join us for Conversational Café every 3rd Saturday from 1:00 to 2:30 PM at the Christ Community Outreach Center, located at 316 N 6th St in DeKalb. This is a great opportunity to practice your English in a welcoming atmosphere. Everyone is welcome, and walk-ins are accepted! For more information, visit ccclife.org/dekalboutreachcenter.

Experience a session of restorative Sound Healing interspersed with the transformative words of Walt Whitman.

You will experience many tones and frequencies that pull us to a peaceful place within. The poetry inspires and deepens the experience.

Sven is a certified sound healer who incorporates a variety of instruments and poetry. He has performed this program of words and sound throughout the United States and in Europe.

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

Jazz in Progress joins us for an after-hours concert that will feature different styles of big band and modern jazz music in the library’s main lobby!

Jazz in Progress (JIP) organized in 2012 to encourage local musicians to play jazz in support of its mission of musical, charitable, and educational purposes to advance the appreciation, performance, and history of jazz music and its related genres. Its membership includes a variety of talented musicians from the DeKalb County area. The ensemble also honors the practice of inviting local high school and college jazz musicians to sit in with the band, giving young musicians an opportunity to gain more experience in playing jazz music.

JIP is an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that puts funds raised back into local community music programs. Past recipients of JIP donations include the DeKalb, Genoa-Kingston, Hinckley-Big Rock, Indian Creek and Sycamore music booster organizations, as well as St. Mary’s-DeKalb and the DeKalb County Community Foundation.

JIP has performed at benefit and fund raising events and venues around the area including the St. Mary’s Lancer Legacy Ball, Sycamore Natural History Museum’s Rockin’ for the Reptiles, Stage Coach Theatre, Sycamore Farmers Market, Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital, Artigras, The House Café, and Oak Crest Senior Proms. The band also has performed with the Celebration Chorale and at many other community and charity events.

This concert is free and open to all. No registration is required. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and music will begin at 6:30 p.m.

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

The Black Box Theatre at McHenry County College is proud to announce their Fall 2025 production of Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring, directed by Jay Geller, running Fridays-Sundays, Oct. 31-Nov. 16.

Set in Brooklyn, New York in the 1940s, Arsenic and Old Lace follows drama critic Mortimer Brewster as he discovers his sweet, elderly aunts have a deadly secret: they poison lonely old men with elderberry wine laced with arsenic. As Mortimer tries to deal with his eccentric family — including a brother who thinks he’s Theodore Roosevelt and another who’s a homicidal maniac — chaos and hilarity ensue.

Improve your knowledge of English and become more comfortable speaking in everyday situations. Practice basic English grammar concepts in conversation, learning how to ask and answer questions, expanding your vocabulary, and learning to understand the sounds of spoken English.

This class is intended for adult participants at a low intermediate level of speaking English or higher, but all are welcome to attend.

On September 2 this class will be held in the Bilder Family Meeting Room.

This program requires registration. There will be limited seats for unregistered patrons.

For more information or to register, please contact Britta at brittak@dkpl.org or (815) 756-9568 ext. 2100.

The Underground Railroad has a rich history in Illinois, and in the Midwest in general. Join students from Northern Illinois University as they discuss their research about the regional aspects of the Underground Railroad.

This program is free and does not require registration. It is intended for teens and adults.

For more information, please contact Britta at brittak@dkpl.org or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 2100.

Join Nellie Bly at the US Embassy in Paris in February 1919. The Great War has ended, and Nellie recounts her adventures as a reporter, in the US, Mexico and as a war correspondent, as she awaits permission to return to the US. Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran (1864-1922), this pioneer of investigative journalism is better known by her nom de plume,"Nellie Bly". Bly spent a day in Woodstock in 1895 visiting Eugene V Debs. This is a living history program presented by actress Debra Ann Miller.

Paula Kuehl, Lowden Gallery, October 1 - November 30

Paula Kuehl, of McHenry, has been painting since 1981. She started painting with oil paints, which were fun but slow to dry and would become muddy if you didn’t wait for them to dry. When she discovered pastels, she switched to them and never went back to oils. Pastels better suit her personality – she loves to draw, and pastels are like drawing with color. She also loves the vibrancy of the medium and the versatility it provides – versatility in the ability to use different types of paper and the way the pastel reacts on that paper. She feels her work is a study capturing the essence of life – whether it be in a child, a flower, or a landscape. Pastels are like life – vibrant and full of energy. That is what she attempts to capture in her works.

Paula Kuehl, Lowden Gallery, October 1 - November 30

Paula Kuehl, of McHenry, has been painting since 1981. She started painting with oil paints, which were fun but slow to dry and would become muddy if you didn’t wait for them to dry. When she discovered pastels, she switched to them and never went back to oils. Pastels better suit her personality – she loves to draw, and pastels are like drawing with color. She also loves the vibrancy of the medium and the versatility it provides – versatility in the ability to use different types of paper and the way the pastel reacts on that paper. She feels her work is a study capturing the essence of life – whether it be in a child, a flower, or a landscape. Pastels are like life – vibrant and full of energy. That is what she attempts to capture in her works.

Join us Friday mornings this fall for an informal crafting get-together at the Pick Museum. Try the week’s featured activity, bring your own project, or use the supplies provided to do your own thing. Drop in and leave as you need.

This is a great time to meet other crafters, try something new, and decompress before the weekend.

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram (@pickmuseumniu) for a preview of the week's featured activity.