Blogs

National award-winning guitarist and harp-guitarist Muriel Anderson returns to her native Downers Grove once a year to continue her beloved neighborhood tradition. Her 18th annual performance begins at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, in Downers Grove North High School Auditorium.

Her parents, family and friends chip in to provide the legendary homemade refreshments and hot apple cider served at intermission. Guest harp-guitarist and humorist Andy Wahlberg from Florida joins her this year.

Muriel Anderson and her harp-guitar. She also will teach a guitar workshop that weekend. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Andy Wahlberg SUBMITTED PHOTO

Bethel United Church of Christ in Elmhurst will host its annual Alternative Gift Market and Ten Thousand Villages from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 315 E. St. Charles Road.

The Ten Thousand Villages store will offer crafts, jewelry, home décor and Christmas items made by artisans in Third World countries, allowing them to earn a fair wage. This year’s market at Bethel will support international projects as well as local missions. Gift prices start at $3 per giving share.

Uncork your creativity with Bottles and Brushes night at Cafe Amano in Elmhurst.

The wine and painting party will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, at the cafe at 105 S. York in Elmhurst.

From 1 to 2 p.m., brunch will be served. And from 2 to 4 p.m., guests will receive a canvas, paints and an apron to create their own masterpiece to take home. A Chicago artist will be on hand to answer questions, mix paint colors and also give some instruction. 

Tickets are $45 per person. The price includes brunch, juice, a cash bar, painting supplies, an apron, pre-stretched canvas and guidance from a professional artist. For tickets call, (630) 279-9333 or visit www.bottles-brushes.com/reservations.

The Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra presents “A Celebration of Youth” this weekend in Lombard and Elmhurst. Twelve-year-old cello phenomenon Johannes Gray, who has been winning competitions and establishing himself as an important new talent on the instrument, will be featured in Dvorak’s Cello Concerto.

Performances begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, in Biester Auditorium at Glenbard East High School, 1014 S. Main St., Lombard, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, at its new venue in Elmhurst, The Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church, 155 Brush Hill Road.

Johannes Gray SUBMITTED PHOTO

For those wanting to get their artwork out to the masses, Water Street Studios in Batavia is currently accepting artwork for gallery displays on both the first and second floor of their building. The deadline for artwork proposals is Tuesday, Dec. 1.

The show will feature guest judge and accomplished artist Steve Sherrell, B.F.A and M.F.A graduate from the Art Institute. Artwork will be displayed from Jan. 15 to April 16, and the pieces must meet the specific requirements which can be found under ‘gallery submissions’ at the Water Street Studios Web Site along with the necessary application. 

Questions on the juried exhibition and gallery submissions can be directed to Gallery Director Steven Lockwood at Sparktosparks@yahoo.com.

Award-winning, singer-songwriter Greg Trafidlo will perform Friday evening, Nov. 27, at the Two Way Street Coffee House, 1047 Curtiss St., Downers Grove, where doors open at 7:30 p.m.

The tenor has appeared from Wrigley Field to the U.S. Capitol, from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to Cork, Ireland, and as far as Beijing, China, singing his distinctive blend of folk, country, blues and bluegrass.
 
He’s shared the stage with such artists as Bill Monroe, Kathy Mattea, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Tom Paxton and John Hartford. National Public Radio airs his song “(I Got Stuck Behind) Buford” on its nationally syndicated show, “Car Talk.”

The late Mike Fleischer of WDCB-FM in Glen Ellyn said, “Greg Trafidlo’s songs tickle your fancy, tickle your funny bone, tickle your thought processes, tickle your heart, and tickle your soul.”

For ticket information, contact Two Way Street Coffee House at (630) 969-9720 or www.twowaystreet.org.
 

Take a look at how movie theaters used to be like at the Theatre Historical Society of America's Open House event on Saturday, Nov. 21 in downtown Elmhurst.

The free event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the American Movie Palace Museum, York Theatre building, 2nd floor, 152 N. York St., Elmhurst. The open house is in celebration of the society's 40th anniversary.

This cast metal relief sculpture once graced the Capitol Theatre in New York City, ca. 1919 and is now located at the American Movie Palace Museum in Elmhurst. The photos on the left show these sculptures decorating pillars at the top of a wide stairway. STAFF PHOTO BY BILL ACKERMAN

The Theatre of Western Springs launches its next Cattell Lecture Series with “A Conversation with Joseph Drummond.” He is the recipient of the Jeff Award for Lifetime Achievement after 25 years of stage management at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. The free lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23, in the Cattell Wing of TWS, 4384 Hampton Ave., Western Springs.
 
Most recently serving as production stage manager for the Goodman Theatre’s production of “Animal Crackers,” Drummond is in his 36th season with Goodman Theatre, having stage managed numerous shows at Goodman, as well as the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. He also teaches stage management at Roosevelt University and has been a guest speaker at several area universities.
 
Named for the founder and first artistic director of the Theatre of Western Springs, Mary Cattell, the lecture series is an ongoing program featuring Chicago-area theater professionals in a conversational exchange about the craft of theater.
 
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call TWS at (708) 246-4043 or visit www.theatrewesternsprings.com.

To help guide you to the myriad entertainment options ready to be unwrapped this holiday season, we’ve collected a sampling of some of the best shows, festivals and activities around.

Symphony sparkles

WHAT Returning to its regular venue by popular demand, Elgin Symphony Orchestra performs “Home for the Holidays,” featuring the Elgin Choral Union, Elgin Children’s Chorus and vocal soloist Nathaniel Stampley. He was featured on the orchestra’s Copland recording and was one of three actors who played the patriarch lion Mufasa in the Broadway production of “The Lion King.” Robert Hanson will conduct the rousing holiday arrangements for which the award-winning orchestra is known.
WHERE The Hemmens Theatre, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin
WHEN 3:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12; and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13
COST $28 to $62
CONTACT (847) 888-4000; www.ElginSymphony.org

Robert Hanson will conduct the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s “Home for the Holidays” performances with guest choirs and soloist Nathaniel Stampley of Broadway’s “The Lion King.” SUBMITTED PHOTO

Expect the unexpected when "New Moon" opens in theaters nationwide this Friday.

Movie theaters in the suburbs are preparing for this much anticipated movie by offering special events in honor of its release this weekend.