DuPage County

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

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

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.

The Oak Brook Academy of Music & Art will be raising funds and awareness of a disease that has nearly crippled one of their own.

Three years ago, Julia Moberly was a vibrant 11-year-old student of acting and voice at the Academy when she was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease. The group of related metabolic diseases causes cell injury to its victims and sometimes death. In the past three years, Julia has suffered innumerable localized seizures, been hospitalized several times and lost much of her ability to move her limbs and speak.

(From left) Dan Cassin of Clarendon Hills, Ashley Heaney of Villa Park, Chris Anderson of Clarendon Hills and Julia Moberly of Hinsdale rehearse for "Into The Woods." SUBMITTED PHOTO

Head out to Silverado bar and grill in Elmhurst on Wednesday, Nov. 25, and give thanks for an evening of rock and roll kicking off at 9 p.m. with The Purebred Stems.

The Elmhurst-based musicians report that after having rocked many a person over the past year, they are triumphantly returning to Silverado equipped with their own distinct brand of stripped down, grease-gun, rock and roll in a fight against hunger.

This year, The Purebred Stems, in conjunction with the UCCA and Silverado, will collect nonperishable foods for donation. The first 100 people to enter Silverado bearing a nonperishable or canned food item will receive a limited edition Purebred Stems print by local artist Mark A. Metzger (markametzger.com).

UCCA stands for United Community Concerns Association, a local organization that provides food certificates for Elmhurst families. Last year, the group helped feed 240 families, and this year is projected to assist more than 260 families.

Silverado Grill is at 447 Spring Road. For details, call the restaurant and bar at (630) 833-1602.