IT Picks

If your home harbors a scratching pad or climbing tower, cans of kitty chow or long pole-like contraptions with string that your feline favors, you must head north to Lincoln on Monday evening. The Amazing Acro-Cats from Chicago are the Cirque du Soleil of the animal kingdom. They jump through wreaths, roll ornaments, push a […]

While Christmas-light cruising on Sunday with the family, drive by the Dana-Thomas house so the kids can see the 12,600 square foot Prairie-style structure alit in candle moonlight. Better yet, plan a trip to see the 950 candles in paper sacks lining the sidewalks and horizontal ledges and exit the car to take an evening […]

Dress in your warm coat, gloves and hat for a 20-minute outdoor journey with a wise man through scenes where costumed characters reveal the story of Jesus’ birth. Journeys start every four minutes and end at a live nativity. Journey to BethlehemSaturday, December 12Sunday, December 135:30-8:30pmWestern Oaks Baptist Church 5345 Old Jacksonville Rd698-8622Free

Who doesn’t love Tuscany’s ambience and old world charm? See the beauty captured by the distinctive and fresh eyes of eight Robert Morris University students who studied for five weeks under international photographer David Weiss (once a student of Annie Liebowitz). The juried selections feature Cinque Terre, Maremma and Tuscany’s capital city, Florence. Pictured is […]

Even though winter hasn’t officially arrived, bundle up and take a closer look at the garden on the cusp of the prairie’s winter preparation. Join arborist Larry Miller for a December hike and learn to identify trees by their buds, see what birds flock the feeders and spy other late fall wonders. Hot chocolate served […]

I thought about calling this, “Show Me Your Brass or Who Gives a Toot?” like some old Rocky and Bullwinkle episode, but that makes for a lengthy headline and really doesn’t do justice to what a spectacular concert lies in store for a listening audience on Saturday when the Vintage Brass Band presents A Vintage […]

Select your seat around a roaring bonfire and croon Christmas carols with others, accompanied by bells. This free family singalong and outdoor holiday shindig even has cookies and hot cocoa and a free souvenir songbook for everyone in attendance. Santa visits from 5-5:30pm. Caroling at the CarillonSunday, December 134:30-5:30pmWashington Park Rees Memorial Carillon W. Fayette […]

Want to see Christmas lights? Forget the car. Get lit up with holiday joy as you take a seasonal stroll through the zoo during December evening hours. Thousands of lights have been strung and the zoo’s paths are decorated in holiday splendor. Find unique Christmas presents at the gift shop or get a cup of […]

As the cold descends on Springfield, step inside one of two churches, on one of two dates, to hear the Springfield Choral Society perform music of peace from around the world. Warm yourself by inviting the sounds and sense of voice and language to grow a calm spirit within you. Marion van der Loo conducts. […]

Not many spaces remain for the candlelight service at St. John the Baptist Chapel on Elkhart Hill, but if you call now you may become a lucky ticket holder. The privately owned 1890 chapel, boasting one of three oldest working pipe organs in the state, is a magical stone building located in a magical gated […]

Chillin’ with Jack Frost is the theme of this year’s holiday parade that will stride west on Jefferson Street from the Horace Mann parking lot, south on Fifth Street, east on Capitol Avenue and then north on Sixth Street. Grab a slab of sidewalk along the parade’s path to plant your feet or chair. Then […]

View the magnificent architecture of six huge Springfield homes, built in the1800s and early 1900s, decorated for the holiday season. Begin this year’s Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association Historic Home Tour at the Brinkerhoff House, an 1859 Victorian Italianate mansion located at 1500 N. Fifth Street on the campus of Springfield College – Benedictine University. Or […]