Author: Fox Valley Magazine

After a hiatus last year because of the pandemic, Windmill City Festival returns to downtown Batavia from Aug. 27 to Aug. 29. Brand new this year is a special lineup of 18 bands on two stages. The Riverwalk Stage is at the Peg Bond Center, 151 Island Ave., overlooking the picturesque Depot Pond. The Comedy Vault Stage will set up in the 18 E. Wilson St. parking lot, and will be for the 21-and-older crowd, with a $5 daily cover charge. Fest-goers won’t forget the array of blues, country, disco, hair, pop, R&B, jazz, karaoke, ska and rock cover bands.…

(Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock) By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinois A capacity crowd packed into the Illinois State Board of Education room on Wednesday as many more stood outside the building to protest the state’s new indoor mask mandate in all public and nonpublic schools. “I’m so tired of hearing how resilient our kids are. Resilience is something you choose,” said Ruby Johnson, a mother of seven children from New Lenox. “Our kids did not choose to be masked all day, unable to see their friends or teachers smile at them, to have to COVID test to stay…

Saturday Farmer & Artisan Market @ The Rustic Fox, North Aurora All the best in locally grown fruits and vegetables, plants, flowers, decadent baked goods, pastry items, food trucks, delicious coffee, one-of-a-kind artisan items and more! And don’t forget to stop in the store and shop over 150 vendors offering furniture, decor, clothing, jewelry, kids, baby, handmade, vintage, antiques, and so much more!!! Time: 9am – 2pm Where: The Rustic Fox 1790 Towne Center Dr. North Aurora, IL 60542 Conveniently located right off I88 & Orchard Rd. FREE ENTRY FREE PARKING Click here for a list of vendors. Batavia Farmers…

Final services were held for slain Chicago Police Officer Ella French yesterday. Thousands attended the service at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel on the Chicago’s Southwest Side, including former Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago U.S. Attorney John Lausch and former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.  “Ella was so proud to be a member of your family,” her mother Elizabeth French said in her eulogy to the attending police officers. “Every day you leave home to serve and protect family, friends and people you will never meet in your communities, towns and cities. Ella and I thank you for your service.”…

Welcome to our latest edition of Fox Valley Magazine’s 4 FOR THE WEEKEND where the Bears play in FIELDS of dreams. So let’s get to it, starting with….. Get On That Hog No, we’re not talking the State Fair. No, we’re not talking strange barnyard rituals. We’re talking hogs, ya know? H. L. Mencken once said that “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” We kinda feel that way about motorcycles. If you do, too, now’s your chance. Head out to Pingree Grove Friday or Saturday…

A Kane County jury has found 30-year-old Marcus Currie guilty of the offense of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, Class X felony, 2 counts. During the period February 2018 and January 2019, Currie sexually assaulted the victim, who was younger than 13 years old, while living with the victim’s family. Kane County Judge Alice Tracy set Currie’s next court appearance for 10 a.m. September 1, 2021, in Courtroom 313 for motions and to set a sentencing date. Currie faces a sentence of between 12 and 120 years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections. In addition to the prison…

The Arcada Theatre welcomes metal rockers Accept and the former lead singer of Yes, Jon Anderson, to the stage this weekend. Accept Friday, August 20, 8pm Tickets: $89.00 / $79.00 / $49.00 / $29.00 Teutonic metallers Accept could already claim big worldwide success with “Blood Of The Nations” and “Stalingrad.” But with “Blind Rage,” they reached the pinnacle of their career in the form of the pole position, a #1 album. Besides #1 in Germany, Accept also hit #1 in Finland as well as several top 10 positions; Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and last but not least…

The Aurora Uke Fest (formally City of Lights Ukulele Festival) will return to Downtown Aurora as a live event on Sunday, August 22nd from 11 am to 6 pm. Ukulele music brings people joy. Musicians like George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Taylor Swift, Cliff Edwards, Jake Shimabukuro, and the late Israel Kamakawiwo’ole helped popularize the ukulele. That’s why ukes are surging in popularity. Americans bought 1.6 million ukuleles in 2019! The City of Lights Ukulele Festival Society hosts our annual ukulele festival to bring home the joy of ukulele music in the western suburbs of Chicago. Aurora Alderman Mike Saville envisioned…

Soul Asylum was Alt-Rock before there was Alt-Rock. This Saturday, they bring their groundbreaking sound to the Piazza in Aurora for one night only. Soul Asylum initially formed in the early ’80s under the name Loud Fast Rules when vocalist/guitarist Dave Pirner was still in high school with friends Dan Murphy and Karl Mueller, and became part of the celebrated Minneapolis local music scene alongside fellow indie bands the Replacements and Hüsker Dü. This success led to the band entering the major-label mainstream with 1988’s Hang Time and its 1990 follow-up, And the Horse They Rode In On, before achieving…

The August 22, 2021 Geneva Concours d’Elegance will feature early Autos built in the Chicago area, the Ford Motor Company’s first time through the alphabet (that is A through T), honor the 60th Birthday of the Chevrolet Corvair, the 100th Birthday of both Duesenberg and Citroen Automobile manufacturing Companies, the Sports Car Club of America celebrating Seven Decades of Motorsports. Third Street is the heart of Geneva’s charming downtown shopping district lined with shops, restaurants, parks and historical buildings. This event is open to the public at no cost making this a wonderful family event with something for everyone to enjoy and…