Galleries on the NIU campus and businesses throughout downtown DeKalb will be exhibiting work by NIU students and community artists as one of many events planned for ARTigras, May 5-6.

COUNTY

Household hazardous waste to be collected

The DeKalb County Farm Bureau will conduct a household hazardous waste drive from 9 a.m.-noon May 19, at its office site, 1350 W. Prairie Drive, Sycamore. The collection drive is being held as a way to keep hazardous waste out of landfills, where its presence can eventually harm area drinking supplies.

This event is for DeKalb County residents. Proof of residency will be needed, and participation is limited to the first 200 cars that arrive at the collection site.

Items that will be accepted for recycling include oil-based paint, paint thinner, herbicides, pesticides, pool chemicals, antifreeze and hobby chemicals. Items that will not be accepted include car batteries, tires, explosives, sharps and needles and biohazardous waste. Electronics will not be accepted at this event. However, special electronics collections will be held June 2 and Sept. 22 at the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport.

For a complete list of acceptable and non-acceptable items, go to dekalbcounty.org.

Area letter carriers will help food drive

Letter carriers in DeKalb, Sycamore, Cortland and Malta will participate in the upcoming National Association of Letter Carriers’ 26th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

Each year, on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the country collect from their customers non-perishable food donations. Although the food drive is national, the food that each carrier collects will go directly to local food pantries.

In 2017 across the county, 75.3 million pounds of food was collected, feeding an estimated 30 million people. Over the course of its 20-year history, the drive has collected more than 1.6 billion pounds of food, thanks to the universal delivery network that spans the entire nation, including Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Local residents can participate in this year’s Letter Carrier National Food Drive by leaving a non-perishable food donation in a bag near their mailboxes on May 12, and letter carriers will pick them up as they deliver that day’s mail.

DeKALB

ARTigras arts celebration comes to city, campus

Northern Illinois University and the city of DeKalb will present ARTigras, an annual celebration of the arts both in the DeKalb community as well as on the NIU campus.  This year’s ARTigras, Spring Art Walk will feature student art exhibitions, student/local art in downtown venues, and new this year, The Art of Tasting and the Variety Show at the Egyptian Theater featuring dance, theatrical and music performances. All events will be held May 4 and 5. Tickets for the ARTigras Variety Show are $30, and can be purchased at web.dekalb.org. 

Admission to all art venues is free. For detailed gallery schedule, go to niu.edu/artigras/student-exhibitions/index.shtml. For more details about all the events that will be offered, visit niu.edu/artigras.

Bike sharing comes to NIU

A bike-sharing ride program, similar to those popular in many cities across the country, is being tested out on the Northern Illinois University campus. A total of 100 high-end bicycles are available for free ready until May 24. VeoRide, a dockless bike-sharing service, has begun a trial period. Recently, representatives of the company were on campus with a number of bikes, educating students on how to download the app and unlock a bike.

By using the VeoRide app, available through the Apple Store or Google Play, users can find bikes, unlock them by scanning a code or typing the number of the bike into the app, and begin their trip. The ride ends when the bike is locked in place.

The first month will be free to users, with the next three months having a discounted rate of 30 cents every 15 minutes for students with an “niu.edu” email address, which is payable through an online account. Subsequent months will cost 50 cents per 15 minutes of use.

For students, faculty and staff, a monthly pass will be $13.99, and a yearly pass will be $48.99. When the service is expanded, community members would pay $25.99 for a monthly pass and $99.99 for a yearly pass.

Bikes that are not returned to a designated drop-off zone will continue to incur charges for the user. Riders are free to ride around the city, but all drop-off zones are on campus.

Information about the program is available at niu.edu/parking/ and information veoride.com.

CORTLAND

Annual community wide garage sales to be held

Cortland’s annual Garage Sales and Craft/Vendor Market will be held May 5-May 6. This event will help residents who, after doing their spring cleaning, want to earn some money by selling unwanted items. Garage sales will be held throughout town.

Local organizations can use this opportunity as people are going around town to hold fundraisers such as bake sales, food booths and children’s activities. Businesses are encouraged to be open, offer discounts, hold sales and distribute business cards and other information.

A craft/vendor market will be held from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at Lions Club/Cortland Community Park, 70 S. Llanos.

For more information about the annual event, visit cortlandil.org.

–DeKalb County News Briefs–