Cantigny Park in Wheaton is dressed for the holidays and ready for visitors coming to the annual Celebrate the Season festival and Mistletoe Market, to be held Dec. 2.

COUNTY

Care Center seeking donations for residents

This holiday season, donors can simply click a button and brighten the holidays for DuPage Care Center residents.

Care Center staff and residents created a new Amazon Wish List which suggests a variety of items the residents wish for this holiday season. The list builds upon the success of the Care Center’s annual Adopt-A-Resident program, which provides donors with individuals’ wish lists for the holidays. This year, all the participating residents have been matched with donors.

The DuPage Care Center Wish List can be found by visiting Amazon and searching DuPage Care Center under the Find a List or Registry option.

Donations are also being accepted for the Care Center’s general wish list. These much-needed items are distributed to residents. A list of those items can be found at dupageco.org/Care_Center/53790.  And the center is also accepting donations for the holiday fund to offset the cost of decorations and special activities for the residents. Donations may be dropped off at the reception desk between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily, made online at dupageco.org/dpccfoundation or via check payable to the DuPage Care Center Foundation and mailed to 400 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton.

Additionally, the Care Center is looking for any community groups interested in caroling to the residents or donating homemade cards or crafts. A list of volunteering opportunities is available at dupageco.org/Care_Center/53790.

For more information on any of these opportunities, visit the website at dupageco.org/dpcc or call Barbara Kolton in at (630) 784-4260 or email her at Barbara.Kolton@dupageco.org.

Two sessions to recruit literacy volunteers

Volunteers can give the gift of language this holiday season to adults who do not speak English. Literacy DuPage is looking for adults who want to become tutors or share their time with the organization in some other way. Two sessions are scheduled in early December for adults who want to learn more about Literacy DuPage. Each session is 90 minutes long. One is a webinar that will be held at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5. The second one will be held at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at Spring Wood Middle School, 5540 Arlington Drive East, Hanover Park. For more information, go to literacydupage.org.                          

LOMBARD

Holiday celebration throughout the village

The Lombard Park District, Village of Lombard, Lombard Town Centre, Helen Plum Library, Lombard Historical Society and Maple Street Chapel are joining forces to present Lombard’s JingleBell Jubilee, a celebration of the holiday season, Dec. 2. Events will be held throughout the day. Here is the schedule.

Lombard Town Center: Dancers will perform live scenes from “The Nutcracker” in downtown business displays. 5-7 p.m.

Lombard Park District and Village of Lombard: Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive at Lilacia Park to light the tree and take photos with youngsters. Hot cocoa and s’mores will be served. 5:30-8 p.m.

Lombard Bible Church, 111 S Park Ave: Glenbard East Honors Strings will perform three short concerts in the sanctuary; and crafts, coffee, and hot cocoa will be available in the gym. Concerts at 6 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Helen Plum Library, 110 W. Maple: Activities in youth services will start at 5 p.m. and refreshments will be served and the library will be open for checking out materials. Madrigal Singers will perform at 6:10 p.m., 6:50 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Maple Street Chapel, 220 S. Main St.: Sing-along. 7-8:30 p.m.

ELMHURST

Reception to kick off graduating students’ art show

Stained glass renderings of major social movements and a biography told through product packaging are two of the themes that will be explored by seniors in the Elmhurst College Art Department’s 50th annual Fall Capstone Art Exhibition. The capstone exhibition, the culminating event for every graduating art major, runs from Dec. 2-Dec. 16 in the Barbara A. Kieft Accelerator ArtSpace, 200 W. Park Ave., Elmhurst. A public reception for the artists will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 2. Admission is Admission is free to the exhibition and reception.

The students create a body of work in their area of concentration, then plan the exhibition and design the promotional materials for it. The work that will be displayed has been done in a variety of media, such as digital stained glass,
mixed-media and graphic design talents.

The Accelerator ArtSpace, built around a 20-foot-high particle accelerator dating back to the 1950s, is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 12 to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Suellen Rocca at (630) 617-6110 or srocca@elmhurst.edu.

WHEATON

Cantigny the location for two holiday events

For a dual helping of merry-making and holiday shopping, the annual Celebrate the Season festival and Mistletoe Market take place Dec. 2 at Cantigny Park in Wheaton.

The park will be decorated in its holiday finery for the festival, which runs 4-7 p.m. and offers plenty of children-friendly activities.

In the McCormick House, Mrs. Claus will be reading stories to the children next to the big Christmas tree. Other seasonal opportunities include crafts for kids and horse-drawn sleigh rides.

Back at the visitor center, the Mistletoe Market will feature local crafters and artisans selling their unique gift-worthy wares, such as soaps, jewelry, handbags, clothing, upcycled decor, handcrafted greeting cards, food items and more. About 20 vendors will have booths at this fourth-annual shopping event, which will be open 1-7 p.m.

In addition to the Mistletoe Market, the Cantigny Shop will be open throughout the day.  The shop’s merchandise includes fresh poinsettia plants from the Cantigny greenhouse.

Admission to both the Celebrate the Season holiday festival and the Mistletoe Market is included with the $5 parking fee per car.

–DuPage County News Briefs–