Pekin Park District’s Winter Break Camp offers activities to students during the school holiday break. Call call (309) 347-7275 or go to www.pekinparkdistrict.org to sign up.

PEKIN

Winter Wonderland celebration coming

Pekin’s Winter Wonderland features a dance that will be held 7-10 p.m. Dec. 2. Miller Senior Citizen’s Center, 551 S. 14th St, Pekin, will be turned into a ballroom where Phyllis, Betty & Clyde will provide the dance music. Refreshments will be provided. Admission is $7 per person. No registration is required. Questions? Call the Miller Center at (309) 346–5210.

Earlier in the evening, Christmas on Court Street, sponsored by Pekin Main Street, will be held from 5-8 p.m. Carriage rides, refreshments and visits with Santa in Santa’s Workshop are planned in historic downtown Pekin. Businesses will be open, offering Christmas on Court Street specials.

Gingerbread house workshops will be offered Dec. 3 at Miller Center, 551 S. 14th St, Pekin. There will be two workshop times: 10-11:30 a.m. and 1:30- 3 p.m. The fee is $12.50 per gingerbread house. Registration required. See registration form at pekinwinterwonderland.info.

On Dec. 3, gather your family for a pancake and sausage breakfast with visits from Santa, Mrs. Claus and some elves. Enjoy reindeer games, sleigh rides in McNaughton Park, decorating cookies, making reindeer food and much more, 8:30-11:30 a.m. at Soldwedel Program Center, 207 McNaughton Park Road, Pekin. Fee is $5 per person; children 2 and under are free. No registration is required.

Winter Wonderland 2016 will conclude with the Holiday on Ice Skate Show featuring Pekin Park District’s Precise Ice Skate Team and Learn-to-Skate participants. The show will be held at 3 p.m. Dec. 17 at Pekin Veterans Memorial Ice Arena, 250 Red Bud Drive., Pekin. Admission is free. Food items will be accepted at the door to benefit the Pekin Township Food Bank.

For additional information, go to www.pekinwinterwonderland.info or call (309) 347-7275.

Park district plans winter break camp

Parents who might not get the same days off work that the children get from school during the holidays can turn to the Pekin Park District for help. Winter Break Camp is designed to see that children have a safe, fun way to occupy their energetic minds and play while out of school. They will get to spend their days out of doors enjoying the best that nature has to offer. They will enjoy crafts, field trips, nature hikes, playing outdoors (weather permitting) and seasonal activities when available like ice skating and sledding. The park district will provide field trips, breakfast and snacks, but children are asked to bring lunch.

The Pekin Park District Winter Break Camp is for children from kindergarten age to 13.

Camp dates are Dec. 21-30, except Dec. 24 and Dec. 25, and Jan. 2 and 3. The fee is $34 per day, $120 for five days and $240 for 10 days. The non-resident fee is $3 more per day. Camp times are 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

For more information regarding registration or Pekin Park District programs, call (309) 347-7275 or go to www.pekinparkdistrict.org.

MORTON

Library offers gingerbread house craft activity

Children in first to third grades can come to the Morton Library, 315 W. Pershing, Morton, to decorate a pre-made gingerbread house at 4 p.m. Dec. 7. Visit or call the library at (309) 263-2200 to register or register online at mortonlibrary.org.

STATE

Koehler supports  automatic voter registration

Ill. Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, issued the following statement after joining Senate Democrats in voting to overturn Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a measure that will automatically register eligible voters in the State of Illinois.

“There is no reason, with the advances in technology we enjoy as a society, that we cannot make the important civic duty of voting as easy as possible,” he said. “This was a vote to strengthen the voice of Illinois voters. I urge the House to do the same and override this veto.”

Senate Bill 250 empowers election authorities to work with the Secretary of State’s Office to automatically register Illinoisans to vote. Only eligible voters would be registered and individuals may choose to opt out of registration.

Having received a constitutional supermajority vote in the Senate, the measure moves to the Illinois House for consideration.

–Tazewell County News Briefs–