Events Calendar

The annual fundraiser to benefit the Knox County Sheriff’s Office Water Rescue Team will be held Friday, November 14 from 5 to 10 pm at The Vault at Reserve – Artisan Ales, 185 S. Kellogg Street in Galesburg. The event is co-sponsored by Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Spoon River Valley Lodge # 427.

“The Water Rescue Team provides a vital service to Knox County residents and is funded through donations and grants,” said event organizer Matthew Stewart. “Let’s keep the team’s budget above water through this fundraiser and help them to purchase needed equipment. Let’s show the team members how much we appreciate their dedication and the special training they receive on their own time in order to serve their fellow citizens.”

The admission fee is $10 per person and includes a meal from 5 to 7 pm, a live auction at 7 pm and entertainment by the area band Jera & the Absoluts from 8 to 10 pm. A silent auction will also be held during the evening, and a gun raffle will also be offered.

The Fraternal Order of Police, founded in 1915, is the largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. With a proud tradition of officers representing officers, the FOP is the most respected and most recognized police organization in the country. The Illinois FOP, chartered in 1963, is the second largest State Lodge, proudly representing more than 34,000 active duty and retired police officers - more than 10 percent of all FOP members nationwide. Visit www.ilfop.org for more information.

Chicago artist Kelly McKaig, explores the quiet, meditative act of stitching as a way to connect with memory, material, and humanity. Using reclaimed fabrics and found materials, her work reveals layered stories of mending, empathy, and renewal.

Come meet the artist and experience this beautiful exhibition celebrating connection through craft and sustainability.

This fall, let the Knox College Choir take you through a thundering whirl of song — music of voyaging, of passing through great gates, and of weathering life's bitter storms. "The Storm is Passing Over" features some of choral music's greatest hits and concludes with Benjamin Britten's landmark cantata "Rejoice in the Lamb." The choir will be joined by two guest artists, organist Raymond Nagem and soprano Jen Wu, and, thanks to the newly renovated Moller organ at Central Congregational Church, you'll be able to hear us for miles around. Don't miss this spectacular performance — one night only: November 14th, 2025, at 7:30 PM in Central Congregational Church in the heart of Galesburg. Any and all are welcome!

Mike Anderson, the Dulcimer Guy, will be teaching a free mountain dulcimer workshop
starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday November 15, 2025 at the Dairy Building in Bishop Hill, IL.
Mike Anderson is one of the premier Mountain Dulcimer Players in the country with six
instrumental dulcimer recordings to his credit. From North Carolina to Louisiana to the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, Mike makes traditional and modern music come alive
on this mountain instrument. The mountain dulcimer workshop will include basics like
strumming and reading tablature. It will also contain advanced skills like chording and
decorating songs with “tricks.” Please bring your own dulcimer but there will be a couple of
instruments to play. The main focus will be being able to play and to enhance the skills you
already have. No reservations are necessary.
For more information, please email bhha@mymctc.net or call 309 927-3899. The Dairy
Building is located at 410 North Erickson Street. This free workshop is funded by the Bishop
Hill Heritage Association, Geneseo Foundation, Galesburg Community Foundation, and the
Illinois Arts Council.

You just might want to mosey around to the south door on Saturday, November 15th, about 6:00 p.m. Give the door a tap, whisper the password, and slip inside where the Blind Swine Speakeasy is serving up giggle water for those in the know. At 6:30 p.m., the notorious duo, Sally Weisenburg and Don Berbaum with drummer Mike Grimm, will have the joint jumpin’ with two swell sets of toe-tappin’ tunes.

Back in the Roaring Twenties, Americans were finding new ways to cut loose. Time-saving gadgets at home and a growing focus on health gave folks more room for leisure. The freedom “to go somewhere” was made possible by the automobile, opening the road for visiting pals, vacationing, or just stepping out for a joyride. With this new mobility came innovations that made travel just swell: drive-in restaurants, chain eateries, car radios, snappy sunglasses, and instant cameras that let people capture the fun. Of course, more jalopies meant more traffic, and that’s when inventions like traffic lights, car registration, and driver’s licenses kept the roads safe and people busted.

The Museum’s old garage is the tops for exploring how the automobile transformed our rural community, bringing fresh opportunities, new businesses, and plenty of visitors. And on this night, it’s also the cat’s meow for a little leisure of our own. Sally’s sultry vocals and smooth keyboard, paired with Don’s slick guitar and harmonica, along with Mike Grimm keeping the beat, will fill the space with soulful sounds, making this an evening you won’t want to miss.

Want in? Text Swine to 309-837-2613 for the ever-changing secret password (keeps the feds guessing). Slip the gatekeeper at the south door a fin ($5), and you’re in.
This program is supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council.

The Western Illinois Museum is a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating the history, culture, and traditions of McDonough County. Located at 201 S. Lafayette Street, one block south of the Courthouse Square, the Museum offers exhibits, live music, and programs in a fully accessible historic building.

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit wimuseum.org, call 309-837-2750, text 309-837-2613, or email info@wimuseum.org.

Featuring Randall Thompson's Frostiana and Alex Berko's Sacred Place
The centerpiece will be the hauntingly beautiful Frostiana, Seven Country Songs by Randall Thompson (1899-1984). This autumnal song cycle is a setting of Robert Frost’s beloved poem, “The Road Not Taken.” The piece offers the community the opportunity to reflect on where we have come from, where we are now, and where we are going—a much needed moment in these fraught times to pause for introspection and to embrace renewal of hope and determination.

Also featured in this concert will be Sacred Place by Alex Berko (b. 1995--), a shimmering choral meditation on reverence for the earth and the creation of meaningful and healing spaces externally within our communities and internally within ourselves—a fitting expression of the mission of The Galesburg Community Chorus and the musical collaborations presented in this season. The piece speaks to the tension between human limitations and our responsibility to truth, as we reckon with the beauty and the frailty of the natural world.
Writing credit: Liz Carlin Metz

The Western Illinois Museum invites the community to enjoy a heartwarming and thought-provoking documentary, PIEOWA: A Piece of America, on Sunday, November 16th, with showings at 1:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Filmmaker Beth M. Howard will join the audience for a discussion following the first screening at 2:45 p.m. There is a suggested $5 donation at the door.

PIEOWA celebrates the myriad ways pie is baked into Iowa’s culture, the lengths people will go to for a slice, and how this humble pastry can bake the world a better place. What begins as a love letter to pie, an emblem of comfort, generosity, and Americana, unfolds into a deeper reflection on resilience, community, and the shared traditions that connect us. Through the stories of farmers, bakers, small-town dreamers, and everyday heroes, the film captures the heart of rural America with honesty and affection. Watch the trailer.

The film, which premiered in June 2025, has been screening in sold-out theaters and is resonating with audiences in Iowa and beyond. Howard took home the award for Best Food Film at the San Antonio Film Festival, received the Award of Merit at the Impact DOCS Awards, and won Best Audience Award at the Silicon Beach Film Festival in Los Angeles, where PIEOWA was shown at the iconic Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

For more information, call 309-837-2750, text 309-837-2613, or email info@wimuseum.org.

The Western Illinois Museum invites the community to enjoy a heartwarming and thought-provoking documentary, PIEOWA: A Piece of America, on Sunday, November 16th, with showings at 1:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Filmmaker Beth M. Howard will join the audience for a discussion following the first screening at 2:45 p.m. There is a suggested $5 donation at the door.

PIEOWA celebrates the myriad ways pie is baked into Iowa’s culture, the lengths people will go to for a slice, and how this humble pastry can bake the world a better place. What begins as a love letter to pie, an emblem of comfort, generosity, and Americana, unfolds into a deeper reflection on resilience, community, and the shared traditions that connect us. Through the stories of farmers, bakers, small-town dreamers, and everyday heroes, the film captures the heart of rural America with honesty and affection. Watch the trailer.

The film, which premiered in June 2025, has been screening in sold-out theaters and is resonating with audiences in Iowa and beyond. Howard took home the award for Best Food Film at the San Antonio Film Festival, received the Award of Merit at the Impact DOCS Awards, and won Best Audience Award at the Silicon Beach Film Festival in Los Angeles, where PIEOWA was shown at the iconic Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. This is Howard’s first film, which took her two years to make. “I thought I’d do a film about the pie competition of the Iowa State Fair, or the pies of RAGBRAI, the annual 500-mile bike ride across Iowa,” says Howard, “but I kept thinking about all the other pie stories out there. When I saw the word Pieowa on a RAYGUN postcard, I thought, that’s it! I’ll just cover the entire state!”

The film features comedian Tom Arnold, NPR economics correspondent Scott Horsley, Better Homes & Gardens food editor Jan Miller, among other notable names who appear alongside everyday people — church ladies, farm wives, pie shop owners, state fair competitors, chefs, food historians, bike riders, and humanitarians.

Howard’s foremost goal for her film is to convey a message of kindness and generosity. “Whether it’s a pie giveaway, a fundraiser, a teen employment program, or Latino high school students baking pies for a free Thanksgiving meal,” she says, “these stories are all examples of social good that will hopefully inspire viewers to go out and do something similar in their own community.”

Locally made pie will be served at the screening, creating a true “slice of America” experience. Reserved seating is strongly recommended. Reserve online or call (309) 837-2750.

Join the Knox Piano Chamber Ensemble under the direction of Solee Lee-Clark for their Fall Concert featuring “Piano through the Seasons.”

Knox College Music Department presents: Enharmonic Fire and TriTones vocal ensembles under the direction of Tyler Demaree and the Flute Choir directed by Madeline Wood together to perform their fall concert.