Upcoming Events in Downtown Alton
Challenge of the Bluffs Results
May '12
Spring City-Wide Litter Clean Up & Streetscape Bed Planting
May 19 2012 at 9:00am
Join us along with the many area organizations as we clean up our town during the Alton Beautification & Clean City Committee's biannual litter clean up. Pick up bags and gloves as well as directions to areas in need of attention at our registration station at the corner of 3rd & Belle Streets. We will also be plating annuals in the streetscape beds on 3rd Street. Bring a trowel & a friend!
For more information:
Carolyn Macafee
June '12
Alton Farmers' and Artisans' Market
June 2 2012 at 8am until Noon
We have a new location & an added day this year - you’ll find us in the parking lot at the corner of Piasa & 9th Street
Every Saturday from 8am-Noon & Wednesday from 4-7pm—June through mid-October
You will find an abundance of delicious fresh produce, crafts, baked goods, plants & flowers, handmade soaps, jewelry, artwork, pottery, art demonstrations, & more. Family art activities will be provided by the Jacoby Arts Center & the Community Cultivators! Have breakfast at the market – coffee & breakfast items are available. Vendors Wanted – anything homegrown or at least 50% handmade is welcome! Call 463-1016 to RSVP
To sign up a child up to receive one free week of booth space with our “Young Entrepreneurs Program” please fill out the regular vendor form below and call 463-1016 for more info.
Here is a list of special activities and entertainment during the Saturday Markets:
6/2 - Live music from the Dreamcatcher Project & Community Cultivators Nature Craft: Seed Science, Plant Parts, and Fruit vs.Veggie Olympics!
6/9 - Community Cultivators Nature Crafts: Create your very own 'Nature Sombrero'
6/16 - Southern IL Healthcare Foundation Health Fair, Face Painting & Community Cultivators Nature Craft: Game Day!
6/23 - Community Supported Agriculture & Urban Gardening Day & Community Cultivators Nature Craft: Create a House for a Bee, Bat, Bird, Butterfly, Bug or Worm!
6/30 - Artist Demo: Pottery Wheel & Community Cultivators Nature Craft: Create a model insect friend using natural resources and real insect specmens...including a REAL LIVE Vermicomposting Community)!
7/7 - Live Music from Deja Too & Summer Recipe Day
7/14 - Celebrity Chef Jarvis Putnam of Bossanova Restaurant & Lounge
7/21 - Christmas in July - visit w/ Santa while he's on vacation from the North Pole!
7/28 - Jacoby Arts Center “Arts in the Park” (10-11:30) - Shining Suns- Understand symmetry by fashioning your own sunburst
8/4 - Live Music from The Waters Trifecta, Celebrity Chef - Keith Davis from Southern Girls BBQ; Jacoby Arts Center “Arts in the Park” (10-11:30) - Texture Building- Embellish drawn buildings with an assortment of different textures
8/11 - National Farmers Market Day & Jacoby Arts Center “Arts in the Park” (10-11:30) - Three-Dimensional Landscapes- Create a vast mountainous landscape enhanced by lifelike texture
8/18 - Jacoby Arts Center “Arts in the Park” (10-11:30) - Pigment Art- Use natural dyes and pigments to make a masterpiece
8/25 - Celebrity Chefs - Laurie & Geo from Chez Marilyn & Face painting
9/1 - Live Music from Justin Georgewitz
9/8 - Environmental Educators Day
9/15 - Fall Recipe Day
9/22 - Customer Appreciation Day & Artist Demo: Paper-Making
9/29 - Composting Workshop w/ the McCully Heritage Project &The Nature Institute
10/6 - Live Music from Andrew Craft and Friends & Make-Your-Own Tie Dye Day (bring your own shirt—$5 fee)
10/13 - Pumpkin painting, get yours on-site - painting supplies will be provided!
Every Saturday from 8am-Noon & Wednesday from 4-7pm—June through mid-October
You will find an abundance of delicious fresh produce, crafts, baked goods, plants & flowers, handmade soaps, jewelry, artwork, pottery, art demonstrations, & more. Family art activities will be provided by the Jacoby Arts Center & the Community Cultivators! Have breakfast at the market – coffee & breakfast items are available. Vendors Wanted – anything homegrown or at least 50% handmade is welcome! Call 463-1016 to RSVP
To sign up a child up to receive one free week of booth space with our “Young Entrepreneurs Program” please fill out the regular vendor form below and call 463-1016 for more info.
Here is a list of special activities and entertainment during the Saturday Markets:
6/2 - Live music from the Dreamcatcher Project & Community Cultivators Nature Craft: Seed Science, Plant Parts, and Fruit vs.Veggie Olympics!
6/9 - Community Cultivators Nature Crafts: Create your very own 'Nature Sombrero'
6/16 - Southern IL Healthcare Foundation Health Fair, Face Painting & Community Cultivators Nature Craft: Game Day!
6/23 - Community Supported Agriculture & Urban Gardening Day & Community Cultivators Nature Craft: Create a House for a Bee, Bat, Bird, Butterfly, Bug or Worm!
6/30 - Artist Demo: Pottery Wheel & Community Cultivators Nature Craft: Create a model insect friend using natural resources and real insect specmens...including a REAL LIVE Vermicomposting Community)!
7/7 - Live Music from Deja Too & Summer Recipe Day
7/14 - Celebrity Chef Jarvis Putnam of Bossanova Restaurant & Lounge
7/21 - Christmas in July - visit w/ Santa while he's on vacation from the North Pole!
7/28 - Jacoby Arts Center “Arts in the Park” (10-11:30) - Shining Suns- Understand symmetry by fashioning your own sunburst
8/4 - Live Music from The Waters Trifecta, Celebrity Chef - Keith Davis from Southern Girls BBQ; Jacoby Arts Center “Arts in the Park” (10-11:30) - Texture Building- Embellish drawn buildings with an assortment of different textures
8/11 - National Farmers Market Day & Jacoby Arts Center “Arts in the Park” (10-11:30) - Three-Dimensional Landscapes- Create a vast mountainous landscape enhanced by lifelike texture
8/18 - Jacoby Arts Center “Arts in the Park” (10-11:30) - Pigment Art- Use natural dyes and pigments to make a masterpiece
8/25 - Celebrity Chefs - Laurie & Geo from Chez Marilyn & Face painting
9/1 - Live Music from Justin Georgewitz
9/8 - Environmental Educators Day
9/15 - Fall Recipe Day
9/22 - Customer Appreciation Day & Artist Demo: Paper-Making
9/29 - Composting Workshop w/ the McCully Heritage Project &The Nature Institute
10/6 - Live Music from Andrew Craft and Friends & Make-Your-Own Tie Dye Day (bring your own shirt—$5 fee)
10/13 - Pumpkin painting, get yours on-site - painting supplies will be provided!
For more information:
Sarah Ansell
(618)463-1016
All-Wheels Drive In Car Show
June 3 2012 at 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Classic cars, hot rods, and motorcycles will be displayed on West 3rd, State & Belle Street for the 15th Annual All-Wheels Drive-In Car Show.
Come out for the cars and stay for live music from Big George Brock Jr. & the All Star Blues Band. Plus, enjoy a great meal from Southern Girls BBQ & other downtown restaurants, vendor displays, 50-50 drawing, and awards ceremony.
Come out for the cars and stay for live music from Big George Brock Jr. & the All Star Blues Band. Plus, enjoy a great meal from Southern Girls BBQ & other downtown restaurants, vendor displays, 50-50 drawing, and awards ceremony.
For more information:
Jamey Griffin
(618) 792-8901
Brown Bag Networking Luncheon
June 7 2012 at 11:30am
At The National Great Rivers Museum (#2 Lock & Dam Way—follow signs to classroom)
These events are designed to encourage business to business interaction and commerce. Increase your knowledge about the goods and services available through local companies, and discuss current events relevant to the growth & prosperity of the Alton community in a casual setting.
These events are designed to encourage business to business interaction and commerce. Increase your knowledge about the goods and services available through local companies, and discuss current events relevant to the growth & prosperity of the Alton community in a casual setting.
Presented by Alton Main Street, the North Alton-Godfrey Business Council and the Upper Alton Association, the “Brown Bag Networking Luncheon” events are held in local businesses and community gathering spaces where attendees bring lunch with complimentary beverages provided. There is no cost to attend and no set agenda; guests choose from a variety of suggested discussion points and can come and go freely between the hours of 11:30 to 1:00pm.
For more information:
Kyle Buesteton
(618) 463-1016
Feed the Need Concert
June 9 2012 at 5:00 - 10:00pm
Senior Services Plus presents an evening of great music at Riverfront Amphitheater as a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels. The Shagadelics will perform classic 70's disco tribute songs, plus enjoy a costume contest, hula hooping, and food, beverage, and merchandise vendors! $10 advance tickets are available online. Alton Main Street will be running the concessions as a fundraiser to improve downtown Alton.
For more information:
Margaret Lanier
(618) 465-3298 ext 146
July '12
Odds & Ends Sidewalk Bazaar
July 21 2012 at 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Join us for a giant sidewalk sale for the shops in Antique Row plus a community yard sale along Broadway from Lincoln-Douglas Square to the Jacoby Arts Center. The event will be held as a lead-in to the City of Alton’s 175th Anniversary Celebration during the evening at Riverfront Amphitheater. The cost is $20 to set up a yard sale table, space is limited - te reserve your spot please call 463-1016
For more information:
Sara McGibany
August '12
The BIG GIG Local Music Show
August 4 2012 at 5:00 - 10:00
*Tentative Date*
Bringing local sound...downtown! Enjoy a showcase of the area's finest bands performing their original music at Riverfront Amphitheater. All ages concert, No ticket needed for 12 and under with supervision of an adult. Lowback lawnchairs and blankets are welcome. Food & beverages will be available for purchase, no coolers please.
Bringing local sound...downtown! Enjoy a showcase of the area's finest bands performing their original music at Riverfront Amphitheater. All ages concert, No ticket needed for 12 and under with supervision of an adult. Lowback lawnchairs and blankets are welcome. Food & beverages will be available for purchase, no coolers please.
For more information:
Sara McGibany
(618) 463-1016
September '12
Mississippi Earthtones Festival
September 15 2012 at Noon until 10pm
This is our 6th Annual celebration of Illinois Watersheds through education, recreation and conservation. We partner with the Sierra Club & many other green organizations and businesses to bring the community down to Riverfront Amphitheater to enjoy informational booths on ecology / native plants & animals / recycling, as well as arts & crafts, food, litter clean-ups, organized hikes & bike rides, and live music. Volunteers are needed to help organize exhibitors and vendors, recruit sponsors, and to carry out set-up, activities and clean-up at the event.
For more information:
Christine Favilla
(618) 462-6802
November '12
Community Tree Lighting
November 16 2012 at 6:00pm
Alton Main Street is hosting an event that’s sure to get you into the holiday spirit. The 18th Annual Tree Lighting at Lincoln-Douglas Square will begin with the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus on the trolley at 6:00. The free festivities including caroling, candy, cookies and hot cocoa will continue until 6:45 when Mayor Tom Hoechst flips the lights on our beautiful tree, which is provided by the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club.
Carols will fill the air throughout the evening provided by many area Girl Scout Troops as well as the Main Street United Methodist Youth Choir. Other speakers include Rotary Club President, and Salvation Army Captain Randy Tooley, who will be kicking off the “Tree of Lights” campaign.
The public is encouraged to help the less fortunate by bringing canned food donations to the event, which will be constructed into a giant “Castle of Cans” to benefit the food pantry at the Salvation Army.
From 5:30-7:30, free trolley transportation will be provided between Lincoln-Douglas Square and the Riverbender.com Community Center, located at 200 W. 3rd Street. The public is invited to the Center after the tree lighting to play games with Santa & Mrs. Claus and warm up with refreshments indoors during their holiday open house until 9:00. Kids can pet a live reindeer outdoors on 3rd Street; please bring your cameras to capture photos of your family with Santa and the live reindeer at no charge. Boys and girls are encouraged to dress up in creative holiday themed costumes such as elves, Santa, or angels for the event. Kids should come to the stage of the Community Center at 7:45 where judges will give $25 gift cards to the boy and girl in the best costumes.
Carols will fill the air throughout the evening provided by many area Girl Scout Troops as well as the Main Street United Methodist Youth Choir. Other speakers include Rotary Club President, and Salvation Army Captain Randy Tooley, who will be kicking off the “Tree of Lights” campaign.
The public is encouraged to help the less fortunate by bringing canned food donations to the event, which will be constructed into a giant “Castle of Cans” to benefit the food pantry at the Salvation Army.
From 5:30-7:30, free trolley transportation will be provided between Lincoln-Douglas Square and the Riverbender.com Community Center, located at 200 W. 3rd Street. The public is invited to the Center after the tree lighting to play games with Santa & Mrs. Claus and warm up with refreshments indoors during their holiday open house until 9:00. Kids can pet a live reindeer outdoors on 3rd Street; please bring your cameras to capture photos of your family with Santa and the live reindeer at no charge. Boys and girls are encouraged to dress up in creative holiday themed costumes such as elves, Santa, or angels for the event. Kids should come to the stage of the Community Center at 7:45 where judges will give $25 gift cards to the boy and girl in the best costumes.
For more information:
Stacey Noble-Loveland
(618) 463-1016
