Entertainment in Lake County including concerts, performances and more.
Highland Park
Exhibit: The annual Member and Faculty Exhibition is on display Jan. 8-29 at The Art Center — Highland Park, 1957 Sheridan Road. A reception will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Jan. 8. Awards will be given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Details, 847-432-1888.
Fest: Winter Fest will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at Centennial Ice Arena, 3100 Trail Way. Enjoy a day of free winter activities for families. Participate indoors with ice skating and open gymnastics time, and outdoors take a carriage ride or go snowshoeing (weather permitting, limited availability). Skating instructors will be offering free group lessons. Also, learn about how bees, coyotes and other animals survive the cold winters. Food will be available for purchase and there will be special friends to meet and greet. Details, 847.831.3810.
Kenosha
Performance: Lakeside Players will present “Polish Joke,” written by David Ives, Jan. 8-23 at Rhode Center for the Arts, 514 56th St. Join Jasiu, a Polish-American man taught not to value his own roots, as he embarks on a journey to invent and reinvent himself. Jasiu’s humorously bizarre and endearingly heartbreaking attempts to define himself place him in awkward situations. This hysterical yet heartwarming show proves that our differences can unite us. It shows us the irony of the stereotypes we’ve created in order to distance ourselves from each other, while at the same time just wanting to belong somewhere, anywhere. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $13, $10 for students, seniors, military, and may be purchased at the door or online at www.rhodecenter.org.
Concert: David “Elvis” Kirby presents Elvis Presley’s annual Birthday Celebration concert at 8 p.m. Jan. 9 at Cortese’s Banquet Hall, 1300 Sheridan Road. It will star Kirby as the King of rock ‘n’ roll with a special salute to Frank Sinatra, in his centennial year, starring James Namio. Music provided by the Best of Everything Show Band. Also, television personality Lori Minneti will reprise her role as Marilyn Monroe as well as Frank’s daughter Nancy Sinatra, and Johnny “Cash” Hernandez and the Solid Gold Dancers will perform. The show will be hosted by radio personality and author Lenny Palmer from WLIP radio. Tickets are $20 and $36 for dinner and show, and are available by calling 847-353-9208. Details, 262 553-9469.
Lake Forest
Performance: Citadel Theatre in association with Canamac Productions presents “Botanic Garden,” a play by local author Todd Logan, Jan. 7-17 at Citadel, 300 S. Waukegan Road. A widow faces the daunting prospect of her first date since the death of her husband. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 1 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and at 1 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $25 and are available online or by calling 847-735-8554. Discounts are available for seniors, students, theater industry professionals and groups.
Libertyville
Exhibit and classes: The David Adler Music and Arts Center will hold its annual Adler Member Artist Exhibition, as well as a creative array of art classes that begin in January. Adler Member Artists are a collective of visual artists dedicated to enriching the artistic community at the Center. The exhibit will display anything from photography, to painting, to printmaking, to mixed media. Membership is open to artists who have exhibited at the Center during the past 5 years and who express a strong commitment to enriching the Adler Center’s artistic community. A free, public opening reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 8 at 1700 N. Milwaukee Ave. Also, a wide variety of art classes for children and adults begin the week of Jan. 4. Beginners are always welcome. Details, 847-367-0707.
Concert: Bar Dog Sitters will perform at 9:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at Austin’s Fuel Room, 481 Peterson Road. Tickets are $8. Details, 847-549-1972.
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Mundelein
Show: Lake County Bridal Show will be from noon to 3 p.m. Jan. 3 at Double Tree by Hilton Mundelein, 510 E. Route 83. There will be vendors from all over Lake, Kenosha and McHenry counties to help plan a dream wedding. Also, there will be a bridal fashion show, ballroom dance demonstration and attendees can enter to win a grand prize. Details, 847-336-7900.
Riverwoods
Bird Day: Celebrate National Bird Day early by dropping in and learning all about birds from 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 3 at Edward Ryerson Welcome Center, 21950 N. Riverwoods Road. Explore the bird touch table, make a craft and visit with one of the education birds of prey. Free. Details, 947-367-6640.
Wauconda
Exhibit: The 2015 Postcard Art Exhibition and Competition are on display Jan. 9 through March 27 at Lake County Discovery Museum, Lakewood Forest Preserve, Route 176 and Fairfield Road. Focusing new imaginative energy on a familiar form of expression, the exhibit is dedicated to the 4-inch by 6-inch American picture postcard, celebrating the postcard as art and as visual document. Returning after a four-year hiatus, 24 merit award and 12 winning pieces of local and national art will be displayed from the 2015 competition. All sales from this exhibition benefit the artists and the Museum. Details, 847-367-6640.
Waukegan
Performance: “Breakneck Shakespeare” with Tim Mooney will be performed Jan. 8-22 at Clockwise Theatre, 221 N. Genesee St. Mooney is a Shakespeare scholar, author, editor and Fringe Festival Performance Artist star. Program A will include Act 1: “Breakneck Hamlet” and Act 2: “Shakespeare on Demand” at 8 p.m. Jan. 8 and 16 and at 3 p.m. Jan. 24. Program B will include Act 1: “Shakespeare’s Histories: 10 Epic Plays at Breakneck Pace” and Act 2: “Shakespeare on Demand” at 8 p.m. Jan. 9 and 22 and at 3 p.m. Jan. 17. Program C will include “Shakespeare’s Histories: 10 Epic Plays at Breakneck Pace” and Act 2: “Breakneck Hamlet” at 3 p.m. Jan. 10 and at 8 p.m. Jan. 15 and 23. Also, there will be an opening night wine reception Jan. 8, and an audience talk back with Mooney Jan. 9. Mooney connects the dots between the plays, reveals the author’s liberties with factual events, and his penchant for having his reality-based characters wildly prophesying on anything and everything. Tickets are $25, and $12 for students. Details, 847-775-1500.
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