ECC Theatre doing production of classic play ‘Our Town’
Elgin Community College Theatre will present Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Our Town,” weekends from Friday, Nov. 7, through Sunday, Nov. 16, at the SecondSpace Theatre in the ECC Arts Center, Building H, on the Elgin campus.
First staged in 1938, “Our Town” explores life, love and loss in the fictional town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, according to a news release. The ECC production is directed by associate professor Susan Robinson and will feature 22 student actors.
Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets cost $14 for adults and $12 for seniors. ECC students can attend for free.
To purchase tickets, go to the Arts Center box office, call 847-622-0300 or go online at eccartscenter.org.
Dundee Township children’s theater presenting ‘Cinderella’
Dundee Township Park District Children’s Theater will present “Cinderella” at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, at the Adult Activities Center adjacent to the Rakow Center, 665 Barrington Ave., Carpentersville.
The production is a musical version of the classic fairytale, and will feature well-known songs, familiar characters and a heartwarming story that celebrates kindness, courage and dreams coming true, a production flier said.
Tickets are $5 and available at the front desk of the Rakow Center. For more information, call 847-428-7131.
Side Street’s Going Dutch Festival set for this weekend
Side Street Studio Arts’s 14th annual Going Dutch Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8-9, at its 15 Ziegler Court location in downtown Elgin.
Saturday performances include the Amber Dance Theatre production of “Camilla” at 6 p.m.; Eileen Tull’s one-person show, “Kassandra at the End of the World,” at 7 p.m.; and a collection of short dance pieces at 8 p.m. On Sunday, Rachel Benzing’s one person dance/spoken word/visual arts performance, “Memories in Motion,” will start at 2 p.m. followed by Jennifer Voster’s “Songs WIthout Words,” a one-person show about sibling composers Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, at 3 p.m.
Tickets for each performance are $10 at the door. For more information, go to www.sidestreetstudioarts.org.
More Top Picks Best Green Light Lamps For Light Sensitivity
Ecker Center holding ’70s-themed benefit at country club
To celebrate its 70th anniversary, Ecker Center for Behavioral Health is hosting “Light Up the Night: 70 Years of Care, One Night of Flair” from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Elgin Country Club, 2575 Weld Road.
The fundraising event will include dinner, entertainment, and live and silent auctions. Online auctions are open at givebutter.com/c/EckerGala2025/auction.
Tickets are $150 per person, $275 per couple, and $75 for children 12 and younger. They can be purchased at givebutter.com/c/EckerGala2025.
Elgin Community College on list for 2027 Aspen Prize
The Aspen Institute has named Elgin Community College one of 200 community colleges in the nation eligible to compete for the 2027 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and $1 million in shared prize funds.
This marks the fifth time ECC has earned this distinction, previously being recognized in 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025, according to a news release.
Awarded every two years, the Aspen Prize is the nation’s signature recognition of achievement and performance among two-year institutions. It honors outstanding outcomes in student learning, completion, transfer and post-graduation success.
For a list of eligible institutions and details on the selection process, go to highered.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-prize.