Visitors to the free open houses at the Tanner House Museum in Aurora will find a variety of decor this December.  In addition to colorful traditional decorations throughout, the 1857 home itself will be featured as an authentically-built, to-scale gingerbread house in the kitchen, and in the library, tiny elf-aliens will be delivering gifts from a spaceship parked outside a dollhouse.

Also new this year will be the “photo booth” concept used in the parlor.  Visitors interested in taking selfies can dress up in vintage style with items provided by the Aurora Historical Society.  Docents will be available to snap the shutter.  A century-old view camera will be on display.

The open houses begin Sunday, December 9.  Openings are on Sundays and Wednesdays from 1pm-4pm, and on Fridays from 4pm to 7pm.  Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.  The museum is located at 304 Oak Avenue, the corner of Oak and Cedar, in Aurora, 60506.  The last day of the program is Sunday, December 30.

There is more information online at www.aurorahistory.net or on Facebook at aurorahistory.

The brave souls who have looked after the safety of the city and her citizens over the last century and a half are saluted in the 2019 calendar from the Aurora Historical Society.

“Vintage Aurora: Police and Fire” is comprised of photos drawn from the archives of the society. The pictures span the years 1872-1970 and include the men and the machinery, as well as a few horses of the fire departments (in the mid-1800s there were as many as four companies operating at the same time), and police  department.

The calendar is $14.95 plus tax, with a 10% discount to historical society members.  It is available at the gift shop at 20 E. Downer Pl., 60505 or online at www.aurorahistory.net.  Online orders will be shipped at an additional charge.   Gift shop hours are Wednesdays-Saturdays from noon to4 p.m. and noon-9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7.

WEST AURORA HIGH SCHOOL CELEBRATES 150 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE!

The 2018 Aurora Winter Lights Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony will kick off the holiday season in the City of Lights this week.  Hosted by the City of Aurora and Aurora Downtown, the popular annual tradition will be held on Friday, Nov. 16, with festivities centered on Downer Place in downtown Aurora.

Benefitting Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry

As a business person, like yourself, and a member of this community who believes that giving back is a privilege, I am asking you to become a partner in our continuing endeavor to eradicate hunger in our communities.

From Nov. 1 through Nov. 21, we will be sponsoring the 11th Annual Holiday Food Drive. Our sponsors and supporters this year again are Dolan & Murphy, Inc., Prisco’s Fine Foods, Cermak Fresh Market, Mariano’s, 95.9 The River FM, Aurora Fastprint, the Beacon News, Douglas Carpet One, and Gerald Subaru Naperville/North Aurora. In addition, something new this year, our sponsor, Aspen Lane Wine Company, has committed to match up to $5,000 on donations received in response to this letter. Please simply put “Aspen Match” on the bottom of your check.

The recipient of this effort is a local food pantry, Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, which distributes food to 6,500 struggling families each year. Those who receive food include anyone who is unemployed, families and single parents caring for children, seniors on fixed incomes, veterans, persons with disabilities or chronic illness, victims of violence and emergency situations, employed individuals who need a supplement, or anyone who cannot afford to purchase enough food to adequately meet their nutritional needs.

This Thanksgiving Season, we hope to provide a substantial amount of non-perishable food items to Aurora Food Pantry as a result of our drive. About 950 families visit Aurora Food Pantry each week to receive food and an average of 115 new families request food each month for the first time. Of the 19,000 individuals who received food during the past year, 7,600 were children. By the end of 2018, Aurora Food Pantry will have distributed 3.7 million pounds of food to people who might otherwise have gone hungry.

Aurora Food Pantry and the people they serve throughout the Aurora area need your help and that is why I am reaching out to you, the business community.

The goal of the “Annual Holiday Food Drive” is to collect enough food and monetary donations to ensure that no one in our community is ever forced to go hungry simply because they cannot afford to buy food. Your monetary donation will be used to purchase food items that are not collected, but desperately needed, as well as to maintain an efficient distribution system to ensure food is available year-round. Aurora Food Pantry operates in a very cost-effective manner, distributing $7 worth of food for every $1 that is donated.

We would like to become a community where no one goes hungry and we need your help to feed our brothers and sisters in need. Please help us make the 11th Annual Holiday Food Drive the most successful to date by making a monetary donation for a Truckload of food or one of the other sponsorships below.

Thank you, in advance, for your assistance to those who are less fortunate and, if you have any questions, please contact me at Dolan & Murphy, Inc.

All gifts will be acknowledged with a letter from Aurora Food Pantry, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit Illinois corporation.

Sincerely,

Dan Dolan

Dolan & Murphy, Inc.

Donations can be made:

ONLINE: Visit www.aurorafoodpantry.org. Click on the 11th Annual Holiday Food Drive link. Insert donation amount. Complete credit card and other information. Submit.

MAIL: Complete the information below and return it with your donation to Dolan & Murphy, Inc., Attn: Daniel T. Dolan, 765 Orchard Ave., Aurora, IL 60506.

Make checks payable to “Aurora Food Pantry”

Name:

CompanyName:

Address:

Phone#:

Please check the appropriate line of sponsorship:

__ Truckload-$1,000

__ Trunkload-$500

__ Grocery cart-$250

__ Grocery sack-$110