Upcoming Local Events

Galentine's Day Market, Feb. 12th, 11:30am-3:30pm, Old Bakery Beer Company, Alton. Grab your gals and come down to The Old Bakery Beer Company for this seasonal market! Shop from 15 local vendors while enjoying food and drink specials including slushy cocktails and beer and truffle pairings. Create your own aphrodisiac tea blend with Crystal Stevens of Flourish Farmstead to take home. We will have some love-ly new merchandise for sale this day as well!

Daddy Daughter Date Night @ Mosaic! Feb. 17th, Mosaic Church, Highland. One of the most-anticipated nights of the year is back! Bring your favorite princess out for an evening of dinner and dancing while meeting Princesses Mirabel and Isabela! Cost is just $20/child (Dads are free!) For tickets, go to bit.ly/3Xjmf5c.

Daddy Daughter Dance, Feb. 17, 18th or 19th, 6-8:30pm, Wildey Theatre, Edwardsville. Boys and girls, moms and dads, steps and grands or other special guests in your life are invited to put on their dancing shoes and step out together at this year's Daddy Daughter Dance at the Wildey Theatre! Event includes dancing, dinner, photo booth and crafts. Guests can choose from Friday, February 17, Saturday, February 18, or Sunday, February 19. School is off on the 20th for Presidents Day, so you don't have to worry about be out too late if you choose Sunday! $20 per person.

Goshen Winter Market, Feb. 18th, 8am-12pm, 100 St. Louis St, Edwardsville. The monthly Winter Market will be held on the 3rd Saturday of the month, starting in November and ending in April. It will be outside in the market expansion lot. We will still have the EBT, credit, and debit card machine available just like during the normal season, and we will have Goshen merchandise to purchase too! Next date: Mar. 18th .

Ice Jam at the Dam, Feb. 18th, 10am-4pm, National Great Rivers Museum, East Alton. The Rivers Project's second annual Ice Jam at the Dam is an outdoor, winter-themed festival to promote outdoor recreation and celebrate all things icy along the river. The event will, of course, feature live-music from Chris Cahill & Co., tours of the locks and dam, warm food and beverage vendors, Park Ranger campfire programs, education booths, and more! Most activities will be primarily outdoors along the dam promenade to fully embrace the spirit of winter, but there will be plenty of campfires and heaters to keep you warm and cozy. Shed your hat and mittens when you head into the museum to CHILL out in our theatre with popcorn and a winter movie, get ARcTic at the craft table, or stroll through our glacial gallery for the Winter on the River photography contest!

Wordi Gras 2023, Feb. 18th, Worden. Yellow Dog, The Rustic and the American Legion will be open and ready to serve by noon. The parade begins at 3pm. Yellow Dog will have Baywolfe playing from 1pm till 5pm and Cheers Band from 6pm till 10pm. The Rustic will have B&G (Blues n Grass) playing from 1-5pm and the Gusto from 6pm-10pm. The American Legion will have Dustin Coleman playing from Noon till 3pm and Whiskey River playing from 4pm till 8pm. For updates, follow facebook.com/wordigras

Upcoming Local Events

Tea Rex Tea Party, Feb. 18th, 12pm, Fairview Heights Public Library. You are cordially invited to our Dino-Mite T-Rex Tea Party. Families are invited for an afternoon of tea, crafts, and dinosaurs! Register atbit.ly/404Aw86.

Granite City Mardi Gras, Feb. 18th, parade begins at 1pm. Are you ready to Mardi down Madison Avenue? Starting at 29th and State Street, the parade will head down State Street turning at 27th Street and then continue downtown from Madison Avenue. The parade will continue down Niedringhaus Avenue ending at Civic Park. After the parade, the celebration continues with a block party in downtown Granite City at Civic Park and the surrounding streets. Enjoy live music, food and local vendors. Block party: 2-5pm. Local bar crawl: 5-10pm. For more info, email For more information, email gcmardigras@gmail.com.

Downtown Belleville's Mardi Gras Celebration, Feb. 18th, 2-11:55pm, Downtown Belleville. Stay close to home and celebrate Mardi Gras in downtown Belleville with lots of fun places to choose from. Live music, drink specials, and bead giveaways. Street performers from 3-6pm: stilt walkers, fire twirlers, hula hoopers, balloon artist, musician, and much more!

Maryville Firefighters Music Trivia, Feb. 18th, 6pm, Maryville Fire Department. Doors open at 6pm, trivia starts at 7pm. Book your table of 10 for $250. For more info, emaildhartman@maryvillefire.com.

Daddy Daughter Dance, Feb. 18th, 6-8:30pm, North Elementary School, Godfrey. Open to girls ages 3-12 along with their fathers or other adult male relatives or family friends. $20 per adult male, $20 per daughter, $15 per additional daughter. Includes DJ, dancing, appetizers, photo booth fun, arts and crafts. To register, go tobit.ly/3IDxpO5

Upcoming Local Events

O'Fallon Empty Bowl Luncheon, Feb. 22nd, 11am-2pm, Gateway Classic Cars, O’Fallon. The Empty Bowl luncheon is an international event held to combat community hunger. Join us this year for the 14th Annual O'Fallon Empty Bowl Luncheon on February 22, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. $10 admission is good for one bowl of soup, a piece of bread, a bottled water, and a painted bowl.

The Empty Bowl, Feb. 22nd, 11am-2pm, Gateway Convention Center, Collinsville. The Empty Bowl is an annual fundraiser hosted by the Collinsville Women's Club and directly benefits the Collinsville Food Pantry. The funds raised during this event allows the Food Pantry to purchase food items for our families in need.

Movie Trivia, Feb. 28th, 79., Collinsville VFW. Do you know everything about movies? Or maybe you just want to come hang out with some friends? Either way, join us on February 28th at 7pm for Movie Trivia at the Collinsville VFW! This movie quiz is all about the movies you love! From opening lines, to the Oscars, to movie musicals, this quiz has everything. No minimum for a team, with a max of 8 players. Please bring food to share with your team, but all drinks must be purchased at the bar.

Micro Market, Mar. 4th, 9am-12pm, Vine Street Market at O’Fallon Station. Micro Markets are a mini version of the summer weekly season, similar to a soft opening. They are held indoors until the weather is nice enough to move outside and are a shorter time from, 9-noon. Follow their Facebook page for updates on vendor lineup. Upcoming Micro Market dates: Mar. 18th, Apr. 1st, Apr. 15th, Apr. 29th .

Upcoming Local Events

Moonlight Hike, March 7th, 7:30pm, The Nature Institute, Godfrey. Join the Nature Institute on a night hike through the woods! On the trails of the Mississippi Sanctuary and Olin Nature Preservethe terrain is light to moderate (may include some elevation change) and is appropriate for families. You can expect the hike to be about 2 miles, and it will include stops along the way. Keep an eye out for nocturnal animals like owls, white-tailed deer, raccoons, opossums, and more! Admission is free for member, $5 for non-members. Learn more at thenatureinstitute.org/events/moonlight-hike-28/.

Future dates: April 5th and May 5th .

Hard Road Theatre Production of Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville at Old Wicks Factory, Mar. 10th-19th, Highland. Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville is a musical comedy featuring the most-loved Jimmy Buffett classics, including “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, “Margaritaville,” “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere,” “Fins,” “Volcano,” and many more. With a book by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia (“My Name is Earl,” “Raising Hope”) and Emmy nominee Mike O’Malley (“Survivor’s Remorse,” “Shameless”), this hilarious, heartwarming musical is the party you’ve been waiting for! Tickets at https://www.hardroad.org/buy-tickets/ or at the door. For more information visit hardroad.org,our Facebook page, or email at hrtptix@gmail.com

Downtown Alton St. Pat’s Pub Crawl, Mar. 11th, 11am-7pm. Downtown Alton is gearing up to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! There will be a FREE shuttle available providing transportation to participating bars and restaurants throughout the day. Stop in and sample all the food and drink specials from the participating locations! Each bar or restaurant will have set pricing for their St. Pat's special. For more info and full list of bars and restaurants, go to stpatsalton.com

Upcoming Local Events

Saint Patrick's Day Block Party, Mar. 11th, 11am-7pm, Main St, Belleville. Get your green on and celebrate all things Irish and the coming of spring with your friends in Downtown Belleville! We will have Live Music, DJs, Food Trucks, Food Vendors, and a family friendly area all open following the Ancient Order of the Hibernians Parade! For more info and updates, go to facebook.com/BellevilleSaintPats.

Daddy Daughter Dance, Mar. 11th, 6-9pm, Tri-Township Park District, Troy. Ticket includes dinner, dancing and photo booth. $30 per couple, $10 for each additional child. Register at bit.ly/3X4pgqh

O’Fallon’s 2nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Grub Crawl, Mar. 17th, 5-8pm, Downtown District, O’Fallon. Come out in your greenest green and make your way around downtown O’Fallon, Illinois to the participating pubs! They’ll each be offering a different Irish dish around $5 and a lucky drink special. New this year, Stein Holding Competition! Look for the green tent downtown to compete and take your chance at the Leprechaun’s Pot O’ Gold!

Sham-ROCKED, Mar. 17th-19th, Woodland Park, Collinsville. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Collinsville Parks and Recreation Department and shake off those winter blues by searching for Sham-ROCKS at Woodland Park March 17th-19th, 2023. CPRD will be placing 100 St. Patty’s themed painted rocks throughout Woodland Park, but we need your help! Help us by painting rocks to be sham-ROCKED and “hiding” them throughout the park. Take your family and friends hiding and hunting for Sham-ROCKS to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! If you’re interested in helping with this free event, register at bit.ly/3HQn2EA.