DeKalb – Organizations including NIU’s Supportive Professional Staff Council, the Egyptian Theatre and The DeKalb Public Library will host festive events throughout December.

Supportive Professional Staff Council

NIU’s Supportive Professional Staff Council will be hosting a Holiday Special event noon on Dec. 17 in Barsema Hall’s Atrium. The special is a holiday potluck where council members will be providing the dishes, according to the organization’s website.  The public can help judge the dishes including appetizers, entrees and desserts, according to the Supportive Professional Staff Council’s website.

Visiting Santa 

Santa himself is making an appearance at two different venues in DeKalb, the downtown area and the DeKalb Public  Library. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at the Van Buer Plaza, located on N. 2nd St., Santa will be visiting, and all are invited to come out and see him, according to DeKalb County’s Convention & Visitors Bureau’s website.  The event started Dec. 7 and goes on until Dec. 21, before Mr. Kringle must go back to the North Pole. 

The DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St., will also host Santa before the big day. He can be found in the Story-Activity Room in the Children’s department of the library. 

From 10-11:30 a.m. on Dec 17, 18 and 21, Santa will be handing out candy canes to his visitors, according to Theresa Winterbauer, DeKalb Public Library’s Youth Services manager. Starting at 5:30 p.m., Milk and Cookies with Santa will begin.

The event will begin with “Miss Jen reading ‘The Night Before Christmas.’ Then children can enjoy their treat while they wait their turn to speak with Santa,” Winterbauer said. 

The Egyptian Theatre

The Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. 2nd St., will be hosting three separate performances leading up to Christmas Day. The events will start at $35 per ticket. The Prophecy will be performing at 7 p.m. on Dec 15. 

The performance is “a high-octane holiday spectacular complete with rock music, lasers and more. It will definitely kick everyone’s holidays into high gear,” Jeanine Holcomb, Marketing & Communications Director at the Egyptian Theatre, said. 

The second event will be an event titled “Flying into the Holidays,” an acrobatic and daredevil experience. This performance will take place at 6:30 pm, on Dec. 18, at the Egyption Theatre.

“The audience can expect a high-flying act from the Sycamore Performing Arts Academy aerial performers. Dancers will perform beautiful aerial stunts that will take this performance to new heights,” Holcomb explained. 

The final performance will include Diamond Rio’s 8 p.m., Dec. 20 performance at the Egyptian Theatre. The organization is including DeKalb in their Holiday & Hits Tour. 

Diamond Rio will be performing holiday classics at the theater for the event, Holcomb described.  

“Whether you are a huge Diamond Rio fan or just a fan of holiday classics, this will be a great show for you.”

The Prophecy and Diamond Rio have never performed at the Egyptian Theatre, so this will be a new experience for the theatre.

“The holidays are always a time where families come together whether that be gathering together at home, at a restaurant or taking in a show,” Holcomb said. “We want to be one of these places that becomes part of a family’s holiday traditions, so offering many different types of holiday programming is one of our December priorities.”

These are just a few events in the city of DeKalb that welcome families and people of all ages to attend and get in the holiday spirit. NIU’s event calendar and DeKalb Convention and Visitors Bureau website is a good place to look for all events going on in DeKalb.