DeKALB | This year’s Altgeld Hall Holiday Open House will offer free events open to all and a chance to help those in need.

The open house will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, in Altgeld Hall. In honor of DeKalb’s sesquicentennial celebration, the event will feature a concert by the DeKalb Municipal Band, one of the longest performing municipal bands in Illinois, said Ellen Andersen, director of special events at NIU. The concert will be first-come, first-served, with a capacity of 600 in the Altgeld auditorium, she said.

There will also be a dessert reception, horse-and-carriage rides, crafts for kids and a cake auction. All proceeds from the cake auction will benefit Hope Haven homeless shelter in DeKalb, Andersen said.

“We are anticipating a very large turnout and hoping for good weather,” she said.

The first open house held in Altgeld Hall was in December 2004 for the building’s Grand Opening; more than 700 people were in attendance. Despite an ice storm in December 2005, more than 400 people attended that year’s event, Andersen said.

“Even though many have now seen the building, it is viewed as a nice gathering place for the community during the holidays to enjoy some festive music and see some friends,” she said.

For more information on the event, call Ellen Andersen at 753-1999.

Hope Haven can be reached by phone at 758-3166.