JULY
The Bourbonnais Public Library invites you to join its “BOOKbonnais” Community Reading Challenge, a free program running from the first of June until the last day of July. It will offer challenges for readers of all ages with a chance to win prizes. Kids will record their reading on a paper log which can be picked up at the library beginning June 1st. Tweens, teens and adults will use the Beanstalk app. Find the details under the “Events” tab at ”Bourbonnais Library (dot) org”.
The American Red Cross is in critical need of blood donors and you can help them keep their supply strong at an upcoming local blood drive. These will be held Wednesday, July 1st from 10am to 4pm at Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee / on Thursday, July 2nd from noon until 6pm at Northfield Square Mall / Monday, July 6th from 11am to 4pm at the KVPD RecCenter in Kankakee / and Wednesday, July 8th from 1 to 6pm at the Knights of Columbus in Kankakee AND from 8am to noon at the St. Anne High School. You can find a blood drive near you by visiting “Red Cross Blood (dot) org”
The Northern Illinois Anglers Association will now host its 43rd annual Kankakee River Fishing Derby July 3rd through July 12th and our radio station is a sponsor of the event. This year’s fish have blue tags. The grand prize for the 2026 derby will be a boat, motor and trailer courtesy of NECA/IBEW Local 176. For details about Illinois’ largest family derby, visit “Kankakee Fishing Derby (dot) com”.
The next “Lunchtime Bites & Beats on Festival Street” event will take place on Wednesday, July 8th from 11am to 1pm at The Grove in Bourbonnais. Auntie Anne’s and Chick-fil-A will be the food vendors on site while Todd Hazelrigg provides the entertainment. Hosted by the Village of Bourbonnais, these weekly midday escapes offer a place to grab lunch each Wednesday during the summer from delicious food trucks while enjoying live acoustic music and soaking in the summer atmosphere at the village’s favorite gathering spot. Admission is free.
Enjoy “Sandwiches with a Side of Jam” on Wednesday, July 8th from 11:30am until 1pm with live music from John Till. This is a free and family-friendly lunchtime concert series with a rotating schedule of performers and food vendors. It takes place one Wednesday per month throughout the summer at the Festival Square in downtown Kankakee.
The next “Perry Farm Market” will take place on Wednesday, July 8th from 5:30 to 7:30pm at Perry Farm Park in Bourbonnais. There will be local bakers, crafters, artists, food vendors, specialty beverages, master gardeners, and entertainment by the “Champagne Duo” until 6:30pm. Stick around for the Bourbonnais Township Park District’s free Summer Concert Series show with a Rolling Stones tribute band called “Rocks Off” performing from 7pm to 8:30pm. Admission is free.
Join the Village of Bourbonnais for a “Dinner & Movie on the Green” Thursday, July 9th at The Grove in Bourbonnais. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets. Food trucks offering dinner and dessert will open at 6pm. The original “Jurassic Park” film will begin at 7pm. Admission is free.
Enjoy a free concert in the park with the Kankakee Municipal Band at the Don Palzer Bandshell in Kankakee’s Bird Park each Thursday night this summer at 7pm. The next one will be on Thursday, July 9th and it will be “Jazz and TV Night” with guest conductor Karol Domalik. Oscar’s Meats will be the food vendor on site. Remember to bring a lawn chair.
A summer edition of Manteno’s townwide garage sales will take place throughout the village this Thursday July 9th, Friday July 10th and Saturday July 11th. Start and end times will vary but most sales are open from 8am to 3pm. A list of addresses can be found on Facebook.
Food Truck Fridays, hosted by the Bourbonnais Township Park District, feature a rotating lineup of food trucks at Perry Farm Park each Friday from 11am to 2pm during the summer months. This provides a place to enjoy the fresh air and an outdoor lunch as you head into the weekend. The next one will be held Friday, July 10th with Jurassic Grill Burgers & Fries. View a list of their future food truck vendors at “BTPD (dot) org”.
The Herscher Lions Club will host its 15th annual “Corn Bowl” on Friday, July 10th. Enjoy roasted sweet corn served with mouth-watering pork sandwiches, brats and hotdogs, fun kids games, and live entertainment from the Velvet Rose Band. Event proceeds will benefit the Herscher Community Legion. The fun starts around 5pm in downtown Herscher.
The Clifton Fun Days festival celebrates 250 years of independence on Friday, July 10th and Saturday, July 11th at Village Park on East 4th Avenue in Clifton. Enjoy village-wide garage sales, shopping and food vendors, live pro wrestling, a beer tent, bounce houses, kids games and barrel rides, bingo, a fish fry, 5K run/walk, a parade, DJ, live music from the South Side Social Club and more. Find the schedule of Facebook.
The Cissna Park Development Board’s next “Shop the Park” event will be from 9am to 1pm on Saturday, July 11th in Cissna Park. Enjoy craft and food vendors, a meet and greet with their school’s Superintendent Mr. Simpson, and live music by Emmalyn Paul.
LoveALatte Coffee’s 5th annual Mini-Golf Fundraiser will take place on Saturday, July 11th from 10am to 1pm at Adventure Commons, behind Northfield Square Mall at 70 Ken Hayes Drive in Bourbonnais. This year the theme will be “Christmas in July”. There will be lunch, prizes, raffles and T-Shirts. Send an email to “LoveALatte Coffee (at) gmail (dot) com” for ticket and sponsorship inquiries.
The Central 5K Memorial Scholarship Foundation will host its 23rd annual “Running to Remember” race in Clifton on Saturday, July 11th at the Village Park. Awards will be given out in several categories for this champion chip-timed race. The registration booth will open at 7:30am and the Run/Walk begins at 8:30am. Kids can participate in a one-mile Run/Walk at 8:45am or a one-block dash that starts after the 5K race is over. This year’s race will honor the memory of Jeff Hanson. For more details, visit the “Central 5K Running to Remember” page on Facebook.
The Village of Manteno will hold its Free Community Shred Day event on Saturday, July 11th from 9 to 11am. Folks can bring their unwanted papers and confidential documents to the ProShred truck parked across from the Leo Hassett Community Center on Main Street, and they will be shredded safely and securely for free.
The Veterans Garage has a new venue at 5649 North 5000 East Road in Bourbonnais. In partnership with Farm2Veteran, they are inviting all volunteers, supporters, members and friends to tour the facility and learn about their future plans on Saturday, July 11th at 2pm.
Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in L’Erable will hold their annual Parish Homecoming Sunday, July 12th on the church grounds 12 miles south of Kankakee and a mile east of Route 45-52 on 1500 East 2710 North Road in Clifton. The day begins with mass at 11am. Chicken and pork chop dinners will be sold from noon until 5pm. A barnyard-style tractor pull demonstration starts at noon and the kiddie tractor pull is at 1pm. They will also have raffles, beer, bingo, snacks and a kids zone.
The Newton County Pun’kin Vine Fair will be held July 13th through the 18th in Kentland, Indiana. Enjoy carnival rides and food vendors, 4-H exhibits, Bingo, live music, grandstand entertainment and more. There’s World Class Professional Big Time Wrestling on Tuesday July 14 at 7pm, an Antique Tractor Parade on Thursday July 16th at 6:30, followed by the IPA Truck and Tractor Pull at 7pm. They have a rodeo Friday, July 17th at 7pm, and don’t miss the demolition derby at 7pm on Saturday, July 18th. More info on facebook and at “Newton County Fair (dot) weebly (dot) com”.
The Iroquois County Fair runs July 14th through 19th near Crescent City. Grandstand entertainment includes the IPA Tractor and Truck Pull on Wednesday July 15th at 6pm, the demolition derby Thursday July 16th at 7:30pm, and the rodeo on Friday July 17th at 8pm. More info can be found at “Iroquois Co Fair (dot) com”.
The Benton County Fair takes place July 14th through the 19th in Boswell, Indiana. Entertainment highlights will include the Rough E Rodeo on Wednesday July 15th at 7pm, the Antique Tractor Parade on Thursday July 16th at 5:45pm, and the IPL Tractor Pull on Friday July 17th at 7pm. This fair is located in an Eastern Time Zone. Visit the “Benton County Fair – Indiana” facebook page for more information.
States Attorney Jim Rowe’s “Reel Justice Fishing Club” for kids and adults, in partnership with the Northern Illinois Anglers Association, is a fun outdoor summer activity that is free to attend. The fishing poles, tackle and bait are provided. Parents and guardians are encouraged to come along. They meet again on Wednesday, July 15th from 5pm until 7:30 at Munjoy Ponds, 1199 Cecil in Limestone. The skills focus will be on every species, using live baits and lures. Visit “K3SAO (dot) com (slash) Fish” for more information.
The Manteno Chamber Influencers will host their annual Back to School Bash on Friday, July 17th from 4 to 6pm at the Square on 2nd Street right before the town’s Rockin’ on the Square event. You can bring your kids out for free school supplies and free face-painting before the music begins.
A Community Shred event will take place on Saturday, July 18th from 10am to 11:30 in the Bourbonnais Upper Grade Center (BUGC) circle drive across from the Bourbonnais Public Library. Safely dispose of sensitive documents for free. They will take up to 5 medium-sized boxes per vehicle.
The Chebanse Lodge of St. Anne will host a Cruise-In on Saturday, July 18th from 4 to 7pm in the Freemasons’ parking lot on South Chestnut Street in Chebanse, across from the Casey’s General Store. Cars, trucks and motorcycles are welcome. There will be hot dogs, baked beans, popcorn and snow cones. Proceeds will help with Coins For Children, scholarships, food banks, women’s shelters and more.
The next “Coffee, Cars & Cigars” event in downtown Kankakee will take place on Sunday, July 19th from 9am until noon at the Harold and Jean Miner Festival Square. Enjoy a relaxed Sunday morning atmosphere with fresh coffee, breakfast options, a local cigar lounge and a car show.
The Manteno American Legion has organized a “Halfway To Christmas” event to make the holidays brighter for those who served and are asking folks to come together as a community on Saturday, July 19th and fill the Manteno Veterans Home with items that bring comfort, joy, and a reminder that they are appreciated and not forgotten. A drive-through drop-off site will be set up from 9am to 3pm near the volunteer entrance in back of the Veterans Home. They hope to receive donated cases of soda pop, jugs of Hawaiian Punch, coffee, individually packaged snack food and treats like chips, candy, snack cakes and cookies. A detailed list of suggested items can be found on the “Manteno American Legion Post 755, Auxiliary, SAL, Legion Riders” facebook page.
The Collaborative Initiative to Revive Kankakee Arts will host its 5th annual “Teen Talent Takeover” on Sunday, July 19th from 3 to 6pm at the CIRKA Building, 183 North Schuyler in downtown Kankakee. Young performers ages 12 to 20 will have a chance to showcase their abilities in a supportive and encouraging environment. Whether your talent lies in music, dance, spoken word, comedy, theater or some other form of creative performance, participants will compete for prizes including an opening performance at the 2026 Estival Festival. This contest is free to attend and to participate. Applications are being accepted until July 3rd. Visit “CIRKA Kankakee (dot) org” for all the details.
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