2011 Events Calendar is Taking Shape

April 2 -- Community Expo and Home Show
Time: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Held at Kitzmans Lumber in downtown Dixon. The show features more than 40 area businesses and organizations. Free prizes, give-aways and more.

April 11 -- Founder's Day
Time: TBA
A celebration of the history and heritage of the city of Dixon. Highlights include a special program and extended hours for the Loveland Museum.

April 16 -- Community-wide Garage Sale
Time: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Garage sale hunters can enjoy this community garage sale. Stop by the riverfront for lunch during a busy day of garage sales.

May 7 -- Reagan Criterium and Fitness Fest presented by Green River Adventure Sports
Time: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
A day full of professional bike races in downtown Dixon. Also included will be the first-ever Fitness Fest and 2k Run/Walk.

June 30 - July 3 -- Dixon Petunia Festival
This annual event is the BIG celebration of the year. Featuring a carnival, parade, fireworks, live music, Reagan Run 5K and much more. Go to www.petuniafestival.org.

Aug. 9-14 -- Reagan Trail Days presented by Midland States Bank
A week filled with events to honor our hometown president! For a full listing and more information, go online to www.reagantraildays.net.
Aug. 9-- wine tasting at Reagan Home
Aug. 10 -- ice cream social on the Riverfront
Aug. 11 -- Lowell Park Pontoon Rides/Mid-Way Theatre show
Aug. 12 -- Taste of Dixon on the Riverfront from 5 p.m. - 11 p.m.
August 13 -- Taste of Dixon all day/music/beer garden/Pontoberfest
Augusut 14 -- bike ride

Sept. 24 -- Scarecrow Festival presented by Hicks Insurance
Time: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
The 15th annual fall festival in downtown Dixon, featuring games, entertainment, scarecrow contests, hayrides, doggy zoo, pumpkin painting and much more.

Dec. 2-3 -- Christmas Walk Presented by the Dixon Chamber of Commerce
Time: 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.
The annual holiday tradition for the whole family featuring horse and wagon rides, the Great Snowball Drop, crafts, games, Santa and more.

Christmas Notes ...

It may not feel like the holidays today, but Downtown Dixon is already
ringing in the holiday cheer. The many stores have their holiday
decorations starting to go up, the riverfront put up some lights and
Hennepin Ave. got the star treatment thanks to several volunteers last
Friday and some generous businesses. Big thanks to Wendler Engineering,
Audio Video Connection, Wedding Whims and Bill and Dicks. And thanks to
Scott Brown, Dennis Turner, Nicole Bollman, and Mitch Tucker for helping
to put up the decorations.

And just one big note this week ...
The annual Christmas Walk presented by Dixon Main Street and the Dixon
Chamber of Commerce is Friday, Dec. 3 from 6-9 p.m. The Great Snowball
Drop will be held at 7 p.m. and all the classic events will be taking
place: Horse and Wagon Rides, business give-aways, and much more. On
Saturday, come back downtown for the Breakfast with Santa event at the
Post House Ballroom and LCCOA from 8-11 a.m. And the Municipal Band
concert that evening at the Historic Dixon Theatre at 7 p.m. Get more
details and a map at www.dixonil.com/mainstreet.

That night, DMS will be drawing our raffle winner. Check out our raffle
board at Snyder's to see how high the pot is growing! And speaking of
Snyder's, they are helping us with our Orange Fundraiser. If you haven't
ordered your oranges yet, email me today!

Finally, don't forget to shop local this holiday season. And this
Saturday is being promoted as Small Business Saturday across the
country. Take part and shop local!