5 Things To Do in the Sauk Valley: Car show, Dutch treats, new stage play

Is it really and truly spring? Dare we venture outdoors? Let’s give it a try, shall we?

In this week’s 5 Things To Do in the Sauk Valley we start off with the vintage car show in Sterling. Next is a new event — a hunger awareness walk in Rock Falls. There’s also a trail run along the old railway corridor and a longstanding festival celebrating Dutch heritage. For a respite once the day’s activities are done, let’s pop inside and see the new play at Dixon Stage Left.

1 What’s under the hood? Sterling Main Street will have the annual Car Show starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 7, at East Second Street and Second Avenue in downtown Sterling. Awards will be given to the Top 40, along with the Mayor’s Choice and Best of Show. Judging begins at noon and the award presentation will be at 2:15 p.m. Spectators can view for free.

2 Help the hungry. University of Illinois Extension is sponsoring the inaugural Walk for Hunger event 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6 at Centennial Park in Rock Falls. Participants are asked to bring one healthy shelf-stable food item that will be donated to the Sauk Valley Food Bank. Check in is at the Larson Shelter. Activities include presentations on the wild mammals of Illinois, wild and wacky weather, buzzing insects, and a celebration of pollinators. Registration is not required.

3 Tree-lined run. The Stengel 10K and Half-Marathon will be the morning of Saturday, May 6, from Woosung to Polo along the Stengel Trail, which follows an old railroad corridor through Ogle and Lee counties. The half-marathon starts at 8 a.m. and the 10K at 8:15. The scenic trail is classified as flat and fast, perfect for setting personal records, though all paces are welcome to participate. Dixon Park District is the organizer and there are registration links on its website.

4 Down by the levee. Spring river flooding arrived just in time for the 47th annual Dutch Days Festival that will be Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6 in Fulton. This year’s theme, appropriately, is Canals, Dikes and Floods, marking the anniversary of the 1965 flood. The annual event celebrates the city’s Dutch heritage with performances, Dutch food, Dutch dancing, and a parade that steps off at 3 p.m. Saturday.

5 Don’t lose your head. “The Revolutionists” opens 7:30 p.m. Friday at Dixon Stage Left. It’s a girl-powered comedy set in 1793 Paris during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. The cast features Mali Mills of Los Angeles as Marianne Angelle, with DSL veterans Tori Highley as Marie Antoinette, Kaitlin D. Haley as Olympe de Gourges and Elsie Gordon as Charlotte Corday. Other shows are Saturday, May 6, May 11-13 and May 18-20. Tickets are $30, discounted for students.

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