5 Things to Do: Petunia Festival, fireworks in the Sauk Valley

1. Visit Dixon’s Petunia Festival: The Petunia Festival is celebrating its 60th year with more food trucks, entertainment and live music. From July 3 to 7, guests can enjoy games and prizes at the carnival on Lincoln Statue Drive, between Dixon High School and the riverfront. The carnival operates from 5 to 11 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, July 3 and 5, and from 1 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, July 4, 6 and 7. Special needs quiet hours return this year from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday. Parents can bring their children to enjoy the carnival without the sensory overload of flashing lights, music and large crowds. Parents must register their child and one adult at the Petunia Festival headquarters at 77 S. Hennepin Ave. in Dixon to receive a special wristband that is good for the two hours. James Otto, Gina Venier, Slick Trigger, Tripping Molly, Kirkland and Ashley Cooke are on the festival’s concert lineup. The weekend winds down at 1 p.m. Sunday with the annual parade on Peoria Avenue across from St. Mary’s Catholic School. The celebration ends with the fireworks display at 9:30 p.m. over the Rock River.

2. See the fireworks in Rock Falls on July 3: The Fourth of July holiday ignites early this year as Rock Falls kicks off the festivities with its Independence Day Celebration. Eat ‘N’ Beats At The District starts at 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 3, in the RB&W District Park at 201 E. Second St. in Rock Falls. Guests can chow down on fare from several food trucks that include newcomers T&D BBQ, The Dirty Bird 815 and The Press Box, while shopping from various business and craft vendors. Live music will be provided by country-rock band 3 Day Rain from 6 to 9 p.m. on the amphitheater stage. The Sterling-Rock Falls Jaycees fireworks display starts at dusk, with fireworks launching from Rock Falls’ Lawrence Park. The show is free, and the Jaycees will be on site collecting donations. For information on the Independence Day Celebration, call 815-622-1106 or email director@visitrockfalls.com.

3. Listen to the music: Music Under the Stars by the Sterling Municipal Band will be featured at the Grandon Civic Center in downtown Sterling. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. July 3. The Fourth of July Celebration concert will feature the Chicago Mercantile Battery. Seating is available on the park benches but you may bring your own chairs/blankets to sit on the lawn area of the park. Feel free to bring your own snacks or purchase refreshments at the gazebo. For more information and up-to-date schedules, visit Sterling Municipal’s Band website. The event is free.

4. See glassblowers and artisans: The second annual Herbal Roots CannaFest is scheduled from 2 to 11 p.m. Friday, July 12, and from noon to midnight Saturday, July 13. There is a $10-per-day entry fee, or patrons can preorder two-day passes for $15. Camping is provided by Elks Page Park, 7883 S. Lowell Park Road in Dixon, for $20 a night. CannaFest donated 10% of the proceeds from the 2023 event to Rosbrook Studios to help raise funds to buy its historic building downtown and make needed structural repairs. The event plans to donate to the studio again this year. Rosbrook Studios will provide live musical performances at the festival from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 12, and from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 13. The studio has operated as a music and arts venue through donations and volunteers for more than a decade on the second floor at 107 S. Peoria Ave. in Dixon. From 8 to 11 p.m. Friday night, Class Field Trip, a rock band based in Dixon, is scheduled to perform. From 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Roadhouse Gypsy’s will close out the festival. To reserve camping spaces, call Elks Page Park at 815-440-9889. For information, visit the Herbal Roots CannaFest Facebook page.

5. Enjoy a hot dog in downtown Sterling on Friday, Aug. 2. Merchants will offer 25-cent hot dogs and sodas from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. or when sold out. Hot Dog Day coincides with the Family Fun Fair at Sterling Marketplace, 111 W. Second St., offering free children’s activities and sidewalk sales throughout the downtown. Learn more at sterlingmainstreet.org.

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