5 things to do in DeKalb County: Sandwich Fair, First Friday Evening Hikes, Sunday Cinema and more

1. Outdoor Adventure: First Friday Evening Hikes: Set for 7 to 8 p.m. Friday at Afton Forest Preserve, 13600 Crego Road, DeKalb. Additional dates include Oct. 6 at Chief Shabbona Forest Preserve, Nov. 3 at Merritt Prairie and Dec. 1 at MacQueen Forest Preserve.

First Friday Evening Hikes invites participants to explore forest preserves and nature throughout DeKalb County. The free hikes are open to all and family-friendly. To register in advance or for information, visit calendar.niu.edu.

2. Help clean up DeKalb: Summer Trash Cleanup hosted by Trash Squirrels from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Meet up at Harbor Freight Tools, 2569 Sycamore Road, DeKalb. All are invited. The event will be outdoors. Participants should look for a big blue tent. Wagons, pullers, bags, gloves and water will be provided.

For more information, visit facebook.com/events.

3. Sunday Cinema – the famed 1940 comedy “The Philadelphia Story”: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St., DeKalb. The free event, sponsored by the Friends of the DeKalb Public Library, is open to all ages. No registration is required.

For information: call 815-756-9568, ext. 1700, email chelsear@dkpl.org or visit dkpl.org.

4. “Chaos in a Warm Village” NIU art exhibit: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Jack Olson Gallery at Jack Arends Hall, 330 Gilbert Drive, DeKalb.

“Chaos in a Warm Village” runs through Oct. 26 at various dates. The exhibit by Jesse Howard reflects and illustrates the complexity and diversity of the African American community, according to Northern Illinois University. In his work, Howard depicts a story about the hopes and dreams of disenfranchised people, showing the contradiction between the portrayal of African Americans in mainstream media and the reality of their everyday lives.

The gallery is free to view and open to all.

For information, visit calendar.niu/edu.

5. 135th annual Sandwich Fair: Runs Wednesday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 10 at the Sandwich fairgrounds, 15730 Pratt Road, Sandwich. Since 1888, the five-day fair has captivated crowds and invited residents from all over to enjoy harness and truck racing, truck pulls, live music, carnival rides and food, tractor pulls, an antique car show and demolition derby and more.

The family-friendly event runs 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for children 6 to 12 and free for those 5 and under. Promotions are offered throughout the fair for discounted rates. Parking is included in ticket costs.

For information, including a full schedule of events and ticket information, visit sandwichfair.com.

Would you like your event featured in this weekly feature? The first step is submitting your events to the Daily Chronicle’s community calendar at shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/local-events/ where they are then considered for inclusion in this feature. Submissions to the community calendar are also printed in the Thursday edition of the Daily Chronicle.