5 Things to Do: Fishing expo, marathon, markets highlight Mother’s Day weekend in Illinois Valley

Here are five things to do this weekend:

Kids Free Fishing Expo: Food, games, drinks and snacks will be available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Baker Lake on Airport Road north of Shooting Park Road and a half-mile south of Wenzel Road in Peru. A free beginning fishing “how-to” clinic for boys and girls ages 6 and older. Sessions are every 15 minutes. There are fishing games with prizes, casting games, free literature and door prizes. Learn fishing techniques, and gets tips from local fishermen. A limited number of poles will be available on loan, and bait will be provided. Safety information will be provided by the Peru Police Department.

Thrive on Main: Several entrepreneurs in Sheffield are hosting an Etsy-inspired market, Thrive on Main, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Thrive on Main has become a spring-favorite event, drawing people to Sheffield for the past seven years to shop vendors, boutique trucks, fresh florals, yummy local food and home décor. New this year is a group fitness class beginning at 9 a.m. along Main Street in Sheffield. There also will be a sidewalk chalk contest from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and live music throughout the day. Check out vendor profiles on Thrive on Main’s Facebook page.

Starved Rock Country Marathon/Half-Marathon: The 2025 Starved Rock Country Marathon and Half-Marathon will be this Saturday, beginning and ending in Ottawa. The marathon is scheduled to start at 7 a.m. at the intersection of La Salle and Jefferson streets in downtown Ottawa. The SRC half-marathon will begin 15 minutes later, the start line located inside Starved Rock State Park. There also is the Run SRC 5K beginning at 7 a.m. in downtown Ottawa. This will be the 10th running of the full 26.2-mile event, which began in 2014. The 2020 and 2021 Starved Rock Country Marathons were not run due to measures put in place to control the COVID-19 pandemic, although 2021 did feature the half-marathon and 5K. The course is a favorite of runners both local and from afar, featuring the landscapes of historic downtown Ottawa, the banks of the Illinois River and the star: Starved Rock State Park itself. For more information, those interested can visit runstarvedrockcountry.net. There is no day-of-race registration.

Folk artist: Open Prairie United Church of Christ in Princeton will host a free concert by folk artist Bobby Jo Valentine at 7 p.m. Sunday. Valentine is a singer/songwriter from California who has performed festivals and conferences around the country. He has won Songwriter of the Year at the West Coast Songwriter’s Association and several other awards. His music has been featured in commercials, feature films and wedding ceremonies, as well as his greatest honor – YouTube videos with puppies. Free-will donations will be accepted at the door. Refreshments will be served. Open Prairie is at 25 E. Marion St., just east of the Apollo Theater. For more information, go to openprairie.org, email mail@openprairie.org, or call the church office at 815-872-5150.

Opening reception: NCI ARTworks will host an opening reception for the monthlong exhibition of art by award-winning artists Matt Jagitsch and Ryan Jandrey from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the NCI ARTworks Gallery at Westclox in Peru. Jagitsch grew up in Jacksonville, Illinois, where he discovered his love of art and found himself using it as an escape into a world of fantasy and interpretation. Jandrey is a charcoal and graphite artist born and raised in Dixon and specializing in classical portraiture and the human form. He is drawn to black-and-white mediums such as charcoal and graphite for their simplicity and potential to convey the contrast between light and shadow in a visually striking way. Jandrey accepts commission work. A private viewing of the exhibit can be arranged any time by emailing outreach@nciartworks.com.

Would you like your event highlighted in this weekly feature? The first step is submitting your events to the Illinois Valley’s community calendar at shawlocal.com/illinois-valley/local-events.