Highland Around Town — Feb. 8 edition

Noon Friday, Feb. 10, is the deadline to appear in next week’s “Around Town” listing. We must receive your event in writing with a contact phone number for questions. Due to the number of submissions, events may run only one time in print, will be edited and appear in the week before the event date.

Email: lifestyle@bnd.com. Mail to: Highland News Leader Around Town, Belleville News-Democrat, P.O. Box 427, Belleville, IL 62222-0427. Questions, call Jennifer Green at 618-239-2643.

Wednesday, Feb. 8

▪ Butterfly House’s Morpho Mardi Gras — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays through Tuesday, Feb. 21. The Butterfly House, 15050 Faust Park, Chesterfield, Missouri. Escape the cold by visiting Morpho Mardi Gras: Bugs, Butterflies and Beads! Bring your Krewe to the carnival during the month of February. Join the party at our Bugs on Parade, make a masquerade mask, and immerse yourself in a sea of blue as the Butterfly House floods the tropical conservatory with thousands of Blue Morpho butterflies. With the sounds of jazz in the air, inaugurate the season with these and other majestic creatures. Included with admission. For additional information about or purchase tickets, visit butterflyhouse.org.

▪ Black History Month Celebration — Through February. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, 212 N. Sixth St., Springfield. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will celebrate Lincoln’s birthday and Black History Month with activities that include a read-a-thon, two days of free admission and a play about a daring escape from slavery. Museum admission is free Saturday, Feb. 11, and Sunday, Feb. 12. For more information, visit presidentlincoln.illinois.gov.

Thursday, Feb. 9 through Saturday, Feb. 11

▪ HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Auxiliary Used Book Sale — 1-4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10; and 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Ungacta Conference Center, 12866 Troxler Ave., Highland. Featuring an impressive selection of fiction and nonfiction books, children’s books, cookbooks, puzzles, DVDs, CDs and more. Prices for hardback books will be $2, paperbacks are 50 cents, children’s books will be 25 cents and 50 cents, and oversized paperbacks, puzzles and DVDs/CDs are $1. Saturday’s sale is a $3 Bargain Bag Sale. Masks (non-cloth) must be worn in the hospital at all times and social distancing will be observed. 618-651-2592.

Friday, Feb. 10

▪ Aviston Legion Fish Fry — 4:30-7 p.m. American Legion Post 1239, 601 S. Clinton, Aviston. Cod (baked or fried), catfish, shrimp, hush puppies, chicken strips, fries, baked potato, slaw, applesauce. Dine-in and carryout. 618-228-7311 or avistonlegion.com.

Friday, Feb. 10 & Saturday, Feb. 11

▪ St. Andrew’s Winter Book Fair — 3-8 p.m. (by reservation only) Friday, Feb. 10, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 11. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 406 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. Featuring more than 20,000 used books, organized and priced to sell. Categories include fiction (hardcover and paperback), children’s books, history, literature, pets, sports, regional history, cookbooks, gardening, art, biography, music, humor, large print, religion, reference, science fiction and much more. Reservations required only on Friday and can be made by calling 618-692-8104 or online at standrews-edwardsville.com.

▪ Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra: Tchaikovsky and MacMillan — 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, and 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11. Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis. Composer/conductor Sir James MacMillan brings a program of fervor and fire, starting with Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Russian Easter Overture.” Then MacMillan’s own “The World’s Ransoming” turns inward, lamenting through the SLSO’s Cally Banham and her English horn. Grammy-winning violinist Nicola Benedetti, who has “passion and energy to compete with the best” (The Observer, London), performs MacMillan’s reeling Violin Concerto. slso.org

Saturday, Feb. 11 & Sunday, Feb. 12

▪ 8th annual Cycle Showcase STL — 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12. City Foundry, 3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis. A two-day event celebrating the art and history of motorcycling from all over the world with rare and custom bikes. Featuring 50+ historically significant, hand-crafted works of two-wheeled art. Museums and private collections from across the country will come together to display a wide range of motorcycles, with an emphasis on the beauty in both the design and engineering. Cost: $10 adults, kids 15 and under free. Tickets sold at the door. cycleshowcasestl.com

Sunday, Feb. 12

▪ Madison County Historical Society Speaker Series: Exploring the Mitchell Archaeological Site — 2 p.m. Main Street Community Center, 1003 N. Main St., Edwardsville. Featuring a presentation on the Mitchell Archaeological Site by archaeologist Don Booth. The Mitchell Archaeological Site is a pre-Columbian Mississippian mound center located at Mitchell, Illinois. The site is related to the settlement at Cahokia, and originally had a platform mound and village consisting of 10-13 additional mounds. All but two of the mounds were destroyed in the 1960s with construction of Interstate 270. Free and open to the public. 618-656-1294.

Tuesday, Feb. 14

▪ Parents of Addicted Loved Ones — 7-8:30 p.m. Online via Zoom. The PAL group provides education, support and hope to family members and loved ones of someone who has an addiction of substance use disorder. Free and open to all. For info or to join the Zoom meeting, contact Craig at 618-567-6095. palgroup.org

Wednesday, Feb. 15

▪ McKendree University annual Career Fair — 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Hettenhausen Center for the Arts, 400 N. Alton St., Lebanon. Students, alumni and job seekers alike are welcome to attend this free event. Registration is not required but is encouraged and can be done through Handshake. Attendees may also get their photo taken for free if they wish to update their LinkedIn profile with a professional photo. Photos are taken by the University and will be provided to attendees. Job seekers should also dress professionally and bring plenty of résumés on the day of the Career Fair. For more information, please email McKendree’s Career Services at careerservices@mckendree.edu.

▪ ImpactLife Blood Drive — 1-5 p.m. Deien Chevrolet, 555 N. Madison St., Trenton. ImpactLife is calling on blood donors to step forward in support of the local blood supply. The winter weather has caused the cancellation of some blood drives in the service area, and several blood types are now critically low. There are also appointments open for double red donations. All donors are required to schedule an appointment for donations; face masks are optional. All presenting donors will receive an electronic gift card or T-shirt. To schedule an appointment, call ImpactLife at 800-747-5401 or visit BloodCenter.org and use sponsor code 10856.

Other area happenings

▪ Botanical Resonance Virtual Talk Series: Annika Kapper, ‘Liquid Landscapes’ — 12:30-1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16. Online via Zoom. Join the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum to learn more from artists who created artworks for the “Botanical Resonance” exhibition in a special virtual speaker series. The exhibition showcases different plants used to create musical instruments in cultures around the world, as well as some plants make unique sounds throughout their life cycles in nature and in the Garden. For the species used to make instruments, many are threatened in their native environments due to the increasing production and demand for the desirable plant material. Register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WeWbmwO1RzqYBF6HWYT6vA

▪ 7th annual Prairie State of the Heart: Care Across the Heartland — 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, 212 N. 6th St., Springfield. This evening will celebrate innovation and advancement at Prairie, as well as honor the 2022 Prairie Heart of the Community Award and Prairie Heart of Innovation Award recipients. The keynote speaker will be “The Healthy Humorist” Dr. Brad Nieder. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails will be provided by Cured Catering. Music will be provided by Square of the Roots, the father and son duo, Mike (The Rev.) and Brian Steinhauer. Tickets are $150 each and can be purchased online at prairieheart.org/events.

▪ Damiansville PTO Trivia Night — 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. Damiansville Elementary School, 101 E. Main St., Damiansville. Doors open at 6 p.m. Grab some friends and get ready for this holiday-themed event. The best decorated table will have a chance to win a cash prize. BYO snacks and drinks. Silent auction and 50/50 drawing. Cost: $100 per table, 8-10 players. To reserve a table: pto@dville62.com or text 618-314-3352.

This story was originally published January 30, 2023 at 12:00 AM.