Weekend events for Friday, Dec. 4 through Sunday, Dec. 6

 Friday, Dec. 4

Cosmic Bingo will be held at the UAW Local 1268 Hall at 1100 W. Chrysler Dr. in Belvidere. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and bingo begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door with limited availability. The cost includes 6 cards, cosmic dabber and cosmic hat. Additional bingo cards are $5. There is over $1,000 available in cash prizes, a cash bar, and snacks for purchase. Players must be 18-years-old or older to play. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call Beth Balentyne at (815) 636-9811.

The Belvidere Park District Administration Building will collect Santa Letters from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please drop off your letter to Santa. No postage necessary.

The Belvidere Park District Administration Building will have the returned letters from Santa that can be picked up from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Belvidere YMCA will host a Christmas Carnival from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to coincide with the Hometown Christmas parade.

Beth Fowler Dance Company presents “The Nutcracker” at DeKalb Egyptian Theater at 7 p.m. Early Bird discounts available until Dec. 1. Tickets available at www.egyptiantheatre.org, during box office hours Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday’s from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Belvidere High School varsity wrestling team will face Metamora, Rockford East and Geneseo High Schools at Home in the Auxiliary Gym-North at 5:30 p.m.

The Belvidere High School boys and girls bowling teams will face Belvidere North High School in a home game set at Forest Hills Lanes.

The Belvidere High School boys’ sophomore basketball team will face Guilford. The game will be held at 5:30 p.m. at Guilford High School

The Belvidere High School boys’ varsity basketball team will face Guilford at Guilford High School at 7 p.m.

The Belvidere High School girls’ sophomore basketball team will face Guilford at 5:30 p.m. at Melvin L. Brown gym. The varsity game will follow at 7 p.m.

Belvidere North High School and Auburn sophomore and varsity boys’ basketball teams will compete at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Belvidere North High School.

Belvidere North High School and Auburn freshman girls’ basketball teams will compete at 4:30 p.m. at Auburn High School.

Belvidere North High School and Auburn sophomore and varsity girls’ basketball teams will compete at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Auburn High School.

The Belvidere High School varsity girls’ dance team will compete against Guilford at 7 p.m. at Melvin L. Brown gym.

The Belvidere High School Girls junior varsity cheerleading team will face Guilford at 5:30 p.m. at Guilford High School. The varsity teams will follow at 7 p.m.

Check out the lights display in Belvidere Park.

Come enjoy Hometown Christmas by watching the Hometown Christmas Light Display. Line-up will begin at 5 p.m. and the parade will start at 5:30 p.m. After the parade, everyone can roam about town enjoying the Christmas atmosphere with the various activities around town, including a visit from Santa Clause at the Belvidere YMCA. Hometown Christmas will go until 9 p.m. and feature numerous activities throughout downtown Belvidere.

Saturday, Dec. 5

Cosmic Bingo will be held at the Lyran Society Hall at 1115 4^th Ave. in Rockford. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and bingo begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door with limited availability. The cost includes 6 cards, cosmic dabber and cosmic hat. Additional bingo cards are $5. There is over $1,000 available in cash prizes, a cash bar, and snacks for purchase. Players must be 18-years-old or older to play. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call Beth Balentyne at (815) 636-9811.

Willowcreek Presbyterian Church will host a Christmas Cookie Walk at their church, located at 7300 Belvidere Road in Caledonia. The Cookie Walk will begin at 9 a.m. and will continue until the cookies are gone. Santa will also make an appearance at the event. For more information, please contact Delores Hall at (815) 677-1784.

Beth Fowler Dance Company presents “The Nutcracker” at DeKalb Egyptian Theater 7 p.m. Early bird discounts are available until Dec. 1. Tickets available at: www.egyptiantheatre.org, during box office hours Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday’s from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Belvidere High School freshmen wrestling team will compete in the Byron Tournament at Byron PE Center at 8:30 a.m.

The Belvidere High School varsity wrestling team will compete in the Streamwood High School Triple Duals at Streamwood High School at 9 a.m.

The Belvidere High School girls bowling teams will compete in the Jefferson Bowling Invite at Cherry Bowl at 8:30 a.m.

The Belvidere High School and Belvidere North High School varsity boys swimming and diving team will compete in the Harlem Invite at Harlem High School pool at 11 a.m.

The Belvidere North High School girls’ bowling teams will compete in the Jefferson Invite at the Cherry Bowl at 8:30 a.m.

The Belvidere High School boys’ freshmen basketball team will face Guilford at Guilford High School at 9:30 a.m.

The Belvidere High School boys’ basketball team will face Guilford at 10:45 a.m. at Guilford High School.

The Belvidere High School girls’ freshmen basketball team will face Guilford at 9:30 a.m. at Melvin L. Brown gym. The junior varsity game will follow at 10:45 a.m.

Belvidere North High School and Auburn freshman boys’ basketball teams will compete at 9:30 a.m. at Belvidere North High School.

Belvidere North High School freshman girls’ basketball team will compete in the Grayslake tournament.

Belvidere North High School varsity wrestling teams will compete against Oregon, Polo and Rock Falls at 10 a.m. at the Oregon Blackhawk Center.

The Boone County Conservation District will host the 1800s Holiday Walk from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 603 North Appleton Road in Belvidere.

Check out the lights display in Belvidere Park.

The Winnebago and Boone Counties Genealogical Society will hold their 4^th Annual Roundtable meeting at Spring Creek United Church of Christ, located at 4500 Spring Creek Road in Rockford at 1:30 p.m. For more information, call (779) 203-3511.

Sunday, Dec. 6

Santa Clause will visit the Vintage Wings and Wheels Museum to visit with the kiddies before heading back to the North Pole to finish the toys for Christmas.

The Belvidere Park District will host a Holiday Exploration and Craft Series for children ages six to 10. Join them each month to learn fun facts and explore how each holiday is celebrated both in the United States and around the world. They’ll make a seasonal craft for each child to take home and display, so clear some space on the mantle or coffee table. The craft series will occur at Rivers Edge Recreation Center’s Upper Multipurpose Rooms. Kathleen Roth will teach the classes to a minimum of five children and a maximum of 25. Registration deadline is the Monday before the event. The cost of each class is roughly $12 to $18. The class will be from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The Belvidere Park District will host a class, taught by Kathleen Roth, on how to build a candy house. The fee of $10 to $15 (depending on how many participate) includes supplies to create one candy house per registered individual or parent and child pair. Registered participants may drop-in at Rivers Edge Recreation Center’s Lower Multipurpose Rooms at any time during their scheduled session. Pre-registration is required and walk-ins will not be accepted to ensure quality programming. Pre-registration can be done by calling the Belvidere Park District at (815) 547-5711. The deadline to register is Dec. 3. There must be between 10 to 50 participants for the classes to happen. The event will take place on Sunday, Dec. 6 with one class being from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and a second class being from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Beth Fowler Dance Company presents “The Nutcracker” at DeKalb Egyptian Theater at 2 p.m. Early bird discounts available until Dec. 1. Tickets are available at www.egyptiantheatre.org, during box office hours Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday’s from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Monroe Township Firefighters Association will hold their All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Breakfast with Santa from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. It will be held at the fire station at 104 West St. in Monroe Center. Prices are $8 for adults, $4 for children aged six to 12, and children five and under eat free.

Belvidere North High School varsity cheerleading team will compete in the Sandburg Cheerfest at 9 a.m. at Carl Sandburg.

Check out the lights display in Belvidere Park.

St. Mark Lutheran church of Rockford invites the public to attend a wonderful free concert at 3 p.m.  The concert will feature a Christmas cantata, “A Noel Celebration,” performed by the Voices of St. Mark choir.  The concert will also feature several exciting holiday pieces performed by the St. Mark Ringers handbell group.  Add in a few special guest musicians and some stirring narration and the audience will be in for quite an afternoon of wonderful music to joyously kick off the holiday season. The concert is free and open to the public, and will take place at St. Mark Lutheran church, located at 675 North Mulford Road in Rockford.  A freewill offering will be accepted. For more information, call (815) 398-3557, or visit the church website www.stmarklc.com.