Holidays

Human beings have marked the turning of the year with many different traditions over thousands of years. Some practices have fallen out of favor. Today, American society celebrates on New Year’s Eve, and not New Year's Day, though this was not always the case.

The holidays can be an isolating time of year, particularly for seniors without family nearby. Normal-based nonprofit Faith in Action runs a program that pairs volunteers with seniors for regular conversations to fight loneliness and social isolation — year-round.

The annual holiday display is modeled after Chicago's ZooLights and FOLEPI in East Peoria. Even Rojo, the zoo's senior Sumatran tiger, enjoys the event.

Heavy hitters from the country and Americana scene Patty Griffin, Hayes Carll and Lori McKenna appear together as a triple bill tonight at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

Normal Community High School students are organizing the 2nd annual Holi Moli Festival of Colors at the Uptown Normal circle to help continue to connect the Bloomington-Normal community with Indian culture.

Most people know about the letter a little girl wrote to the New York Sun newspaper in 1897 asking whether Santa Claus is real. It prompted the famous response, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." Bloomington-Normal children encountered their own slightly more intrepid version of that idea a couple decades later.

Bryant pioneered string programs in Unit 5 schools and led the Bloomington-Normal Youth Symphony for three decades. She recently stepped down and will conduct her final piece with BYNS Saturday at the Illinois Symphony's Holiday Pops in the Heartland.

The holiday season is officially here! We've got a few recommendations for family-friendly ways to celebrate.

Two Bloomington-Normal high schoolers are inviting you to participate in one of their Indian culture’s most important celebrations – Holi, the Festival of Colors.

The Illinois Symphony's popular "Holiday Pops in the Heartland" comes to Illinois State University's Concert Hall Saturday with a combined orchestra, joining players from Bloomington-Normal Youth Symphony, Springfield Choral Society and more.