5 things to do in the Sauk Valley: Fiesta Parade, Paint the Town

1. Fiesta Parade, Rock Falls: The 70th annual Fiesta Parade will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday. Organized by the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce Hispanic Business Leaders Committee, the parade will begin in Rock Falls and end in Sterling. Parade entries will line up on 10th Street in Rock Falls, travel north on First Avenue in Rock Falls and cross the First Avenue bridge into Sterling. At the base of the bridge, the parade will turn left onto Second Street, travel north on Locust Street to Fourth Street, turn east and end at Grandon Civic Center. A community celebration will be held after the parade until 6 p.m. at Grandon Civic Center. The celebration includes DJ Cabralio, Ay! Jalisco Dancers, Equipo Linea Directa, food vendors and bounce houses.

2. Paint the Town, Morrison: Morrison’s family festival for the visual arts on Saturday, offers 1,700 squares for painting on downtown streets. The entire downtown again will be transformed into an outdoor canvas of 5-foot squares ready to receive the creative expressions of children, families, friends and artists of all ages. Music and food provide the backdrop for a day of painting the street. This year, Paint the Town’s creating organization, the Children’s Art Preservation of Morrison, is honoring Bob Ross, creator and host of the long-running PBS painting series “The Joy of Painting.” Participants receive an assigned 5-by-5-foot square on the street and an event bag containing all the supplies needed to paint: a primary color water-based tempera paint set plus black and white, one narrow brush for lining and one wide brush for filling, chalk for sketching, cups, stirrers and instructions for mixing colors, an event T-shirt, and giveaway goodies from sponsors. To register online, visit paintthetownmorrison.com. Check the website for more details.

3. The Oregon Ganymedes Vintage Base Ball Club, Creston: The Oregon Ganymedes Vintage Base Ball Club will play the Creston Regulators Base Ball Club at 2 p.m. Sunday at Creston Elementary School as part of Creston’s Annual Booster Days event. Admission is free, but spectators should bring their own chairs to watch this 1858 rules base ball contest. The Ganymedes final base ball match of the season will be an away game at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, against the McHenry County Independants Base Ball Club at Prairie Grove Park in Prairie Grove. The Oregon Ganymedes Base Ball Club is an all-volunteer educational outreach program of Oregon’s Chana School Museum that plays early-rules base ball (circa 1858 to 1867) using vintage uniforms and equipment of the times.

4. Hike the Canal, Rock Falls: The Friends of the Canal Hike are hosting their monthly Hike the Canal outing on Sunday. This month’s hike will be from Bridge 50 to Bridge 52 on the feeder canal. The hike is 4.1 miles long and has been named the “Cottonwood”. Participants will meet at Bridge 50 on the northwest side at 1:30 p.m., where they will be shuttled to Bridge 52 to begin the hike. Directions to Bridge 50 are to take Route 40 north from Route 6 (or I80) to Route 172. Then go west on Route 172 to where it crosses the Feeder canal. The monthly hikes were developed by the Friends of the Hennepin Canal as an opportunity for everyone to get to know the Canal personally by hiking it from the Illinois River to the Mississippi (including the Feeder Canal) in small legs. You need not be a member of the Friends to join in any of the hikes. There is no fee for the hikes. For information, contact Gary at 309-236-6212 or hikes@friends-hennepin-canal.org.

5. Constitution Day rally, Morrison: Preserve America Now will host an “I Love America” rally at Veterans Memorial Park, 150 E. High St., Morrison, on Sunday, Sept. 17. Assembly begins at 3 p.m. with speakers to address the crowd. Seating is not provided.