5 Things To Do In The Sauk Valley: Student theater, Beatles tribute and world-class violinist

The season’s made a full turn into autumn, so 5 Things To Do In The Sauk Valley will plow through piles of fallen leaves to find the region’s best in seasonal entertainment. That means recommending student-led stage productions, a traditional holiday craft show, and football tailgating with some homestyle cookin’. If music is your thing, a touring show will bring The Beatles to life in Dixon. But if your ear prefers classical music, well then, it’s a chance to see one of the world’s top young violinists draw bow against strings in Sterling.

1 Spellbinding weekend. Student theater productions abound with the fantastic. Dixon High School is staging “Fairy Tale Courtroom,” a comedy that explores what happens when the Big Bad Wolf and the Wicked Witch stand trial for their misdeeds. Shows are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at James A. Wiltz Auditorium. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students. Rock Falls High School is putting onLaura Schellhardt’s “The K of D,” which tells the story of a young girl with the power to kill anything she kisses. Shows are 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Tabor Gymnasium. Tickets are $5 for community members.

2 Come together. Yesterday: A Tribute to The Beatles will appear 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Dixon Theatre, 114 S. Galena Ave., Dixon. The international touring group founded by Don Bellezzo has been performing Beatles songs and portraying the Fab Four since 2001. Tickets start at $30.

3 No strings attached. Sirena Huang, gold-medal winning violinist, will be the guest soloist when the Clinton Symphony Orchestra performs 7 p.m. Saturday at Centennial Auditorium at Sterling High School. She will perform Dvorak’s Violin Concerto, which she performed to win an international competition in Indianapolis in September. Also on the program: Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” and Mednelssohn’s Symphony No. 3. Admission is $20, students are free.

4 Serve it up hot. The Ultimate Tailgate and Chili Cookoff by Ken Nelson Auto Group and Discover Dixon will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Beanblossom Parking Lot in Dixon. It’s a competition to see who can make the best chili, but also a chance to serve up other tailgate foods, ice-cold drinks and enjoy the Bears-Dolphins game on a screen provided by Audio Video Connection. Request competition form from jennifer.lang@dixonnow.com

5 Tis the Season. Holiday Craft and Vendor Fair presented by the Dixon Lioness Lions will be noon to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Loveland Community House and Museum, 513 W. Second St., Dixon. The event is a benefit for local charities and the Center for Sight and Hearing. It includes a candy raffle and 50-50 raffle. Handmade holiday and seasonal crafts and edibles are featured.

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