Friday – Jan. 17

The Great Indoor Winter Sidewalk Sales thru Jan. 20 / All weekend in downtown Naperville / Participating shops will be cutting winter prices in preparation for the incoming spring fashions. It’s the perfect opportunity to redeem your Downtown Naperville holiday gift cards, accepted at 150+ businesses and let the shopping begin. Enjoy the opportunity to support local enterprises while treating yourself to traditional styles, delicious eateries and all that’s new throughout downtown. For more info, visit downtownnaperville.com.
Brats at Kreger’s / 10AM to 3PM Fridays and Saturdays at Kreger’s Brat and Sausage Haus – 606 N. Ellsworth Naperville, IL 60563 / Stop by for lunch, conversation and camaraderie. While Bob grills, let Bill know that you know his wurst is the best, especially for weekend grilling, football playoff season and plans for upcoming get-togethers.
Happy 319th Anniversary of Benjamin Franklin’s birth! Cheers to wit, wisdom and practical advice presented in the Old Farmer’s Almanac for use every day of the year. Ever wonder if electricity would have advanced without the experiments of one of the world’s most prolific founders back in the 18th century? Click here for PN’s tribute to Ben Franklin, the face on the 100-dollar bill.
‘Cinderella’ / Magical Starlight Theatre, a Naperville Park District program, presents its January 2025 production, Cinderella, this weekend, January 17-19 at Naperville Central High School, located at 440 Aurora Ave. Tickets purchased at the door are $23. Times are 7:30PM Friday, 1:30PM and 6:30PM Saturday and 1:30PM Sunday. Find more info at napervilleparks.org/magicalstarlighttheatre.
Saturday – Jan. 18

Naper Settlement Wedding Showcase / 10AM to 3PM at Naper Settlement – 523 S. Webster St. Naperville, IL 60540 / Engaged couples will enjoy personal consultations with over 75 local wedding professionals. Vendors will be located throughout Naper Settlement in the Century Memorial Chapel, Pre-Emption House, as well as in two of the museum’s newer buildings in the Mary and Richard Benck Family Agriculture Center and Birck Family Innovation Gateway. The Wedding Showcase is a great place for busy couples to find out how to make their special day one to remember. Throughout Naper Settlement’s museum campus, couples will have one-on-one personal consultations with the best in the wedding business including photographers, florists, ministers, musicians, bakers, caterers, etc. For more info, visit www.napersettlement.org.
Century Walk Tours Every Day / Around the Clock – Daylight / The recently published 88-page Naperville Century Walk Public Art Guide to more than 50 locations featuring local stories with public art by renowned artists is now available at the Naperville Art League Gallery, Naper Settlement and Hotel Indigo. Pick up a free copy. Then take a self-guided free-winding tour throughout downtown any day— winter, spring, summer or fall!
Sunday – Jan. 19
Enjoy Every Day at Quigley’s Irish Pub / Quigley’s Irish Pub is located at 43 E. Jefferson Ave. in downtown Naperville / Quigley’s Irish Pub features live music Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The pub also offers a variety of spaces for all types of special events and fundraisers. Meanwhile, stop by for honest pub fare and an Irish Coffee or enjoy a cold pint in the warm, friendly pub EDAQ, Every Day at Quigley’s.
Chicago Sinfonietta presents ‘Black Being: MLK Tribute Concert’ / 3PM at Wentz Concert Hall – 171 E. Chicago Ave. Naperville, IL 60450 / $17-67 /Black Being is a genre-defying musical journey co-composed by FLUTRONIX (Flutist/composers Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull). The work explores the black female experience in an immersive electro-acoustic concert, featuring poetry by Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green. Through themes of strength, sacrifice, beauty, fear, and survival, Black Being gives voice to the complexities of black womanhood, and provides a musical lens into black female cultural realities and conditions. Tickets at chicagosinfonietta.org.
Monday – Jan. 20
Naperville Restaurant Week / Naperville Restaurant Week kicks off January 20 and runs through February 3, serving up amazing deals across town. From fast-casual bites to fancy dining delights, more than 60 participating restaurants will offer prix fixe menus at deliciously tempting prices or discounts on featured dishes. Stay tuned for updates on participating restaurants at www.NapervilleRestaurantWeek.com.
Reserve a Table at Mesón Sabika / 11:30AM to 9PM – Almost Any Day / Find a choice in dining rooms and private spaces at Mesón Sabika to sample Spanish tapas and delicious sangria for lunch and dinner every day. Located just west of downtown Naperville at 1025 Aurora Avenue, Mesón Sabika has been serving the community since 1990. Built in 1847, the historic mansion with eight air-conditioned dining rooms is set in a beautifully landscaped four-acre estate, providing a welcoming sight with plenty of parking for lunch, dinner, special events, benefits, weddings, meetings and family gatherings throughout the year. Gift Certificates are always available!

Remember Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. / To commemorate Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 20, schools are closed in Districts 203 and 204. Click here for a brief biography and history that includes a video of the “I Have a Dream” speech. Observed on the third Monday in January, this U. S. Federal Holiday in 2025 falls on the 96th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., born Jan. 15, 1929.
Wall Street Markets, Post Offices, Major Banks closed on Jan. 20, 2025, for MLK Day
MLK Day Coincides with Inauguration Day / Until Jan. 20, 2025, MLK Day (third Monday in January since 1983) and Inauguration Day (Jan. 20 since 20th Amendment passed in 1937) had only coincided twice in U.S. history. The 1997 second inauguration of Bill Clinton and the 2013 second inauguration of Barack Obama are today joined by the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President. The next time MLK Day and Presidential Inauguration Day coincide will be 2053.
The 60th Presidential Inauguration at the United States Capitol / 11AM / Inauguration Day for the President and Vice President of the United States occurs every four years on January 20 (or January 21 if January 20 falls on a Sunday). The primary feature of this day’s inauguration ceremony is to administer the oath of office to President-elect Donald J. Trump and VP-elect JD Vance during the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC. (Media have been notified that the 2025 ceremony will be moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda, due to frigid forecast.) According to USA.GOV, around noon (ET), the president-elect recites the following oath in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
‘Our Enduring Democracy: A Constitutional Promise’
Reflect on this year’s theme, “Our Enduring Democracy: A Constitutional Promise.”
The inauguration ceremony is expected to begin around 10:30AM (CT in Naperville), with Donald J. Trump’s swearing-in about noon in the Capitol Rotunda.
According to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, the inaugural ceremonies will begin with a musical prelude performed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Combined Choirs and “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band.
Senator Amy Klobuchar will issue a call to order, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, and the Rev. Franklin Graham will deliver an invocation.
Opera singer Christopher Macchio will sing “Oh, America!” Macchio also sang to accompany the incredibly beautiful fireworks display Saturday evening at Trump Sterling.
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will administer the vice presidential oath of office to JD Vance.
Country singer Carrie Underwood, joined by the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club, will perform “America the Beautiful.”
Afterward, Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the presidential oath to Trump.
The Naval Academy Glee Club will sing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
President Trump will follow with his inaugural address.
The ceremony will conclude with a benediction from Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University; Imam Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center; Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of 180 Church Detroit; and the Rev. Father Frank Mann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, and the National Anthem, performed by Macchio.

Let there be peace in the challenges that unite us. God bless, America.
Last Updated, Jan. 20, 2025.