Pekin’s calendar is filled with cultural events and celebrations throughout the year. In spring, the Pekin Community High School performs concerts in front of a large audience. The school has a marching band, an orchestra, two choirs, and a chorus.

The winter holidays bring the Pekin Public Schools’ Suzuki Strings concerts, which have entertained the city for more than a quarter of a century. Wintertime events at Memorial Arena include the annual ice show and the Winter Wonderland Ice Competition.

The Park District’s Pekin Park Singers entertain clubs and organizations upon request.

Pekin residents are among the more than one million people who attend events at the Civic Center in nearby Peoria each year. It hosts Broadway shows, touring ice shows, basketball tournaments, a fishing tournament and boat show, and other events.

The Tazewell County Veterans’ Memorial is located on the west side of the Tazewell County Courthouse. It was dedicated on November 11, 1995 and built with publicly donated funds.

The Sunken Gardens at Mineral Springs Park are a hidden treasure. Several garden weddings take place there every year. The Pekin Pilot Club raised money for the garden’s beautiful fountain that was dedicated in 1972. A recently completed rock garden outside of Pekin Community High School, a gift from the Class of 1998, displays three dedication stones that replace the original ones that were moved from the front of each campus.

The bust of Senator Dirksen located outside of the Everett McKinley Dirksen Congressional Research Center celebrates Pekin’s most famous resident. After World War I, Dirksen became the youngest city councilman in Pekin history. Later elected to the U.S. Congress, he served until 1950. In 1951, Dirksen began his career as a Senator, and became Senate Republican leader in 1959. Dirksen served under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. The Congressional Research Center in Pekin, the federal building in Chicago and a parkway in Peoria County bear his name.

The Pekin Public Library is a local source for cultural and educational resources. The library offers members: art prints on loan, best seller rentals, books reserve, a children’s department, InfoTrac, SIRS Researcher, Phone Disc, American Business Disc, interlibrary loan, microfilm, films and CDs, computers for internet access and word-processing, typewriters and copy machines, video and audio cassettes and more.

Pekin’s Winter Wonderland festivities are known throughout the region. Winter

Wonderland began in the late 1980’s to promote the Christmas Spirit within the community. All events are free to the public and funded by corporate and individual sponsors, donations and sales of Pekin Winter Wonderland products. Volunteers are always welcome and encouraged.

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