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MONTICELLO — A Matching Gift Challenge has been announced by Allerton Park & Retreat Center near Monticello. From now through Dec. 31, every dollar the public donates up to $25,000 total will be matched by the park advisory board. Park Director Derek Peterson said funds will go towards the Wandering Woods Walkway, a hard path that visitors will be able to access directly from the main parking lot. “This project is important to the overall vision of creating an accessible walkway for … [Read more...] about Matching Gift Challenge announced

MONTICELLO — When Joe Noecker was a kid living in Monticello, playing at Allerton Park was just a part of growing up. “We’d bike four miles out there, play football at the Sun Singer, hike the trails, pack lunches and eat out there,” Noecker said. “Being at Allerton was like a Huck Finn experience for me. But it wasn’t until adulthood that he found how strong the ties were between the Noeckers and Allerton Park. His grandparents — Ray and Vera Noecker — lived in the House In the Woods and … [Read more...] about Noecker family has extensive ties to historic House in the Woods

By Steve Hoffman MONTICELLO — The path toward the development of the Allerton Park & Retreat Center began when Samuel Allerton began purchasing acreage in Piatt County more than 150 years ago, but the land has a much longer history — and prehistory — than that. As a matter of fact, human use of the land that now makes up Allerton goes back at least 10,500 years, according to University of Illinois archaeologist Brian Adams, an associate scientist at the university’s Illinois State … [Read more...] about Prehistory of Allerton land outlined during talk

CONGRATULATIONS TO PETER LICHTENBERGER, who until recently was Allerton’s park supervisor, for being one of eight recipients of the 2022 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor’s Distinguished Staff Awards. He was cited for exceptional work that included volunteering for odd shifts in support of special events, knowledge of tasks, timely implementation, and elevating the skills of his employees and volunteers. Lichtenberger said he was “very honored to have received this award. … [Read more...] about Lichtenberger earns Chancellor’s Award

By Steve Hoffman Allerton Park & Retreat Center MONTICELLO — Expect upbeat, joyful music when a pair of Celtic-style bands take the stage at Irish Fest, set for 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12 on Allerton Park and Retreat Center’s Gatehouse Lawn in Monticello. “You can be sure that we’ll be up for a fun time,” said Oisín Mac Diarmada, the fiddle player for Ireland-based Téada, which will kick off a stateside tour at Allerton. “There will be plenty of lively music, and it will be good for all … [Read more...] about Fun assured from Irish Fest bands

Here is a list of some of the projects the ALL IN for Allerton fundraising campaign — which raised $8.8 million between 2014 and June 30 of 2022 — has funded. —2014-present: Concert Series and Holiday GLOW (sponsors and Friends of Allerton) —2016: McDonald Family Trails (Diana and Ward McDonald) —2016-present: Natural Areas support (Chris and Mark Golden, Jan and Ted Gill, Dennis Killian) —2017: Bulb Garden renovation (Christie Roszkowski) —2018: installation of a grand … [Read more...] about What did $8.8 million fund?

MONTICELLO — Allerton Park & Retreat Center in Monticello has met its $8 million fundraising goal for the “ALL IN For Allerton” campaign. And then some. The effort, which was launched in 2014 in conjunction with the University of Illinois’ “With I” campaign, officially wrapped up on June 30 with a total of $8.8 million raised. Donations have funded garden renovations, mansion upgrades, natural areas restoration work, and programs, as well as setting up endowments to ensure future … [Read more...] about Allerton exceeds $8 million ALL IN fundraising goal

MONTICELLO — As the son of a theology professor, it seems appropriate that musician Pierre Lacocque describes his first exposure to blues as “a religious experience.” It came five decades ago when the then-16-year-old Belgian immigrant snuck into a Big Walter Horton concert at the University of Chicago. “I had never heard the blues before,” said Lacocque, whose Mississippi Heat will headline the Reds, Whites & the Blues Concert at Allerton Park and Retreat Center in Monticello on … [Read more...] about The Blues Deacons, Mississippi Heat next in concert series