Peoria Heights is playing a prominent role in the inaugural Bridge-to-Bridge River Drive Festival on Sept. 18-19, with a full schedule of events including concerts, craft and art fairs, a pig roast and helicopter rides.

“Our demographic really is everybody,” said festival co-founder Julie Bielfeldt. “There is plenty to do for people of every age.”

Peoria Heights, Chillicothe, Lacon and Spring Bay are participating in the Saturday-Sunday event, which is intended to showcase the fun that can be had in these on-the-rise river communities, as well as the beauty of the natural landscape along Routes 29 and 26, part of the 52-mile scenic loop that joins them.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this first festival, and hopefully many more to come,” said Peoria Heights Mayor Michael Phelan. “I encourage people around the area to turn out to see not only what we in the Heights have to offer, but to check out our sister communities here in the beautiful Illinois River valley, as well. There has been a tendency to overlook some of us, but in fact these are not only great places to live, but great places to stay and play.

“Julie and Jane (Johnson) of the Peoria Heights Arts Collaborative really took the ball and ran with it here, and they deserve a lot of credit for what they’ve put together in a relatively short time frame. But the cooperation and collaboration between the communities on both sides of this wide river has been impressive. I think it can become a model for future endeavors of regional benefit.”

Below is a list of what the Heights has in store for the B2B weekend. Scan the QR code to the left with your cell phone camera to learn what’s happening in all of the communities.

Saturday, Sept. 18

Rummage Sale, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Peoria Heights Congregational Church, 4906 N. Prospect Road
Illinois River Sweep, 9 a.m. to noon, Forest Park Nature Center, 5809 N. Forest Park Drive
Illinois Valley Yacht Club Sail Race Watch, 9:30 a.m. to noon, IVY Club, 5102 N. Galena Road
Sidewalk tile painting, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fired Up, 4532 N. Prospect Road
Illinois Art League Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tower Park, 4901 N. Prospect Road
Sidewalk sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Prospect Road and side streets, Downtown Peoria Heights
Craft show, ovarian cancer fundraiser – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 4611 N. Prospect Road
Helicopter rides by JMX, noon to dusk, parking lot of 4541 N. Prospect Road
“Stand Up in the Heights” comedy show, 7 p.m., Betty Jayne Brimmer
Center for the Performing Arts, 1327 E. Kelly Ave.

Sneak peek “Taste of the Heights,” 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Heights Restaurant Row
Free concert by “Revels in Red,” 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Pour Bros. Craft Taproom at Heritage Square, 4450 N. Prospect Road
Sunday, Sept. 19
Brunch with live Irish music by Bogside Zukes, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., W.E. Sullivan’s Irish Pub, 4538 N. Prospect Road
Farmers market hosted by Bear’s Bites Foundation, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4615 N. Prospect Road
Craft show, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 4611 N. Prospect Road
Illinois Art League Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Tower Park
Classic Car Cruise, 11 a.m. to noon, start
at Junction City Shopping Center, end at
1200 E. Glen Ave. parking lot
Car show (modern, classics, antiques),
noon to 3 p.m., 1200 E. Glen Ave.
Sidewalk tile painting, noon to 4 p.m.,
Fired Up, 4532 N. Prospect Road
IVY Club Sunday Funday, noon to 5 p.m.,
IVY Club, 5102 N. Galena Road
Soderstrom Castle Pig Roast (honoring
Heights police and firefighters), noon to 6
p.m., 4717 N. Grandview Drive
Antique car show, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 109 Fifth Street

“For some people, this is going to be a reintroduction to these river communities,” said Bielfeldt. “We think many will be pleasantly surprised by what they find, and we hope it prompts them to come back to visit year-round.

“Meanwhile, B2B offers a truly lovely, scenic drive, well worth the time on a lazy weekend afternoon.”

Follow Bridge-to-Bridge on Facebook and on the websites for the Peoria Heights Arts Collaborative and the Riverview Coalition.