Explore Peoria’s Art, Science, Nature & History by Bicycle!
Pedal Peoria's 19th Year. Rides sponsored by Peoria Riverfront Museum & the Illinois Valley Wheelm'n.
All Peoria rides are designed for the casual rider, 10 to 15 miles (1 or 2 steep hills, about 2 hours each). All riders welcome! No fee or registration. For Pedal Peoria information contact Ride Leader Sheldon Schafer at 309.682.1876 or sschafer7@gmail.com or Ride Leader Brian Cunningham for Jun 20, 27, & July 18 at 309.633.1224 or brian.cunningham58@sbcglobal.net.
Grandview Ride
Wed, May 23 | 6 pm
Start: Stadium Park on Lake Street
Highlights | Views from Grandview Drive, Prospect Road, High Point Drive, Lindbergh's airmail flight plaque
History Ride
Wed, May 30 | 6 pm
Start: Peoria Riverfront Museum (Water Street entrance)
Highlights | Riverfront, Springdale Cemetery, Randolph-Roanoke-High Street homes, Giant Oak Park, Moss Ave Homes, Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Lloyd "Wrong" Homes
Sculpture Ride
Wed, Jun 6 | 6 pm
Start: Peoria Riverfront Museum (Water Street entrance)
Highlights | Public Sculptures around Peoria, Including Sonar Tide, Peace & Harvest, Mother Theresa, Ingersoll, various Riverfront Park sculptures & various Bradley University public sculptures
Gargoyles & Dragons Ride
Wed, Jun 20 | 6 pm
Start: Tower Park in Peoria Heights
Highlights | Discover the most famous gargoyles and dragons in town
West Peoria Ride
Wed, Jun 27 | 6 pm
Start: Peoria Riverfront Museum (Water Street entrance)
Highlights | West Peoria brick streets, St. Mary’s Cemetery & hillside prairie, and selected historic sights
East Peoria Ride
Wed, Jul 18 | 6 pm
Start: Granite City parking lot
Highlights | East Peoria Trail & views from Fon du Lac Drive
50's Soft Serve Ride
Wed, Jul 25 | 6 pm
Start: Corner of Lake & Knoxville
Highlights | 3 classic soft serve ice cream stands, ending at Lou’s Drive-In
Springdale Cemetery Ride
Thu, Aug 1 | 6 pm
Start: Peoria Riverfront Museum (Water Street entrance)
Highlights | Discover how large the cemetery really is and how much of Peoria’s history is hidden within as we ride ALL of the loops of the cemetery
Garden & Prairie Ride
Wed, Aug 9 | 6 pm
Start: Luthy Botanical Garden parking lot
Highlights | Springdale Prairie Remnant, selected city & community gardens, plus selected historic sights
Solar System Ride
Wed, Aug 15 | 6 pm
Start: Donovan Park (former golf course) parking lot
Highlights | Starting at Jupiter, follow the Rock Island Greenway past the terrestrial planets to the Sun at the Peoria Riverfront Museum and back. We will be returning just after sunset to observe the Full Moon, Jupiter and Saturn through Northmoor Observatory’s historic 104-year-old telescope
For more information contact:
Ride Leader Sheldon Schafer at 309.682.1876 or sschafer7@gmail.com; or Ride Leader Brian Cunningham for Jun 20, 27, & July 18 at 309.633.1224 or brian.cunningham58@sbcglobal.net.
Presented by Commerce Bank
May 15, 2025 - September 25, 2024 | Thursday Nights | Doors Open at 6 p.m., Performance at 7 p.m.
Join us on the Peoria Riverfront Museum's Sun Plaza for a summer music series featuring local and regional jazz artists, inspired by Preston Jackson's Bronzeville to Harlem: An American Story . This series event will take place select Thursdays from May 15, 2025 to September 25, 2025, featuring artists from the Chicago area as well as regional and local musicians. Get down and boogie with us!
Cash bar available.
Ticket prices
Members- $10
Non-Members- $15
Student- $7
Visionary Society-$7
Ticket price includes admission to Preston Jackson's Bronzeville to Harlem: An American Story.
Schedule of events
May 15, 2025 | Rogue Parade (The Greg Ward Band)
Get tickets HERE
Saxophonist, composer and producer Greg Ward out of Chicago, Illinois, with Peoria ties, presents his new band Rogue Parade to kick off the 2025 Rhumboogie on the Plaza Series. Born in Peoria in 1982, Greg Ward has evolved into a musician with focus and vision. As a student at Northern Illinois University, began composing for NIU’s jazz combos and started performing in jazz clubs in Chicago. After graduating with a degree in in Jazz Studies/Saxophone Performance, Ward stayed in the Midwest to expand his musical experiences, composing and performing with the International
Contemporary Ensemble, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Series, and commissioned by the Jazz Institute of Chicago for a new composition, Ward performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival in 2009. That same year, he made the move to NYC, became immersed in the jazz scene, produced and released his first CD, and collaborated with renowned jazz musicians. In 2012, Ward was selected as one of the New Music USA Van Lier Fellows. In 2014, he premiered Capturing Sunlight, and hour-long septet performance that included a short documentary by Diana Quinones Rivera.
Commissioned by the Jazz Gallery, the collaborative project was inspired by the life and work of Preston Jackson. Ward tours internationally and performs with various prestigious ensembles, but continues to favor Peoria, Illinois with occasional performances, with a very warm welcome home.
June 26, 2025 | Todd Kelly and the Central Illinois Jazz Orchestra ft. Maggie Sloter
Get tickets HERE
Central Illinois Jazz Orchestra, founded in 1998, is a seventeen-piece big band committed to keeping the ‘big jazz’ sound alive in central Illinois. CIJO is made up of professional and semi-professional musicians from the heart of Illinois that include music educators, business professionals, and full time performers. The group plays classic jazz charts from Count Basie, to Stan Keaton, and from Duke Ellington to Maynard Ferguson. The CIJO is fronted by trumpeter and Bradley University’s Todd Kelly. and at this performance, the vocal stylings of the one and only Maggie Sloter.
July 24, 2025 | Pippi and Daniel Music & the Experience
Get tickets HERE
Pippi Ardennia and Daniel Leahy are composers and recording artists that create intentional, soul-stirring music that ignites self-empowerment and inspires positive change. The will showcase a 9-piece jazz band to perform at this special Rhumboogie on the Plaza in July. Pippi and Daniel are songwriters and performers that have individually been in the Music and Entertainment Business for the majority of their lives. When these two dynamos connected they realized they shared the same vision and purpose for themselves and the planet. Their purpose is to create a legacy of transformational music which can change lives by allowing new perspectives and ideas to entertain the listeners. This powerful and loving couple have set the intention to restore humanity one heart at a time.
August 28, 2025 | Lenard Simpson Quartet
Get tickets HERE
Lenard Simpson is a saxophonist, composer and educator from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lenard was mostly self-taught through high school, but his natural ability and musicianship earned him accolades such as membership in the esteemed Grammy Camp Jazz Session, and an outstanding soloist award at the Mingus Jazz Competition in New York City. Lenard has had the opportunity to play and travel with artists such as pianist and composer-Billy Childs, Kurt Elling, Marquis Hill, and Clayton Cameron. Lenard received a B.M in Jazz performance at Northern Illinois University. While studying at NIU, Lenard was awarded first place in Chicago’s esteemed Luminarts Jazz Competition. Upon graduation, Lenard moved to Chicago and soon became one of the city’s top call saxophonists playing sideman to legendary local drummers, George Fludas and Charles Heath. Lenard’s trio has appeared at premier clubs and jazz festivals throughout the Chicago and Milwaukee area. Lenard recently graduated from the Thelonious Monk Institute Fellowship, which has since been renamed to the Herbie Hancock Institute where he was selected by a panel of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, James Newton and Ambrose Akinmusire.
September 25, 2025 | Preston Jackson and Friends | Season Finale!
Get tickets HERE
American painter, sculptor educator and musician, Preston Jackson is bringing some of the best of Peoria's jazz scene to the grand finale of Rhumboogie on the Plaza. We’re ending our Rhumboogie 2025 series by highlighting the inspiration of the entire series: Preston Jackson’s Bronzeville to Harlem: An American Story. Joined by some of the most experienced musicians in the city, Preston Jackson and Friends performing at the Peoria Riverfront Museum is always a delight. See Preston himself, Judy Page Adkisson, Mike Nellas, Manny Lopez II, Mannt Lopez III and John Miller in the final sendoff of summer, right here at the Peoria Riverfront Museum
Rhumboogie on the Plaza is presented by Commerce Bank
Sponsored by Linda Beth and Ed Sutkowski, Visionary Society, Friends of Bronzeville to Harlem and Friends of Performance
Laser Light Nights are back at the DOME featuring an all-new 3D experience & fresh playlist!
Sit back, relax and rock out with our new laser light system from "the worldwide leader in planetarium laser light shows," Laser Fantasy! Experience the full 3D excitement! The system features a graphics laser projector with special effects, a haze machine & a new beam projector, plus a fresh playlist of 20+ performances, from Beyoncé to The Beatles! Pick up show-enhancing spectrum glasses and refreshments at concessions!
May 23
6:00 – Laser AC/DC
7:15 – Laser Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
8:30 – Laser Floyd: The Wall
June 13
6:00 – Laser ABBA (new show!)
7:15 – Laser Prince
8:30 – Laser Zeppelin: Lazed and Confused
$7 Members | $10 Public
Buy tickets online here.
Tickets & more info also available at the Museum or by phone at 309.686.7000.
(Note: These shows contain lyrics to popular songs and some may not be suitable for all ages.)
Saturday, June 7, 2025 | Reception at 5:30 p.m., Program begins at 6:30 p.m.
Experience silent film as never before in the first-ever partnership between the Peoria Riverfront Museum and The Museum of Modern Art, New York, featuring new restorations from MoMA’s renowned collection.
The Peoria Riverfront Museum is proud to present a digitally restored version of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1925 Lady Windermere’s Fan with live musical accompaniment featuring the Peoria Symphony Orchestra. This special performance offers an extraordinary evening combining the art of film with a live musical score that elevates the cinema into a truly immersive experience.
Saturday, June 7, 2025
5:30 p.m. - Welcome reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
6:30 p.m. – Performance begins in the Giant Screen Theater
Tickets $50 for members, $65 for non-members
Lady Windermere's Fan. 1925. USA. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Screenplay by Julien Josephson, based on the play by Oscar Wilde. With Ronald Colman, May McAvoy, Bert Lytell, Irene Rich. Restored by The Museum of Modern Art, with the financial support of Matthew and Natalie Bernstein. Accompanied by a new score compiled, synchronized, and edited by Gillian B. Anderson, based on a cue sheet issued by the Tax-Free Music Co. compiled by Michael Hoffman for the original release. 94 minutes.
This film program is organized by Dave Kehr, Curator of Film, Sean Egan, Senior Producer, Film Exhibitions and Projects, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Live musical accompaniment featuring the Peoria Symphony Orchestra
Presented by Flo and Sid Banwart
Laser Light Nights are back at the DOME featuring an all-new 3D experience & fresh playlist!
Sit back, relax and rock out with our new laser light system from "the worldwide leader in planetarium laser light shows," Laser Fantasy! Experience the full 3D excitement! The system features a graphics laser projector with special effects, a haze machine & a new beam projector, plus a fresh playlist of 20+ performances, from Beyoncé to The Beatles! Pick up show-enhancing spectrum glasses and refreshments at concessions!
June 13
6:00 – Laser ABBA (new show!)
7:15 – Laser Prince
8:30 – Laser Zeppelin: Lazed and Confused
$7 Members | $10 Public
Buy tickets online here.
Tickets & more info also available at the Museum or by phone at 309.686.7000.
(Note: These shows contain lyrics to popular songs and some may not be suitable for all ages.)
