Looking for something you and your family can enjoy this weekend? Check out the 26th annual Magnificent Mile Lights Festival in Chicago.

The festival runs Friday, November 17 and Saturday, November 18. Friday evening events will be held at 401 N. Michigan Avenue. The festival kicks off with Santa Claus’s arrival, fun activities and music. There will be samples of delicious food from Connie’s Pizza, Garrett’s Popcorn, Frango, Eli’s Cheesecake and more.

Saturday will also be full of fun events including appearances from favorite performers such as American Idol veterans Taylor Hicks and Melinda Doolittle. Click here for a full list of performers.

To end the 26th Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, with a little help from their Disney friends, will be leading the annual parade. The parade will begin at 5:30 p.m. and travel down Michigan Avenue from Oak Street to Wacker. There will be floats, balloons, marching bands and performers. To light up the night sky, more than 1 million lights will be turned on.

With the holiday season right around the corner, Amazon is looking to hire more than 120,000 seasonal workers nationwide, including 10,000 new employees in Illinois.

The seasonal hiring in Illinois is a part of the online retailer’s overall goal of adding thousands of temporary workers across the country to its distribution centers, sorting centers and customer service sites.

 Whether you cycle for exercise, sport or travel the thrill of bike riding is worldwide. Cycling is one of the most popular outdoor activities in Illinois. On Aug. 20, the windy city is having the Chicago Cinder Classic. Based off of the 1979 dramedy “Breaking Away” and the Little 500 race in Indiana, a well-known cinder track relay race at Indiana

University, this race seeks to encourage biking in the city  Teams of four are required to raise a minimum of $1,250 to participate. Also each team must ride 100 laps, or 25 miles and make at least three bike exchanges between teammates. The race will be held in Winnemac Park in the city’s Ravenswood neighborhood, and there are four categories: open, elite men’s, elite women’s and masters, which is open to men and women of all skill levels ages 35 and up.

The event proceeds go to the ActiveTransportation Alliance’s effort to make a more bike-friendly city. Last year, Chicago was named as the best city for bike riding by Bicycle magazine.The city’s on-street bike trails are made up of over 225 miles of barrier protected bike lanes, buffer-protected bike lanes, shared lanes and neighborhood bike paths.

Earlier this year, two students from Northern Illinois University were featured at an art show devoted to African-American art at the Museum of Science and Industry. The show is one of the longest running in the nation.

Both NIU students were accepted to present art that depicts what every day African-Americans go through on a daily basis. One piece is titled “Crossing the Rubicon.” The artist says it depicts the injustices prevalent in the African-American community, particularly Chicago.

The other piece of art was started off as a portrait but then transformed into an homage to the artist’s sister. It touched in on the spirituality of her sister. It also allowed the observer to interpret it in their own way about spirituality.

Both are art majors at Northern Illinois University and show pride in their home communities and also their community at Northern Illinois.

The annual art show is called the Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition. It was hosted at the Museum of Science and Industry from January 16 to February 19. It has been running since 1970 and features various media, ranging from paintings and drawings to mixed-media and photography.

For more information, click here.