Ride Trolleys, See Art During Cocoa Crawl At Aurora First Fridays

From Aurora Downtown: First Fridays stays warm with hot cocoa on Dec. 7. Aurora Downtown hosts the inaugural Cocoa Crawl as part of the monthly event, and mugs are proving to be a hot commodity.

About 500 mugs were sold at a few locations prior to the event and sold out. Another 300 were held for the event, and will be sold on Friday starting at 5 p.m. at Aurora Regional Fire Museum, 53 N. Broadway.

Cocoa Crawl participating venues include Wyckwood House, Tredwell Coffee, Aurora Regional Fire Museum, Santori Public Library, Branch Gardens, SciTech Hands On Museum, Aurora Art Studios, Endiro Coffee, Two Brothers Roundhouse, All Spoked Up, Waubonsee Community College, PME Cake Supplies, Calla Lily Tea Room, David L. Pierce Art & History Center, Tavern on Broadway, and Zen Loft Wellness Center.

To enjoy the Cocoa Crawl, a blue custom Cocoa Crawl mug created by Stephanie Wheatley is required. Guests can purchase them for $5 while supplies last from 5 to 7 p.m. at the welcome table located at Aurora Regional Fire Museum. Limit four mugs per family. Mugs are limited and are expected to sell out quickly.

Aurora Downtown will host a free pop up photo booth with Cloud Foto that will be at Aurora Regional Fire Museum from 7 to 9 p.m. Ride a free trolley from 6 to 10 p.m.
The night also features a full lineup of venues open with art, music, and more for First Fridays.
If These Walls Could Talk Custom Framing and Gallery, 32 S. Stolp Ave., will host the annual Pack the Pantry Art Auction benefiting the Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry. 6 to 10 p.m.
Aurora Public Art, 20 E. Downer Pl., will open the 21st Annual Winter Garden of Youth on the first and third floor at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center. 6 to 9 p.m.
The ArtBar at Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N. Broadway, will be open with the First Fridays pop up, The Land of Broken Toys. Lucky Eye Ink will be featured in the Lounge. 7 p.m. to midnight.
The Web, 134 W. Downer Pl., will host artist Darius Hurley. 6 p.m. to midnight.
Oddlots, 121 W. Benton St., will continue a show by art teacher William Grahame Wilkin III. 6 to 9 p.m.

Aurora Art Studios, 50 E. Galena Blvd., will host their annual open studios featuring resident artists Cheryl Holz, Anne Von Ehr, Tara Ginocchio, David Hettinger, and Rafael Rocha. 6 to 9 p.m.
Tredwell Coffee, 14 W. Downer Pl. Ste. 18, will host an art and poetry night with poet Kristin LaTour and artist Angel Perez. 5 to 9 p.m.

Waubonsee Community College Aurora Downtown campus library, 18 S. River St., will host a ceramics exhibit and sale along with live jazz and a student photo exhibit. An art cart will also be screen printing t-shirts while supplies last. 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Aurora Arts Initiative, 61 S. Stolp Ave., Aurora Arts Initiative Gallery Show. 5 to 11 p.m.
Endiro Coffee, 29 W. New York St., will host acoustic group Daniel and the Sparrows. Jennifer Hunger will be leading Christmas mug painting for anyone to join from 6 to 8 p.m. $15 per mug. New art in the brick gallery. Santa is expected to make an appearance. 6 to 9 p.m.
PME Cake Supplies, 35 N. Broadway, will be open with Cookies with Santa. Kids can visit Santa and will receive cookies plus a 40 percent off sale on retail purchases. 5 to 8 p.m.
Tavern on Broadway, 24 N. Broadway, will be open with a sneak peek of the soon-to-open tavern. 5:30 to 9 p.m.

Aurora Historical Society, 20 E. Downer Pl., will host "Aurora Story", "World War I Centenary" and "Ethnicity and Diversity in Aurora" on the second floor. Enjoy holiday shopping in the first floor gift shop. 6 to 9 p.m.

Calla Lily Victorian Tea Room, 83 S LaSalle St., will be open with free tea samples, and a limited sweets menu. 5 to 8 p.m.

Wyckwood House, 14 W. Downer Pl. Ste. 16, will be open for “Christmas at Wyckwood.” Live music with Julie Elzerman and Rachel Santillan, Christmas photos for $5. 5 to 9 p.m.
Christian Science Reading Room, 34 S. Stolp Ave., will be open with free kids crafts, prizes, and gifts. 6 to 9 p.m.

Zen Loft Wellness Center, 6 W. Downer Pl., will be open with a mix of performances, demos, massages, and more. 6 to 9 p.m.
Foxglove Photography and Design, 67A S. Stolp Ave., will be open with “Christmas Pictures with Foxglove.” 5 to 10 p.m.

Gillerson's Grubbery, 31 W New York St, will host The Blaum Bros for a tasting with Tredwell Coffee. 6 to 8 p.m. The restaurant will then host a Simply Destinee Drag Show fundraiser at 9 p.m.
SciTech Hands On Museum, 18 W Benton St., will host art students from Aurora Christian and an Artisan Holiday Pop-Up Shop, a shop for the kiddos and the grown ups who love them. 6 to 8 p.m.
Visit the fire museum at the start of your evening for a map of Cocoa Crawl locations, and to purchase a mug. Limit of 4 mugs per family. The mugs are limited and will sell out.
Hot cocoa sampling is unlimited with your Cocoa Crawl mug. Please note that quantities are limited and could vary at participating locations.
First Fridays maps are available at all venues. Free trolley rides from downtown parking areas run approximately every 10 to 15 minutes from 6 to 10 p.m. For more information, visit www.auroradowntown.org.

Image via Aurora Downtown