Our Mission
The Handel Week Festival is an annual week-long festival to celebrate the music of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). The Festival is held in the spring of each year at Grace Episcopal Church, in Oak Park, Illinois. It was begun in 2000, patterned after the highly successful Bach Week Festival in Evanston. Founders Dr. Dennis E. Northway and Charles Chauncey Wells believed that the works of this great master would be as enthusiastically received as Bach Week's more than 28 years of success.
Handel Week Festival is a production of Handel Week Incorporated, an Illinois non-profit corporation devoted to popularizing and promoting the music of Handel. It encourages musicians and various media venues to play his works and supports activities pertaining to Handel both in Chicagoland and throughout the world. Handel Week Incorporated is a not-for-profit corporation under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Officers:
Barbara Larsen, President
Jennifer Glagov, Vice President
Sarah Hunt, Recording Secretary
M. Scott Anderson, Treasurer
Dr. Dennis E. Northway, Artistic Director denden1958@runbox.com
Directors: Carl Grapentine, Ellen Kuner, Brett Fulkerson-Smith, Philip A. Kraus, Erik Liefrinck, Jean Lotus, Nancy Smiley, and Susan Ross
Nancy Smiley, President Emerita
Charles Wells, President Emeritus & Co-founder.
Tickets: 708-524-0695
Fax: 708-524-0742
Email: info@handelweek.com
Grace Church has been a part of the community for over 125 years. Grace was founded as a mission in 1879 and quickly grew to an organized parish by 1881. The congregation had outgrown its first home, a small wooden Gothic building on Forest Avenue , by 1895, when we bought land on Lake Street for the current building. Designed by noted architect, John Sutcliffe, the design was in the English Gothic Revival style. Ground was broken in 1898, and the 11,000 square-foot brick and Indiana limestone nave was dedicated in 1905. The parish house�designed by a parishioner Charles White, who also designed the Oak Park Post Office�was added in 1917. The Seabury carillon tower, dedicated to Bishop Samuel Seabury, the first American bishop of the Episcopal Church, whose descendants were Grace Church parishioners, was completed in 1922. The Tudor-style rectory, also by Charles White, was built in 1928. More here.
Our Location:
Grace Episcopal Church
924 Lake St., Oak Park, IL 60301-1298
Phone: (708)386-8036
Oak Park is the first suburb west of Chicago. The church is two blocks west of Oak Park Avenue, and two blocks east of Harlem.
Parking
Concert patrons may park in the lot adjacent to Grace Church free until 10 p.m., after which cars may be ticketed. The same applies to some on-street spaces and lots, so be aware of the signs designating parking regulations. The lot between the Oak Park Post Office and Calvary Church is limited to Calvary Church and permit holders.
Directions:
Via East/West I-290 Eisenhower Expressway: Exit at Harlem Ave. (ramp from left lane); north on Harlem to Lake Street. East (right) on Lake Street three blocks to Grace Episcopal Church (924 Lake St.) to adjacent parking lot or garage.
Via CTA: Green Line to Oak Park Avenue. Walk north on Oak Park Ave. 1 block; turn left on Lake to Grace Episcopal Church (three blocks west on the north side).
Via METRA: West Line to Oak Park Station. Walk north through the Marion Street Mall to Lake; east (right) on Lake three blocks to the church.