Upcoming Events at The Sanfilippo Foundation

Introductory Tour - May 1, May 8, May 27, June 10, June 17, June 24, July 8, July 17, July 22, August 6, August 19, August 27, 2025

We get many requests for individual tickets for one of our 3-hour Docent-Guided Tours of the Collection. This tour includes 2 hours in the Sanfilippo Residence and one hour in the Carousel Pavilion with the Foundation Director as your tour guide.

Cost is $35 per guest. Limited tickets available; first come, first served. Tickets only available through The Sanfilippo Foundation Website. Come hear the story of the family and Collection, demonstrations of a variety of music machines, a mini-concert on the Mighty Wurlitzer, a preview of the Perfume Collection, and a the history of the items in the Carousel Pavilion. There's a reason many folks have taken this tour more than a few times! It's educational and highly entertaining.

After purchase, you will receive a confirmation email from Paypal, our credit card processor, as your receipt. We will send you a second email within a day with your ticket(s). You'll receive by email, all the information you need to attend, including map, address, and parking instructions. We highly encourage carpooling if attending with family and friends.

Purchase your tickets today:

Advanced Guided Tour - May 21, August 7, 2025

This 3-hour guided tour would be for those who have previously taken the Introductory Tour (see below) and were looking to delve further into the variety of automatic music instrument in the Collection. This 3-hour Advanced Tour will be limited in guest numbers so that participants can have a closer, more intimate look at the interesting features of the music machines, and explore pieces not often shown on our regular tour. It would also include a visit inside the Theater Organ pipe chambers (you must be able to walk up 4 flights of stairs unassisted to see the pipe chambers), as well as a visit to the Carousel Pavilion.

Cost is $40 per guest. Limited tickets available; first come, first served. Tickets only available through The Sanfilippo Foundation Website.

After purchase, you will receive a confirmation email from Paypal, our credit card processor, as your receipt. We will send you a second email within a day with your ticket(s). You'll receive by email, all the information you need to attend, including map, address, and parking instructions. We highly encourage carpooling if attending with family and friends.

Purchase your tickets today:

May 17 - Elgin Symphony Orchestra 75th Anniversary Gala

Come celebrate the Elgin Symphony's Grand 75th Anniversary at the Sanfilippo Estate. The Wurlitzer Theater Organ will be played live during the house touring by one of the Symphony's musicians, and dinner will be served in the Pavilion.

Click this link for more information and tickets to Elgin Symphony Orchestra Gala

May 24, 2025 - Memorial Day/Armed Forces Day Wurlitzer Concert, with Organist Dave Wickerham and guest soloist

Doors open at noon for touring the Residence Collections. Concert from 1:30 pm - 3 pm. Carousel Pavilion open from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm.

***Please note this a Saturday event, May 24 on Memorial Day weekend. Due to scheduling, our annual Armed Forces Day Concert was moved to May 24 this year. WWII and Korean War Veterans will receive a complimentary ticket, but please contact Gregory Leifel at Director@SanfilippoFoundation.org for complimentary ticket details.

Purchase your tickets today:

June 3 - Northwest Compass Funding Tour of the Sanfilippo Estate

Special evening tour! Our 3-hour Docent Guided Tour during the evening from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm.

Proceeds benefit Northwest Compass' programs assisting vulnerable community members. Come learn what Northwest Compass does, and enjoy a guided tour of the Sanfilippo Estate.

Click this link for more information and tickets to this special evening tour of the Sanfilippo Estate.

June 7 at 1:00 pm - Special Tour for the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation

Take a Guided Tour of the private Sanfilippo Estate and Collections while helping the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation. Pproceeds for the special 3-Hour Guided Tour benefit Save Abandoned Babies Foundation - Tickets are $75 each.

The Sanfilippo Estate houses the World's finest collection of Automatic Music Instruments, as well as steam engines, art glass, a 7,000 pipe Wurlitzer Theater Organ in a 300-seat theater, hundreds of Thomas Edison and Victrola phonographs, Locomotive and Train cars, and the most complete example of a European Salon Carousel in existence - The fully operational, 1890 Eden Palais.

Join the Sanfilippo Foundation Director as he guides you through the history of the Collection and Sanfilippo family, and demonstrates music machines, the Wurlitzer Organ, and offers you the ride of a lifetime on the Carousel. A short presentation on the mission of SAVE ABANDONED BABIES rounds out one of the most unique experiences you can have while assisting the mission. Limited tickets are available.

LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE! Buy your tickets today:

June 21 - Wurlitzer Concert with Organist Nathan Avakian and Soloist Claire Avakian

Doors open at 6:30 pm for touring, 8 - 9:30 pm concert, 9:30 - 10:30 Carousel visit.

Enjoy an open 90-minutes prior to concert for touring, then the 90-minute concert, finsihing with a visit to the Carousel Pavilion after the concert.

Tickets are $45.00 each.

Buy your tickets today:

July 12 - Citadel Theatre Masquerade Gala

The private estate will set the stage for a fantastic evening, featuring a house tour of the Sanfilippo "Place de la Musique," renowned for its magnificent collection of restored antique music machines, phonographs, arcade and gambling machines, chandeliers, art glass, the world's largest theatre pipe organ and more.

The evening will continue with hors d'oeuvres, a live auction and dinner in the Eden Palais Carousel Pavilion, home to the world's most spectacular European salon carousel, street and tower clocks, steam engines and other functional mechanical antiques, displayed within a breathtaking French Second Empire setting.

5:00pm-6:30pm House Tour
6:30-10:30pm Dinner, Carousel rides, more entertainment, Live Auction and Paddle Raise in the Eden Palais Carousel Pavilion
Dinner prepared by Catered By Design

Click Here for More information and Tickets to the Citadel Theatre Masquerde Gala

July 19 - Wurlitzer Concert with Organist Simon Gledhill (United Kingdom)

Join us for what's sure to be a great concert with this talented organist from England. A member of the American Theatre Organ Society's Hall of Fame, Simon has entertained audiences for more than 4 decades.

House touring from 6:30 - 8 pm, Concert 8 pm - 9:30 pm, Carousel Pavilion visit 9:30 - 10:30 pm.

Tickets are $45 each.

Buy your tickets today:

Various Dates - Guided tour of the new Perfume Passage at the Sanfilippo Estate

The Perfume Passage Foundation mission: Preserving the history, beauty, and artistry of perfume bottles, compacts, ephemera and related vanity items, the Perfume Passage Foundation seeks to educate and inspire visitors by illuminating the connection between perfume and the human experience.

Come visit the unique window displays and travel through time and history with our intimate, docent-guided tour through the world of perfume bottles, vanity items, ephemera and much more.

For information and tour tickets for all four galleries, please visit Perfume Passage Foundation

Return to this web page often for an update of our events open to the public. You can also join our E-Newsletter List (below) and be among the first to receive notice of all our events, and how to obtain tickets.

Visiting the Sanfilippo Estate

The Sanfilippo Estate is a private residence not open to the general public except through pre-arranged charity events and pre-arranged group tours of 40 or more guests, and a limited number of corporate events. Interested groups may contact the Foundation Director by email: director@sanfilippofoundation.org for more information. We do not offer the Estate for weddings, wedding related activities, nor children's parties.

Special Events (concerts, gala fundraisers) can be arranged for Charity Organizations and Corporate Groups. Email the Sanfilippo Foundation Director: director@sanfilippofoundation.org. Please include a contact phone number.

Tour Groups: 3-Hour, Docent-Guided Tours of the Sanfilippo Collection are available for groups of 40 or more. Send an email to: info@sanfilippofoundation.org. Please include the name of your group and a contact phone number.

Individuals looking to visit the Estate are encouraged to find a group (such as your local libraries, park districts, senior centers, etc.) who can put together the required minimum for one of our 3-hour Docent-Guided Tours and then have the organization contact the Foundation Director; or you can visit one of the websites of the charities holding events at the Estate (links provided) and obtain tickets to an event listed; or you can attend a Sanfilippo Foundation event -- all are updated regularly on this website. We also encourage individuals to sign up for our E-Newsletter. On occasion, we offer individual tickets to a guided tour to our E-Newsletter subscribers. Our preference for initial contact is by email.