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In season
10 things to do before summer slips away sizes and colors flutter. Think of a shaken snow globe,
■ by bill mclean If summer were a round of golf, we would all be heading to the 13th tee box now. There’s only about a month left in the season (though some consider the day after Labor Day to be the first day of fall, summer officially rests in temporary peace on Sept. 21). Before then, there are plenty of fun-filled, family-oriented things to do along the North Shore. Here is a list of 10:
1. “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park. Aug. 16.
Find a spot on the lawn and watch the epic film on a video screen, with the complete score to be performed live by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra beginning at 7:30 p.m. The first 500 guests receive a free CSO T-shirt. And if you missed this one because you opened the paper after it started, violinist Rachel Barton Pine — once featured on a North Shore Weekend cover — will play at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 18 at Bennett Gordon Hall. Tickets are only $10.
2. Hit the beach. Any beach. Through Sept. 21.
New Trier High School senior-to-be Taylor Tashima likes to frequent Gillson Beach in Wilmette and paddle-board, among other activities. “I love the atmosphere when I’m there,” she said. “It’s the beach, you’re on the water, boats are around you, and kids are playing while parents are socializing.” The place to eat near Lake Michigan is at Raging Kitchen at Forest Park Beach in Lake Forest, particularly breakfast on the weekends. The kitchen’s motto is, “Food out of control.” Get filled with a Belgian waffle or an egg wrap (bacon or sausage), served by a friendly staff.
with butterfly wings swirling instead of snowflakes. “One looks like a tissue paper in flight; it’s that big,” visitor Stefanie Lubash said of a clouded mother of pearl butterfly last weekend. Mary Plunkett, manager of interpretive programs at Chicago Botanic Garden, witnesses dozens of astonished looks each day she works the exhibit. “People are amazed at the number of species they see here,” she said. “They walk around like they’re in some kind of wonderland or a part of a fairy tale.”
4. Check out an art festival. Aug. 2425, Sept. 1-2.
The 30th Annual Port Clinton Art Festival in Highland Park runs Aug. 24-25 (10 a.m.-6 p.m. each day; admission is free). Recognized as one of the most successful juried art festivals in the country, it welcomes 260 of the world’s most celebrated artists and 250,000 art enthusiasts annually. It’ll be tough to find a starving artist, since Taste of Highland Park booths will be deployed nearby on both days. The Deer Path Art League hosts its 59th Annual Art Fair on the Square Sept. 1-2 (10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day). Nearly 180 artists are expected to attend, displaying digital art, paintings, photography, printmaking, ceramics and jewelry, among other works. Local junior high and high school students have been selected to showcase and sell their creations at the fair’s “Young Artists” art court.
Sam Gibson, 9, relishes a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.
5. Cool down with ice cream or yogurt. Through Sept. 21.
Summertime without a trip to an ice cream shop is wintertime without a mug of hot cocoa. Lake Forest resident Sam Gibson, 9, ordered two scoops of mint chocolate on a cone with orange sprinkles at Sweet’s Chocolate & Ice Cream in Lake Forest last weekend. It was a treat from his aunt, Linda Hayes, visiting from Dallas. Hayes, who grew up in Lake Bluff, takes her nephew to Sweet’s whenever she’s in town. “My aunt reminds me of ice cream,” a grinning Gibson said between licks while sitting on a bench outside the quaint shop on Deerpath. Gibson figured he visits Sweet’s at least 18 times a summer. If you’re interested in way more than 18 flavors of ice cream, head over to Homer’s Homemade Gourmet Ice Cream in Wilmette. Its burgundy cherry flavor features dark Bordeaux cherries imported from France. The menu’s description of Homer’s cappuccino chip is Kona Hawaiian coffee with soft mocha flakes. Its fresh peach offering was rated the finest in the country.
6. Last Blast of Summer Block Party at Winnetka Community House. Aug. 24.
Emma Lyons, 9, smiles as a butterfly alights on her shoulder at the Butterflies & Blooms exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.
photography by joel lerner 3. “Butterflies & Blooms” exhibit at Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Through Labor Day.
Visitors at the second-year exhibit get to immerse themselves in the habitat of live butterflies, both native and tropical. Most kids — and more than a few adults — become speechless upon entering the environment, as butterflies of all
It’s a bash for more than a block of families from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. It’s for the whole community, and it’s billed as a celebration of everything that makes the North Shore great. Kids will have a blast, from riding ponies to being entertained by Elliebee the Clown. Adults will have the chance to view arts and crafts and listen to Bopology, a swing, jazz and jump-blues band. Admission is free, but a $20 wristband is required for certain activities, including carnival games.
7. Family Fun Fest in Lake Forest. Aug. 25.
Held at Forest Park from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., rain or shine, the event gives people of all ages the chance to bid the summer farewell while listening to live music and playing lawn games. Among the fest’s other attractions are toucha-truck and a raffle. Proceeds from the event go to support the Forest Park Project.
photography by joel lerner 8. Get splashed at Hidden Creek AquaPark in Highland Park. Through Labor Day.
Located at 1220 Fredrickson Place, it boasts a plethora of ways to enhance fun with water. Hidden Creek offers water slides, a drop slide, a water playground and a sand area. Don’t feel like swimming? Get away from it all by resting on a lounge chair on either a large deck or the park’s lawn areas.
9. Reap joy at Highwood’s Gourmet Farmers Market at Everts Park, Wednesdays through Sept. 4.
The Bottle Poets, a pop/rock band, is slated to perform at the North Shore’s must-hit-at-least-once-a-summer Farmers Market on Aug. 28 (4-9 p.m. on Wednesdays). Mary Tondi of Highwood has traversed the market’s grounds practically every other week this summer. It’s convenient for her because the size of the city is only about one square mile, meaning the popular mode of transportation is walking. “There’s so much going on there,” Tondi said, referring to live entertainment, pony rides and people selling food, jewelry, clothing and art. “It’s also a good social time, seeing people and catching up with them.” Kevin Clark grew up in Highland Park and, at the age of 14, portrayed the drummer in the movie “The School of Rock” in 2003. His take on Highwood’s Farmers Market: It rocks. “There’s an overabundance of great food choices,” Clark said. “What I also like about it is the number of people you see there from all over the North Shore. You’re not going to find a better Farmers Market than the one in Highwood.”
10. “The Old Man and the Old Moon,” a play with music at Writers’ Theatre in Glencoe. Begins Sept. 3.
Not all “Things to do before the summer ends” have to be staged outdoors. The collaborative Writers’ Theatre and Pigpen Theatre Co. effort tells the epic tale of an old man who must abandon his duties of filling up the moon with liquid light to cross the seas in search of his missing wife. The combination of spirited indie-folk music and inventive puppetry lifts the production. ■