Fun Events

‘Tis the Season to Skate

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‘Tis the Season to Skate on the North Shore and Chicago area

Ice skating on the North Shore and Chicago area

 

January is the perfect month to dust off your skates, bundle up and hit the outdoor skating rinks. Here are some of our favorite outdoor ice rinks on the North Shore and surrounding Chicago area

Wilmette Park outdoor rinks

Mallinckrodt Park (location: 1960 Elmwood Avenue) and Gillson Park (location: area west of tennis courts) can be used for recreational skating only (NO HOCKEY). When usable, Mallinckrodt and Gillson Park outdoor ice rinks are lighted until 10:30 p.m.

Thornwood Park (location: 2400 Thornwood Avenue) is available for pond hockey as well as recreational skating Sunday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Friday & Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Schedules listed on website

Winnetka Park District outdoor rinks

Gullen’s Pond (Location: 460 Hibbard) is an outdoor refrigerated rink at the Winnetka Ice Arena. Skate rentals are available for $6 at the ice arena front desk. Check the website to confirm rink is open – weather permitting! You can rent the rink for broomball parties and hockey and skating

Indian Hill Park (Location: 31 Wilson Street) has rink hours from Dawn to Dusk December 15 through February 17

Northfield Park (Location: 240 Lockwood Avenue, Northfield) has rink hours from Dawn to Dusk December 15 through February 17

Glencoe Park district outdoor rinks

Watts Center (Location: 305 Randolph Street) has two lighted outdoor ice rinks and is located on more than three acres of land at Watts Park

Chicago area outdoor rinks

Maggie Daley Skating Ribbon (Location: 337 East Randolph) is in the heart of downtown Chicago, with the City’s skyline as a backdrop, a ribbon of ice winds through a rolling landscape providing an ice skating experience unlike any other. Complementing the ribbon are places to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and rent skates.

Rink at Gallagher Way ( Location: 3635 N. Clark) the new 8000 square foot ice rink right near Wrigley field

Skate Millennium Park ( Location: Michigan Ave between Washington & Madison Streets) Skating is free and open to the public

 

Where to See Santa on the North Shore this Season – 2019

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Where to See Santa on the North Shore

Where to See Santa on the North Shore

Where to See Santa on the North Shore

December 14, 2019
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

Santa is coming to the Skokie Park District! Please join us for a delicious pancake breakfast, entertainment and a raffle. Take pictures with Santa at this all ages event. All adults and children must pre-register for this event. Fee is per person. Registration will not be taken the day of the event.

Location: Oakton Community Center, 4701 Oakton St., Skokie
LEARN MORE

 

December 14, 2019

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA AT THE HILTON CHICAGO NORTHBROOK
Enjoy a scrumptious breakfast buffet at Allgauer’s on the Riverfront’s annual Breakfast with Santa. Breakfast buffet, pictures with Santa and more! Call 847-509-7010 for reservations.

Location: Hilton Chicago Northbrook, 2855 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Northbrook
LEARN MORE

 

December 14, 2019
SANTA SCAVENGER HUNT

 Santa is hiding at Westfield Old Orchard Mall!  Follow us on Instgram @WestfieldOldOrchard to find clues to discover where Santa is hiding on December 14th & 24th! Find him & you’ll be instantly rewarded with a prize!

Location: Westfield Old Orchard, Old Orchard Rd. at Skokie Blvd., Skokie
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December 14, 2019 1:40PM

SKATE WITH SANTA

From Winpark.org: Sleigh rides on ice and a visit from Santa Claus will highlight this community tradition at the Winnetka Ice Arena. This event is open to all ages and abilities. Stick around for the Holiday.

Location: Winnetka Ice Arena, 490 Hibbard Rd., Winnetka, IL

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December 15, 2019 1PM

SKATE WITH SANTA

From Patch.com: 1:00-2:45 P.M. at Centennial Ice Rinks Santa is coming to Centennial Ice Rinks! Join Santa on the ice for candy-cane giveaways, relay races and a shoot the puck contest! Students – $8 Adults – $9…

Location: Centennial Ice Rink, 2300 Old Glenview Rd, Wilmette, IL

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December 15, 2019

BRUNCH WITH SANTA

From Patch.com: Sunday December 15 2019: seatings at 9:00am, 9:30am, 11:30am, 12:00pm…

Location: The Glen Club, 2901 W Lake Ave, Glenview, IL

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December 15, 2019
PICTURES, BRUNCH AND PIZZA WITH SANTA

Skip the mall and come see Santa at Firehouse Grill this holiday season! Join Firehouse Grill on Sunday, December 15th for pictures with Santa! The ticket includes a visit with Mr. Claus and a brunch/lunch buffet! There will also be a craft project available for the kids if they would like to partake! Santa will be available for photos, so make sure you bring your camera. There are three different time slots for this event:  9:30-11:00am, 11:30-1pm or 1:30-3pm!  Please make sure you are selecting the right time for your visit when you purchase your tickets! Limited space for each time slot, so get your tickets today!

Location: Firehouse Grill, 750 Chicago Ave., Evanston
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December 21, 2019
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA AT THE HILTON CHICAGO NORTHBROOK

Enjoy a scrumptious breakfast buffet at Allgauer’s on the Riverfront’s annual Breakfast with Santa. Breakfast buffet, pictures with Santa and more! Call 847-509-7010 for reservations.

Location: Hilton Chicago Northbrook, 2855 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Northbrook
LEARN MORE

 

December 24, 2019
SANTA SCAVENGER HUNT

Santa is hiding at Westfield Old Orchard Mall! Follow us on Instgram @WestfieldOldOrchard to find clues to discover where Santa is hiding on December 24th! Find him & you’ll be instantly rewarded with a prize!

Location: Westfield Old Orchard, Old Orchard Rd. at Skokie Blvd., Skokie
LEARN MORE

 

Lend a Hand this Holiday Season

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Featured Holiday Volunteer Opportunities

Looking for a way to give back this holiday season? Here are a few of our featured volunteer opportunities in the area.

A Just Harvest

www.ajustharvest.org

773-262-2297

A Just Harvest provides nutritious meals to anyone in need in partnership with community organizations to ensure on any given night as many as 200 people get enough to eat. Help serve in the community kitchen this holiday.

 

Catholic Charities of Chicago

www.catholiccharities.net

312-655-7700

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is one of the largest private, non-profit social service agencies in the Midwest. It annually assists more than one million people, without regard to religious, ethnic or economic background. They offer 150 programs at 164 locations across Cook and Lake counties.  And, 92 cents of every dollar they raise goes directly to their programs.

 

Feed My Starving Children

www.fmsc.org

847-984-3486

Non-Profit that provides nutritionally complete meals specifically formulated for malnourished children. Their process is simple. Donations given by people just like you fund the meal ingredients. Volunteers hand-pack the meals. Meals are donated to FMSC food partners around the world, where kids are fed and lives are saved! Pack and fund lifesaving meals this holiday!!

 

Fill A Heart for Kids

www.fillaheart4kids.org

This is a Lake forest based agency that began when the McAveeney family began taking in homeless children in the Chicagoland area. They learned thousands of foster kids living in group homes for children had lost hope that they would never be adopted  A staggering number of babies, children and street kids were in desperate need of support. They felt they needed to do more – to show these kids they are valuable, important and their families care about them. Help local homeless and foster kids during the holidays.

 

Night Ministry

www.thenightministry.org

773-784-9000

A Chicago based organization that works to provide housing, health care, and human connections to members of our community struggling with poverty or homelessness. By volunteering you can make a difference in lives of young people and adults who turn to Night Ministry when they have nowhere else to go.

 

New Trier Township Food Pantry

www.newtriertownship.com/156/food-pantry

847-446-8201

Food donations can be dropped off at New Trier Township office at 739 Elm Street.

Pantry helps our less fortunate neighbors make ends meet.

 

New Trier Township Holiday Gift Program

www.newtriertownship.com/206/Holiday-Gift-program

847-446-8201

Provides holiday gifts to resident families facing financial hardships. Volunteers can sponsor a family by purchasing gifts this holiday season.

 

North Shore Halloween Fun for Kids – 2019

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The Ultimate Guide to North Shore

Halloween Fun for Kids!

Friday, October 18, 5:30 – 8pm, Halloween Spooktacular,(Kid friendly), 2400 Chestnut Ave, Glenview

Saturday, October 19, 4 – 8pm – Halloween Happenings (Kid friendly), Wilmette Park District

Friday, October 18, 4 – 6pm, Pumpkins in the Woods, (Kid friendly), Tower Road Beach, Winnetka

Saturday, October 26, 1 – 2:30pm – Spooky Skate (Kid friendly), Wilmette’s Centennial Ice Rink

Saturday, October 19, 6 – 9:30pm, Haunted Trail (age 10 & up – scary), Lloyd Beach, Winnetka

Saturday, October 26, 10 – 1pm Evanston Trick or Treat Trot, (Kid friendly), Charles Gates Dawes House, 225 Greenwood, Evanston

Thursday, October 31, 1 – 2pm, The Big Halloween Balloon Show, (Kid friendly) Winnetka Community House

Saturday, October 26, 3 – 6pm, Boo Bash, (Kid friendly) The Glen Town Center, Glenview

Saturday, 10/19 and 10/26, 12 – 1:30pm, Scream Scene – Lights On, (Kid friendly) 4701 Oakton Street, Skokie

Saturday, November 2, 5:15 – 8pm  Zombie Scramble, (Kid friendly) Ladd Arboretum, Evanston

Top 10 Scariest Chicago Haunted Houses

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Top 10 Scariest Chicago Haunted Houses

Top 10 Scariest Chicago Haunted Houses

Your ultimate guide to the Scariest Chicago Haunted Houses!

Feeling brave?

Chills and thrills for all this Halloween with this Top 10 list of Chicago’s Haunted Houses.

Visit one or all, if you dare. . .

  1. Scream Scene | 4701 Oakton St., Skokie | 10/24/19 – 10/27/19

  2. Fright Fest | Great America, One Great America Pkwy, Gurnee | 9/14/19 – 11/3/19

  3. Dungeon of Doom | 600 29th St., Zion | 9/27/19 – 11/9/19
  4. 13th Floor | 1940 George St., Melrose Park | 9/27/19 – 11/9/19
  5. Statesville Haunted Prison | 17250 S Weber Rd., Lockport | 10/3/19 – 11/2/19
  6. Midnight Terror | 5520 W 111th St., Oak Lawn | 9/27/-19 – 11/2/19
  7. Insanity Haunted House | 3940 IL-251, Peru| 10/4/19 – 11/2/19
  8. Hell’s Gate | Lockport Metra Lot, 1300 South State St., Lockport | 10/3/19 – 11/2/19
  9. Basement of the Dead | 42 W New York St., Aurora | 9/27/19 – 11/2/19
  10. The Massacre | 299 Montgomery Rd., Montgomery | 9/28/19 – 11/2/19

Cubs Win! Trump Wins! And Buyer Activity Down on the North Shore Housing Market!

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Cubs Win!  Trump Wins! And Buyer Activity Down on the North Shore Housing Market!

While buyer activity has been very slow on the North Shore (and in the Chicago area) over the last two months, buyer activity is expected to pick up, possibly as soon as post-Thanksgiving. Interestingly but not surprisingly, world events do affect our local housing market. An analysis of activity before the World Series and the election show a significant drop-off in showings.  Along with the showing slow-down, October home sales dropped 7.3%.

House hunting takes back seat to Cubs, campaign

By Dennis Rodkin November 02, 2016, 

Foot traffic through local homes for sale plunged more last month than in any of the previous four Octobers, according to data gleaned from local real estate agents.

That includes October 2012, the last time a presidential campaign was going on.

“You have the election and the World Series distracting buyers, or making them nervous,” said the data provider, Paul Lazarre, a co-founder of Chicago-based real estate site Truepad. The site gathers data from about 25 percent of the region’s real estate agents.

Lazarre gauges demand using data that essentially compares the number of homes on the market to the number of showings buyers’ agents request. In the three weeks that ended Oct. 29 (a popular day for open houses), Chicago-area showings dropped about 30 percent, he said.

In the comparable period in the past four years, the drop was from about 3 percent to about 10 percent, Lazarre said. Data for years before 2012 is available but not quite comparable, he said, because the real estate market was so depressed.

Conlon/Christie’s International Real Estate agent Ryan Preuett said the data stack up with his experience this fall.

“Showing requests have certainly slowed down,” Preuett said. “There’s still activity going on, but it’s not like the velocity it was.” He also concurs with Lazarre’s data showing that past October falloffs weren’t as steep.

“It always cools off, but it’s been more noticeable this year,” Preuett said. Along with the World Series and the presidential campaign, Preuett said, buyers also may have been cooling their jets because of Chicago’s recent property tax increase and talk of another teacher strike.

Lazarre’s system collects data from a booking system for real estate agents to determine how many showings a home gets. While his model measures homes differently based on average foot traffic for listings in its neighborhood, a 300 essentially means a house is getting three showings a week.

By Oct. 29, homes were averaging about 3.2 showings over the course of the past three weeks, Lazarre’s data show, down from 4.5 in late September and early October. As well as being the biggest drop, the figure is also one of the two lowest in the past five Octobers. In October 2012, it was 4.7, followed by 4.3 (2013), 3.2 (2014) and 3.6 (2015).

The figures are approximate because of the weighting of different neighborhoods and other technical adjustments in Lazarre’s data.

After the election and the World Series, “we could be in for a change,” Lazarre said. In 2012, showings soared beginning right after Thanksgiving.

Top 10 Scariest Haunted Houses on the North Shore and Beyond. . .

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North Shore Scary Houses

Scream Scene, 7:00 – 10:00 pm, daily through 10/31, 4701 Oakton Street, Skokie

 

Fright Fest, Six Flags Great America, weekends through 10/31, 1 Great America Pkwy, Gurnee

 

House of Torment, (13 and over) 7:00 pm – 12:00 am, daily through 10/31, 8240 N. Austin Ave.,  Morton Grove

 

Disturbia, Screams in the Park, (13 and over) 7:00 pm – 12:00 am, daily through 10/31, MB Financial PArk at Rosemont,

 

13th Floor Haunted House, (13 and over) 7:00 pm, daily through 10/31, 1940 George St., Melrose Park

 

Dungeon of Doom, (13 and over), 7:00 pm, daily throguh 10/31, (13 and over), 600 29th Street Zion

 

Statesville Haunted Prison, (13 and over), 7:00 pm daily through 10/31, 17250 S. Weber Road

Crest Hill

 

Midnight Terror, (13 and over), 7:00 pm daily through 10/31, 9531 S 52nd Ave, Oak Lawn

 

Insanity Haunted House, (13 and over), 6:30-10:00 pm weekends through 10/31, 3800 E Main St, St. Charles

 

Hell’s Gate, (13 and over), 7:00 – 10:00 pm weekends through 10/31, Lockport Metra Lot, 1300 South State St., Lockport IL 60441

Top 10 Kid-Friendly Halloween Haunts

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Halloween Haunts

Friday, October 21, 5:30-8:00 pm, Halloween Spooktacular, (kid-friendly), 2400 Chestnut Ave,

Glenview.

Saturday, October 22, 6-9 pm – Halloween Happenings (Kid-friendly), Wilmette Park District

 

Friday, October 28, 5:00-7:30 pm, Pumpkins in the Woods, (Kid-friendly), Tower Road Beach, Winnetka

 

Saturday, October 22, 1-2:30 – Spooky Skate (Kid Friendly), Wilmette’s Centennial Ice Rink

 

Saturday, October 22, 6:00 – 9:30 pm, Haunted Trail, Lloyd Beach, Winnetka

 

Sunday, October 29, Evanston Trick or Treat Trot, (Kid Friendly), 9:00 am, Evanston Lakefront

 

Friday, October 28, 10 am – 2 pm – Not So Scary Haunted House (Kid Friendly), Winnetka Community House

 

Saturday, October 15, 10:00-11:30 am, Boo Bash, (kid friendly) Glen Town Center

 

Friday, October 28, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Haunted House (8 and older), Winnetka Community House (Halloween Party from 6-8)

 

Saturday, 10/22 and 10/29, 11:30 am – 2:00 pm, Scream Scene – Lights On – 4701 Oakton Street, Skokie

 

Saturday, October 22,  Zombie Scramble Loraine Morton Civic Center – Evanston

2016 Fireworks on the North Shore

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The North Shore celebrates the Fourth of July like no other!  Some prefer the classic parade weaving through downtown Winnetka, others like to queue up the lawn chairs on Central Street to reserve the best view of Evanston’s lively parade.  Whether you prefer your fireworks on the 3rd, the 4th (or both) or over Lake Michigan or in Battery Park, we’ve got you covered.  Check out the Independence Day celebration schedules for Evanston, Glenview, Wilmette and Winnetka below.  Happy Fourth!

Wilmette Fireworks Bah'ai Temple Fourth of July

Sunday, July 3

  • Wilmette, Independence Day Festival, starting at 4 pm.  Gilson Park.  Rides, games, food and entertainment (Jesse White Tumblers – 7pm)
  • Wilmette, Fireworks at Lake Michigan, The Pier and Wilmette Harbor, 9:30 pm

Monday, July 4

Glenview Fireworks

  • Glenview, Parade, 11:15 am, kicks off at Harlem & Glenview.
  • Winnetka, Parade, 10:00 am, kicks off at Elm & Glendale, proceeding to Village Green
  • Evanston, Parade, 2:00 pm, kicks off at Central Park Ave East & Central, proceeding to Ashland (lawn chairs permitted beginning at 6 am on July 1)

 

  • Winnetka, Fourthfest, 4:00 pm, Duke Childs Field.  Games, food and entertainment (Jesse White Tumblers – 8 pm)
  • Glenview, Celebration, 5:00 pm, Gallery Park.  Games, food, entertainment
  • Evanston, Lakefront Concert, 7:30 pm, Lakefront

 

Evanstone Fireworks

Tune into FM 90.5 for music accompaniment to the evening fireworks on July 4.

Enter For A Chance to Win A New Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport!

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What: $100 per ticket.  Max of 1,000 tickets sold.  Excellent chances to win this $40K car (estimated value based on MSRP)!  Enter here.  See the complete rules here.

jeepWhy: Rising property taxes haven taken their toll on all of us!  But for long-term citizens who are now seniors and for the disabled living in Wilmette, that effect is especially pronounced. For these residents, the 501(c)(3) “Housing Our Own” charity provides some relief with rental or property tax assistance.  Applicants are highly vetted and the requirements are stringent. By participating in this raffle, you not only have the chance to win this great car, but also you support helping these members of our community.  See more information about Housing Our Own and its programs here.

Thank you in advance for your support and good luck!   This organization really does provide a helping hand to those in our community that need it the most.

Void where prohibited.