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Archive for the 'Glencoe' Category

Wonderful Wonderland Express

If there is one activity I can recommend for families with kids this holiday season, it is a visit to the Wonderland Express at the Chicago Botanic Garden. You will realize how aptly named it is when you see your kids’ eyes widen with wonder when the first train rounds the curve amid a miniature landscape of seasonal greens and flowers and buildings made from bark, twigs and moss. Frankly, even adults are fairly awestruck when they visit for the first time.

Wonderland Express is a 10,000-square-foot exhibition of miniature trains that wind through more than 80 miniature Chicago-area landmarks, including Navy Pier, Soldier Field, Chicago Stadium, the Chinatown Arch, the Art Institute, the South Shore Cultural Center, the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House, old Comiskey Park.

All buildings are handcrafted from natural materials like leaves, bark, and moss. Meanwhile, Krehbiel Gallery will be transformed into an English country train platform, and a seven-minute video will run in the auditorium, showing the Busse workshop and crew at work as they developed Wonderland Express.

Wonderland Express is open until January 1st from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (the exhibit closes at 3:00 on December 24 and is closed all day December 25). Admission for adults is $8.00 for members and $10 for non-members. Children 3-12 and seniors are $6 members/$8 non-members. Children under 2 get in free. This is a very popular exhibit so you should buy your tickets ahead to ensure you can get in on the day you want to go.

Related articles:

Railroad Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden

Tags: Chicago Botanic Garden, Wonderland Express

Independence Day on the North Shore

This year the weather promises to be absolutely perfect for 4th of July celebrations – sunny, clear and warm (not hot) from now through Sunday. There are lots of fun things going on all up and down the North Shore, and if you’ve got the energy, you can spread your celebration out over three days. As always, Wilmette holds its celebration on July 3rd, while Glenview waits til the 5th. (Thunderstorms are currently in the forecast for Monday, so if you live in Glenview you may want to join the festivities in another town on the 4th, just to be on the safe side.). Also, note that, in Winnetka, the parade begins at 1:00 pm and not 10:00 am, as in previous years.

Evanston

July 4
7:30 pm – Twilight Concert featuring the Palatine Concert Band
9:00 pm – The musical fireworks extravaganza will be launched from Clark Street Beach and can be viewed from any part of the lakefront area east of Downtown Evanston.

Wilmette

July 3
4:00 pm -  Games and rides for children, entertainment, roving performers, and a Tastefest at Gillson Park.
7:30 pm – A traditional concert of patriotic music by the Palatine Concert Band in the Wallace Bowl. It will be preceded by a sneak preview of this summer’s Starlight Theatre musical feature.
9:30 p.m – Fireworks begin. In case of rain, the fireworks will be rescheduled to a later date.

The easiest way to get to and from the Independence Day celebrations in Gillson Park is by using the special Pace shuttle bus service. Motorists may park at Edens Plaza or at the METRA commuter lot. To see a complete listing of events or for additional transportation information see the Wilmette Park District’s website.

Winnetka

July 4
1:00 pm – The celebration begins with Winnetka’s annual parade. (Note the change in time from past years). The parade sets off from the corner of Elm and Glendale Streets, and heads east to the Village Green.
2:00 pm – -A flag-raising ceremony, children’s flag parade, and family races follow the parade on the Green.
6:30 pm -  “Fourth Fest,” featuring food, children’s entertainment, and a pre-fireworks concert at Duke Child’s Field
9:15 pm – Fireworks begin

Northfield

July 4
9:45 am -  Bike parade kicks off from two locations — Somerset and Old Willow or the Ameritech Lot. Both routes end at Willow Park.
10:30 am -  Bike judging, music and amusement rides begin. Family activities include relays, wheelbarrow races, a hula-hoop contest and an egg toss. For more information, go to northfieldparkdistrict.org or call 847-446-4428.

Glencoe

July 4
8:00 am – Fun Run starts at the train station, 724 Green Bay Road
10:00 am – Games in Kalk Park, Park Aveune and Green Bay Road
2:00 pm – Parade
6:30 pm -  Barbecue on the beach with children’s entertainment and music
9:00 pm – Fireworks on the beach
847-835-3050

Glenview

July 5

11:00 am -  Bike Parade starting at the corner of Glenview rd. and Church St.
11:30 am -  Main parade starting from OLPH parking lot and ending at Johns Park.
7:30 pm – Twilight Show with patriotic concert by the North Shore Concert Band. The show’s finale will be fireworks synchronized to patriotic music.
847-724-5670

Highland Park

July 4
11:00 am – Parade in downtown Highland Park
12:00 pm – Fourth Fest at Sunset Woods Park
9:15 pm – Fireworks at Wolters Field on Park Avenue West
847-432-0800

Lake Forest

July 4
6:00 pm – Beer garden with kids activities and live music by Sixteen Candles at Deerpath Community Park
8:00 pm – KC and the Sunshine Band
9:30 pm -  Fireworks sponsored by the Lake Forest Symphony

Tags: 4th of july, Independence Day

Model Railroad Garden at Chicago Botanic Garden

When my son was small he was obsessed with trains. From the time he was a year and a half old until he was about six, trains were the love of his life. He watched Thomas the Tank Engine on TV, he read books about trains, and he accumulated an enormous collection of Thomas wooden trains and track and played with them by the hour. When there wasn’t a train around to play with, he made one. He would attach a line of  toy vehicles to the back of his tricycle and drive his train up and down the sidewalk. We would draw freight trains in chalk on the driveway. When we went out to eat he would create trains out of the sugar and jelly packets on our table. Gradually his obsession subsided and was replaced by other interests, like Pokemon and Nintendo. It makes me a little sad that those days of choo choo mania are gone, especially because I have never again seen my son quite as passionate about anything as he was about trains.

Last weekend we got to relive those train-crazed days when we went on a family outing to the Chicago Botanic Garden. I love the Gardens and could stay there for hours, there is so much to see. But this time, knowing the kids would have a limited attention span, we headed straight to the Model Railroad Garden, which, I figured, would have the best chance of engaging two kids with zero interest in plants and flowers.

It did not disappoint. It’s kind of hard not to smile when you see all of those American landmarks in miniature: the White House, Hollywood, Statue of Liberty, a working Old Faithful geyser, etc. And all surrounded by small scale gardens, vignettes with tiny people and animals and model trains chugging by. The coolest part is that all of the mini-replicas of famous landmark buildings are created out of twigs, acorns, bark, leaves and pebbles. This is the eleventh season for the railroad garden and every year  they add a major new landmark. Last year it was the White House. This year, historic Comiskey Park.

Even my kids, who had moaned and groaned about spending the afternoon at the Botanic Garden, thought the Railroad Garden was pretty cool and enjoyed discovering each new landmark or lifelike vignette as we wound our way through the garden. They finally had to admit that they were glad that we had come. My husband even made noises about how neat it would be to build a garden railroad in our yard. Thank goodness that idea was short-lived.

The Railroad Garden is open through October 31st from 10:00am -8:00 pm (until September 6- after that it closes at 5;00 pm). There’s a $5.00 admission fee for adults and $3.00 for kids. Garden members get a $1.00 off.

If you’re looking for a fun family activity, this one gets a thumbs up. It’ll bring out the kid in anyone.

Tags: Chicago Botanic Garden, Model Railroad Garden

North Shore Memorial Day Parades

Mostly we think of Memorial Day as a celebration of the start of summer ….the opening of the pool, barbecue parties with friends, baseball games etc. But it’s also a time to remember our war heroes. Here on the North Shore there are several parades and Memorial Day ceremonies this Monday morning. They’re a great opportunity to help our kids understand the meaning of the holiday. And this year it looks like we’ll have great parade-watching weather. Here’s a run down on the parades in our area:

Wilmette

Sponsored by the Village of Wilmette and  Huerter Post #46 o the American Legion, the parade will begin at 10:30 from the corner of Ridge Rd. and Lake Ave. It will proceed east to Park Ave.and south to Wilmette Ave. , finishing up at Village Hall. The ceremony will take place near the War Memorial.

Glenview

You can probably hit two parades if you start with this one, since it’s the earliest of the lot. The procession starts at 9:00 east of the railroad tracks on Pine St. and continues to Glenview Rd..The ceremony will be held at the Veteran’s Memorial at Glenview Rd. and the river.

Winnetka

Winnetka’s parade kicks-off at 10:00 from the corner of Glendale and Elm and heads east to the Village Green. There will be a brief ceremony on the Green following the parade.

Glencoe

The parade begins at central School at 10:30 and proceeds to Veteran’s Memorial Park adjacent to Glencoe Union Church.

Lake Forest

Sponsored by the lake Forest American Legion Post the parade will begin at 11:00 at Market Square. The Legion rifle squad and color guard will step off from the post at 10:30 A.M. and pick up both Boy and Girl Scout troops from the parking lots at Deerpath and McKinley. The color guard will march from Illinois Road and turn onto Western Avenue.

Tags: parades

It’s Housewalk Season on the North Shore

If housewalks are your thing, here are three on the North Shore that will let you indulge your voyeuristic side while helping a worthy cause, since all of them are fundraisers for service organizations.  The first one focuses on historic homes, while the other two are more for pure vicarious pleasure of seeing how the other half lives (while giving you some decorating ideas for your own home, of course).

Wilmette Historical Society Housewalk
Sunday, May 16 from 1-4 pm

Visit  four historic and architecturally significant homes along beautiful Central Avenue, plus see the interior chambers of the Masonic Temple. Proceeds support the work of he Wilmette Historical Museum. $45 members, $50 non-members, $25 students.

Glencoe PTO Housewalk
Wednesday, May 19 from 9:30-2:30

Tour five of Glencoe’s most exceptional homes and eat lunch in a sixth. Proceeds go to support environmental and arts projects in the Glencoe schools. Check in at the Glencoe train station between 9:30 am and 1;00 pm.
Tickets available at www.glencoepto.org.  $65.

Winnetka Women’s Club Housewalk
Wednesday, May 26 from 10-4

This year’s theme is “Lifestyles” and you can tour six beautiful homes representing the creative and varied lifestyles of North Shore residents. Proceeds benefit the Winnetka Women’s Club, which is a community service organization dedicated to supporting local projects and scholarship programs.
Tour: $55 in advance; $ 60 day of event. Lunch: $35

Tags: housewalks

Deadline for Vehicle Stickers – Wilmette and Glencoe

Attention Wilmette residents: today’s not just tax day but vehicle sticker day, so don’t forget to attach your 2010 vehicle sticker to your windshield.  After today you may be subject to a citation if you don’t have one on your car.

If you haven’t registered by mail you can buy a sticker in person at the finance counter at the Wilmette Village Hall, 1200 Wilmette Ave., during regular business hours. They cost $80 for vehicles and $95 for trucks.

A portion of the revenue generated from the sale of vehicle stickers is used to maintain the Wilmette’s infrastructure, including streets, alleys and curbs.

Glencoe residents, you have a bit more time. Your stickers must be displayed by May 1st. Cars are $75 and trucks are between $75 and $180, depending on the size. You can buy them at Glencoe Village Hall (either the Resident Service Desk or the Public Safety window).

If you live in one of the other nearby villages, you don’t need to worry about this for a while. Highland Park’s deadline is August 31st. Evanston and Winnetka are  in January.

Tags: Glencoe, Wilmette

North Shore Housing Inventory

Here is a snapshot of active listings (single family detached homes) on the market as of April 5, 2010.

Town	# Active Listings	Avg. List Price	Median List Price	Days on Market
Evanston	249	$694,910	$535,000	212
Wilmette	181	$890,392	$719,000	204
Winnetka	182	$2,120,724	$1,497,000	279
Kenilworth	44	$2,188,466	$2,245,000	327
Glenview	357	$754,771	$649,000	242
Glencoe	114	$1,759,373	$1,132,000	249
Northfield	58	$950,160	$659,500	349
Highland Park	295	$1,035,746	$666,000	287
Lake Forest	306	$1,887,223	$1,299,000	314
NORTH SHORE	1786	$1,245,590	$827,000	264

Source: MRED – Deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Tags: North Shore market data

North Shore Market Update: 1st Quarter 2010

The North Shore housing market looks a whole lot better in 2010 than it did at this time last year. Driven by low interest rates, the home buyer tax credit, plentiful supply of homes to choose from and attractive prices, buyers have returned to the market. Prices are still soft but the rate of decline has slowed.

Housing sales on Chicago’s North Shore increased 56% in the first quarter of 2010 vs. the same period last year. All towns had healthy increases except for Northfield which had one less sale this year than last. The big winner in percentage terms was Kenilworth, which had nine sales this year vs. one last year.

Average prices for sold properties on the North Shore was down 7%. Lake Forest showed the biggest drop (-30%), followed by Winnetka (-21%). Highland Park had only a 1% decrease in average price, while Evanston and Wilmette actually showed increases. Kenilworth’s large increase in average price was driven by the fact that the only sale in 2009 was for an unusually low-priced property for this village.

Days on market for properties sold was down 8% for the North Shore, but the numbers varied widely across individual towns. The largest decreases in market time were in Wilmette (-70%) and Lake Forest (-58%). The largest increases were in Kenilworth (+48%) and Northfield (+38%).

North Shore Market Update – 1st Qtr. 2010 vs. Year Ago*

*Single family detached homes. Source: MRED – Deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Tags: North Shore market data, North Shore real estate trends, North Shore sales trends

North Shore Market Update: January-February 2010

For the first two months of 2010 sales of single family homes on Chicago’s North Shore were up 47% over the same period last year. The big winners were Highland Park and Lake Forest, which both more than doubled their sales vs. last year. Kenilworth, which only had one sale in the first two months of 2009, had five this year.

While prices were down 7% from this time last year, the rate of decline does seem to be slowing and the market may be nearing the bottom. Market times are up over last year but down versus previous months and there is less inventory on the market now.

North Shore Market Trends: Jan. – Feb. 2010 (vs. year ago)

Town	Units Sold % chg	Avg. Price % chg	Mkt Time % chg
Evanston	35%	18%	31%
Wilmette	20%	-14%	-27%
Glenview/Golf	16%	1%	3%
Northfield	-25%	-27%	84%
Kenilworth	400%	126%	65%
Winnetka	50%	-19%	11%
Glencoe	9%	-23%	1%
Highland Park	190%	14%	157%
Lake Forest	100%	-14%	-20%
NORTH SHORE	47%	-7%	8%

Source: MRED LLC -Deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Tags: North Shore market data, North Shore real estate trends, North Shore sales trends

Guide to Glencoe Preschools

In my first post about North Shore preschools I talked about some criteria for selecting a preschool. In this post I share my top picks for preschools located in Glencoe.

Children’s Circle Full Day Preschool

Takiff Center, 999 Green Bay Rd., Glencoe, IL 60022
(847) 835-3035

Children’s Circle is a program of the Glencoe Park District that serves children 15 months to 6 years old, offering a full day preschool program, as well as before and after kindergarten care. It operates year round and children may attend 2,3,4 or 5 days a week.

The Early Learning Center is a half day preschool, also at the Takiff Center, for 2 – 4 year olds.

The focus is on helping children learn to navigate their world by supporting healthy social and emotional development and an enthusiasm for learning.

St. Elisabeth’s Nursery School

556 Vernon Ave., Glencoe, IL 60022
(847) 835-0609
www.sensglencoe.org

St. Elisabeth’s Church runs a non-religious morning preschool program (9:00-11:15 am) for 3 and 4 year olds. The program is designed to give young children a positive social experience, laying the foundation for them to become enthusiastic lifelong learners.
It also offers an extended day enrichment program from 11:15-12:45, with music, art, math, science and language activities.

North Shore Congregation Israel – Gates of Learning Preschool

1185 Sheridan Rd., Glencoe, IL 60022
(847) 835-0724
North Shore Congregation Israel – Gates of Learning Preschool

Gates of Learning Preschool is a great place to play and learn about Judaism. The warm and nurturing environment fosters the social, emotional, intellectual and physical development of its students. The program integrates Jewish customs with conventional preschool activities such as arts & crafts, music, dance, drama, science and outdoor play.

The program serves children from 15 months to 4 years old, with a parent-tot class for children under 2 years old. Older 2’s attend either two or three days a week; 3’s attend three or four days and 4’s attend five days a week.

J.C.C. Early Childhood Services at Am Shalom

840 Vernon, Glencoe, IL 60022
(847) 835-0008
website

Children 2-4 years old have fun while learning Jewish values and practices, Hebrew vocabulary and honoring Shabbat. This unique program combines education about Jewish traditions and heritage with a best in class early childhood development program. It integrates Reggio Emila into the learning experience, which encourages learning through probrlam solving, exploration, discovery and experimentation. J.C.C.also offers a summer camp.

Related posts:

• Guide to North Shore Preschools
• Highland Park Preschools
• Winnetka Preschools
• Kenilworth Preschools
• Wilmette Preschools

Tags: Glencoe, Preschools