North Shore Views » Glenview

Kohl Children’s Museum Celebrates its 25th Anniversary

Anne West — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:19:29 +0000

I was reminded not long ago how fortunate we are to have the Kohl Children’s Museum so close by. We used to go there a lot when my kids were younger, but now my daughter is past the ideal age for the museum. Since we had friends in from out of town with a younger child, off we went to show them this wonderful local gem. And my daughter, despite being the ripe old age of 9, had a blast. And it was the same exhibits that appealed to her before, that grabbed her attention now: the child-sized grocery store, the mini Potbelly restaurant, the veterinary clinic and the Water Works. And all of us were fascinated by the temporary Monarch Butterfly exhibit, where we could see close-up the four stages of butterfly development.

This year, the museum celebrates its 25th anniversary. It was founded in 1985 by Dolores Kohl. The museum was originally located in Wilmette and moved to its current and larger home in Glenview in 2005. It offers a wide array of enrichment activities and exhibits where children can play, explore and learn in an environment built specifically for them. There are 16 permanent exhibits to enjoy and usually there are 2-3 temporary exhibits. Right now, in addition to the Monarch butterfly exhibit, there is one featuring Curious George and another featuring Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl to show children how to care for our natural resources.

To celebrate its 25 anniversary the museum has a number of special activities planned, most of them geared to younger children. Here’s a run-down of activities for the museum’s anniversary kick-off week:

Sunday, July 25- Free Admission Day

12-1:30 WTTW “Readers are Leaders” performance with Miss Lori’s Campus

Monday, July 26 – Science Day

10:00 and 10:45 am Very Hungry Caterpillar Appearance
10:00 – 12:00 Anderson Pest Solutions Insect Zoo
2:00 – 4:00 pm Botanic Gardens Wiggly Worms Activity
3:00 and 4:00 pm Bubble Juggler Geoff Akins Performance

Tuesday, July 27 – Health and Safety Day

9:30 am – 1:00 pm Firezone Fire Engine Exploration
10 am – 12 pm Gymboree
10 am – 12:30 pm Little Legends Soccer Clinic
2- 3 pm Operation Railroad Tracks Safety Presentation
3 and 3:45 pm Smokey Bear Appearance

Wednesday, July 28 – Arts and Literacy Day

9 am – 5 pm Free Family Photo
10 am – 12 pm
and 1-4 pm Blick Art Materials Activity
2-5 pm Writers’ Theatre Children’s Acting Workshop
3 and 3:45 pm Clifford the Big Red Dog Appearance

Thursday, July 29 – Music Day

10 and 11 am Karen Banks-Lubicz Concerts
1, 2 and 3 pm Mindy Hester and the Time Outs Concerts
3-3:45 pm Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat

Friday, July 30 – Grand Celebration

10-10:45 am Very Hungry Caterpillar Appearance
11 am – 1 pm Free cake and ice cream sponsored by Bobtail Ice cream and Tetra Pak
1 – 1:45 pm Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat
3 – 3:45 pm Clifford the Big Red Dog Appearance

The museum is located at 2100 Patriot Blvd. in Glenview (in the Glen).You can get directions here.

Summer hours are:
Monday-Saturday 9:30 am – 5 pm
Sunday 12-5 pm

Admission is $8.50 (free for children under 1 year; $7.50 for seniors)

Independence Day on the North Shore

Anne West — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:34:45 +0000

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

North Shore Memorial Day Parades

Anne West — Sat, 29 May 2010 23:08:52 +0000

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.

North Shore Housing Inventory

Anne West — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:44:35 +0000

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.

North Shore Market Update: 1st Quarter 2010

Anne West — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:16:56 +0000

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

North Shore Market Update: January-February 2010

Anne West — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:26:05 +0000

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