Celebrating National Zoo Keeper Week with Great Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers and Zoos to Visit on Sumer Vacation

Let’s Visit the Mid West Music Fest in Winona Minnesota! We’re getting ready to take the first road trip of the season!  We’re headed out to Winona in Minnesota for the MidWest Music Fest for two jampacked days of incredible music with more than 100 different artists!  It’s the perfect spring celebration for music lovers, because you can enjoy all of your favorite genres from folk to indie rock to funk and more. more While we’re there, we’re also going to make it a little mini getaway trip, just to decompress, destress, and enjoy a little more time away from work.  So come on and join us as we explore Winona on today’s travel blog. Winona is a fantastic destination filled with just about everything you can think of! If you’re into nature and the outdoors, there are plenty of trails to hike or bike, and the gorgeous Great River Bluffs State Park. Enjoy a beautiful low-key stroll or bike ride down the 1.5 mile trail while you do a little bird watching at the Prairie Island Nature Trail. Or give yourself a little challenge by visiting John A. Latsch State Park for some incredible vista points overlooking the Mississippi River Valley.  Adventureseekers will find plenty of thrills with intermediate and challenging trails for both hiking and cycling at Garvin Heights Park. If you love boating and canoeing or kayaking, you’ll definitely want to book a tour with the Broken Paddle Guiding Co. for an incredible guided look at the wilds along the Mississippi River, or bring your own canoe in tow and row through the Mississippi River Water Trails. As you may already have gathered from previous travel guides, we’re also a bunch of history buffs here at Classic!  One of our favorite things to do when we take a road trip is to get to know the local history through museums, historic sites, and cultural touchstones.  Winona is home to the Dakota Nation, and hosts special ceremonies and events such as the Winona Dakota Gathering Homecoming & Powwow”, created to honor and respect the indigenous peoples of the land through the Winona-Dakota Unity Alliance at Unity Park. As you walk through town, you must stop by the historic downtown and explore the historic buildings and architecture like the Pickwick Mill and Bunnell House. And of course, be sure to stop by the Winona County History Center, Watkins Heritage Museum, Kashubian Cultural Institute and Polish Museum, Castlerock Museum, and our personal favorite: The Remlinger Muscle Cars & Event Center! Extend your appreciation of the arts after the music festival and enjoy the beautiful curated collections at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, or take in a live event or film showing at the Winona Arts Center. As for lodging, there are several charming Bed and Breakfast options in the area, such as the Alexander Mansion Historic B&B, the Carriage House Bed & Breakfast, and the Big River Escape Grandview Manse villa.  If you prefer to book with larger hotels, there is a Best Western Plus, the Hampton Inn, and more!

We’re back with another edition of our local Community Calendar of Events! Looking for something fun to do this weekend? We’ve got a great roundup of entertainment, workshops, events, and other activities to keep you busy through this weekend and all month long!  Whether you’re looking for family bonding fun, or a date night out, or something exciting to enjoy with friends, you’ll find it right here on our list.  And, as always, feel free to leave your own events in the comments below for our readers and followers to check out! more At Larsen Marine from 9AM to 1PM on Saturday, March 4th, come on out for the Annual Saturday Seminar Series! Each week, Larsens will host two free seminars on a variety of marine-related topics. March 4th from 6PM to 8PM at ZumBier, join the local Rotary Club of Waukegan for a fun evening of fundraising with a silent auction to help local charities. Looking forward to a night out at the theatre? You’re in luck!  The Three Brothers Theatre is hosting “Desdemona, A play about a handkerchief” starting at 7:30PM on March 4th and March 5th! On March 5th, enjoy an evening of world class music at the Orlin Trapp Auditorium with the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert. On March 5th, Lake County’s Stan Dard Jazz Project is playing an evening of classic American Jazz standards from 6PM at Nightshade and Dark’s Pandemonium Brewing (the show is free to attend, but feel free to tip the band at the end of the series!) Stop on over to Bertrands Bowling Lanes on Monday March 6th at 6PM til 8PM for an evening of Bingo. On March 7th, grab your latest yarn or fiber craft and head on over to Nighttshade and Dark’s Pandemonium Brewing for a local Yarn and Knitting group! Whether you crochet, weave, hook rugs, cross-stitch or embroiderer, all fiber artist enthusiasts and experience levels are welcome here. Nightshade and Dark’s Pandemonium Brewing is hosting a fantastic night of trivia with drag queen Lola Madison and her friends and prizes go to the winning team! So put your thinking caps on and head on over a t 7PM on March 8th for Drag Queen Trivia Night. The Greenbelt Cultural Center is hosting an incredible outdoor experience for kids on Thursday MArch 9th starting at 10:00AM. From hiking to exploring and connecting with nature, your kids will be having so much fun they won’t even realize it’s an educational excursion! Ballet Folklorico Tayahua: A Night in Mexico will be showing on March 11th at 6PM in Genessee Theatre which celebrates the diversity of Mexican Culture and history, and shares it with the new generation! Grab the whole family and all of your friends and head on over to the Belvidere Cinema Gallery for a free showing of Oliver & Company starting at 4PM on March 18th. ArtWauk is back on Saturday, March 18th from 5PM to 9PM in the Arts and Entertainment district of Waukegan. Dandelion Gallery & Studio is hosting Yoga and Sound Meditation starting on Saturday March 25th at 10:30AM and inclues 45 minutes of beginner yoga with 15 minutes of sound meditation all faciulitated by Calvin Piktail. LCCCA is presenting the Illumine Trio at the Orlin Trapp Auditorium from 3PM to 5:30PM on Sunday March 26th. The Three Brothers Theatre is hosting Masters of Sketch: Spring SKetch Extravaganza from 7:30 to 9PM at Stage 115 for an evening of adult centric comedy.

There’s nothing quite like a twinkling display of festive holiday lights and creative illuminated sculptures in the great outdoors.  Whether you’re flying solo, enjoying a romantic date night out, or a family friendly evening, nothing brightens the holiday spirits more!  Lose yourself in the magical winter wonderland of seasonal light displays with these fantastic suggestions on today’s blog. more Now through January 1st 2023, the Lake County Fairgrounds and Events Center is bringing back its popular Santa’s Rock N Lights show! This gorgeous one mile stretch of lights is all set for a drive-through experience complete with holiday tunes!  And new for this year is the Pop Up Village with photo ops, ax throwing, face painting, ornament crafts, and visits with Santa! You’ll also have plenty to snack on with local food trucks as well as free hot chocolate! Now through January 9th from 4:30-10 on Weekdays and 4:30-11 on Weekends in Northbrook, “Let it Shine” presents the area’s largest drive through Christmas Lights at Northbrook Court synchronized to holiday classic music! Goebbert’s Christmas Lights Show at Goebbert’s Pumpkin farm is running now through January 3rd from 5-10 and 5-11 (varies per day of week.)  You’ll enjoy more than one million twinkling lights set to music from the cozy comfort of your own car. Now through December 25th, head to downtown Antioch for the annual Christmas Musical Light Show! There are two shows alternating each day which run about 20 minutes long between the hours of 6PM and 9PM. On December 2nd, Genesee Theatre is hosting A Very Electric Christmas spectacular hosted by the Lightwire Theater! This unique and one-of-a-kind show takes place in a totally dark environment where the theatre group uses their own bodies to manipulate light into puppetry style storytelling.  It’s a completely jaw-dropping experience, and a memorable holiday gift for the ages! On December 3rd, head over to Waukegan Main Street at 10N Martin Luther King Jr Avenue in Waukegan for the annual official Tree Lighting Ceremony in Waukegan. The tree lighting ceremony is also accompanied by the Holiday Lights Parade and Holiday Walk on Main Waukegan! On December 8th, the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train is rolling through Gurnee with a 5-5:10PM arrival, bringing in our good pal Old St. Nick for a visit of holiday cheer!  Stick around after it departs at 5:30/5:40PM and enjoy some christmas caroling, food trucks, snacks, hot chocolate, holiday crafting, s’mores, a petting zoo and so much more. December 11th-13th, 18th-23rd, 26th-31st, and January 2nd and 3rd, kids will love the hands-on experience of controlling the holiday light show themselves with a glowstick wand at the Kohlights Walk-Thru Experience at the children’s museum! Opening  December 17th through January 2nd 2023, Shiloh Park in Zion is bringing you Home for the Holidays Lighted Christmas Trail! A drive through holiday light trail with more than 100,000 lights and 50 one-of-a-kind displays.  And, as rumor has it, you may be able to catch Santa himself on opening day, so keep your eyes peeled. Now through January 1st 2023, drive on over to Wintrust Field in Schaumburg for the Shine Light Show. This winter wonderland features more than one million lights, all synchronized in beautiful displays to classic holiday tunes and merriment! Other Wonderful Drive Through Holiday Experiences in the Area: Hampton Reserve Neighborhood at Timber Pass Road and Midlothian Road in Mundelein has nearly 100 homes who have worked in tandem to coordinate holiday light displays! Libertyville’s Golf Road and Dymond Road neighborhood is home to an annual display of coordinated milk-carton luminaries that are truly a sight to behold! Lights on Chantilly in Lake on the Hills features more than 50,000 christmas lights in a synchronized musical and light show! Grayslake Heritage District and Center Street’s historic downtown are picturesque displays of lights against historic architecture and cozy scenery. The Tarkowski Family home at 1256 Bradford Lane  in Antioch is an impressive family affair full of twinkling lights and festive merriment synced to music which you can hear when tuned in to radio 88.7 in your car! The Gandor Family Light Show in Lake Zurich runs through January with synchronized music and light shows and twinkling holiday light displays for the season!