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⚠️ Please Note: This article was published in 2024. Visit our Events Calendar to view current upcoming events.
Article by Elena Ferrarin
Communications Coordinator
Northbrook Park District
This autumn, the Northbrook Park District will offer a terrific lineup of events and programs sure to please children and adults of all ages.
The spirit of the season kicks off in September with Northbrook Brewfest, an event for people ages 21 and up on September 7 at Village Green Park in partnership with the Village of Northbrook opens in new tab.
That same weekend, people can enjoy nature and watch painters at work outdoors during the park district’s first Paint the Prairie event, to be held in conjunction with the Village of Northbrook’s arts commission at Techny Prairie Park and Fields.
Autumnfest always draws big crowds at Meadowhill Park with pumpkin picking, hayrides, music, food, arts and crafts and a lot more on October 4, all with the backdrop of nature’s beautiful fall colors.
In the festive spirit of Halloween, pets and their “parents” can don matching outfits for the Halloween Pet Parade, and humans can participate in the good-natured Halloween 3K Fun Run, where the best costumes will receive prizes at the end. Both events take place on October 25.
In November, anyone ages 6 and up can show off their basketball moves during the all-ages Turkey Shoot free-throw contest on November 22, while the little ones always enjoy displaying their creative building skills during the Thanksgiving Lego Party on November 27.
To celebrate the holiday spirit, families can enjoy Breakfast with Santa, a Holiday Craft Fair and Shine: A Chanukah Celebration, all taking place in December.
The park district also is dedicated to presenting the highest-quality programming for everyone’s recreational and fitness needs.
Families still have a couple of months to enjoy outdoor golfing at Heritage Oaks Golf Club and Anetsberger Golf Course, with classes for all ages and skill levels. Heritage Oaks also has an indoor golf simulator to hit the links during the winter months.
To stay active, children and adults can try out a new sport, with beginners always welcome! The park district’s lineup for youths features soccer, cycling, basketball, skateboarding, lacrosse and more. Adults have just as many options, such as soccer, softball, tennis and pickleball.
The Northbrook Sports Center offers skating lessons and classes for people of all ages, with added class times for youth hockey due to popular demand. There are also times for public skating, Cosmic Skating to the tune of DJ music starting in November, and special events like Kooky Spooky Skate on October 26 and Skate with Santa on December 21. Get started with Try Skating for Free on August 17 and November 23, and Try Hockey for Free opens in new tab on November 2.
Young children and seniors can enjoy a variety of enriching programming at the Leisure Center.
For the little ones, the park district offers parent-tot sports, pee wee soccer and lil’ dribblers. Seniors can enjoy events like a dinner dance party, educational workshops, visual arts like ornament making, and games like canasta and bingo.
The state-of-the-art Techny Prairie Activity Center opens in new tab offers fitness opportunities for all ages. New specialty classes at TPAC this fall include OsteoFit Fusion, Weightlifting 101 and Yoga for Arthritis. TPAC also features more than 50 weekly group fitness classes such as cycling, yoga, barre, BODYPUMP and mat Pilates, all included with membership.
Northbrook Theatre’s upcoming season will present several exciting productions: “High School Musical Jr.,” presented by Northbrook Theatre Youth Company; “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” presented by Northbrook Theatre for Young Audiences; and “A Christmas Story” for all audiences.
There are theater classes for young aspiring playwrights, actors, singers and dancers, and the lineup for seniors includes a new Reader’s Theatre, where individuals get assigned roles to read classic and contemporary plays as a group.
Resident registration opens at 9 a.m. July 31; non-resident registration opens at 9 am on August 7. The complete program guide was mailed to residents and posted online on July 19. To find out more and register for classes and programs, visit our Autumn Guide page.