The Cast

Production Team

Northbrook Park District Team

Board of Park Commissioners

Director’s Note

Imagine you’re on a walk with your family and a skunk crosses your path. Instead of spraying you with their tail, they…invite you to sniff their collection of perfumes?

Welcome to Toddler Hiking Club, where spider webs are larger than life, animals play musical instruments, and you and your children are encouraged to try new things, help out friends and, as Squirrel says, have fun!

This show combines two of my favorite things in the world: theatre for the very young and being in nature! While on the trail, we invite you to sniff a flower, check out a cool rock, or just look up and enjoy the view. As much as the piece is a play, it is also a nature walk, and we want to highlight how theatre can take place anywhere, even along a hiking trail!

I take the creation of your children’s first theatre experiences very seriously. Very young people deserve engaging and innovative art created just for them, with their interests and needs in mind. But just like Squirrel, I prioritize having fun! The cast and creative team had so much fun putting this show together. We hope you enjoy this unique walk-around play created just for the littlest hikers. Lace up those boots and we’ll see you on the trail!

– Ashley Laverty, Director

First Production

Toddler Hiking Club: An Imaginative Nature Walk premiered with Kerfuffle at West Ridge Nature Park in Chicago, IL.

The production ran from September 7–21, 2024 at West Ridge Nature Park, Jackie Robinson Park and McKinley Park through the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks program. The production was directed by Ashley Laverty.