An upcoming fun, free event to take your kids to is the Maple Syrup festival at North Park Village Nature Center (5801 N. Pulaski) on March 23rd and 24th from 10 AM until 3 PM. At regular intervals a guide takes groups out into the nature preserve for a demonstration on how a tree is tapped to get the sap out and then how the sap is boiled down into maple syrup over a big fire. It's great for showing kids where maple syrup comes from and also provides a nice scenic hike. In addition, there are indoor events such as story telling and maple syrup for sale.
We have gone a couple of times over the past few years and how crowded this event gets really depends on the weather. If you've never been to North Park Village it is kind of an interesting place. Formerly a tuberculosis sanatorium, it now contains Peterson Park, Peterson Park Gymnastics Center (which offers tons of great gymnastics classes and a really good competitive gymnastics club), the Nature Center, and an assisted living facility for elderly people. To get to the Nature Center you turn off of Pulaski into what looks like a little village with lots of numbered buildings. After going through the first stop sign at the entrance you pass the gymnastics facility. At the next stop sign turn left and follow the bend around to the Nature Center and parking lot. In addition to the Maple Syrup Festival, the Nature center has great hiking trails totally appropriate for children and lots of great programs especially their summer camps, which families line up for hours before hand to register their children.
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