Best Bets

PLUM GOOD SHOW
Salt Creek Ballet stages the lovable holiday classic “The Nutcracker” in two shows in the auditorium of the Hinsdale Central High School. With a cast of 100 children and young adults, Salt Creek Ballet performs the whimsical tale of toys coming to life with special guest performers from New York’s American Ballet Theatre taking on the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier. Sunday’s show will be a special benefit performance followed by a Sugar Plum Party, where audience members get to meet each of the characters as they step off stage.
WHERE Hinsdale Central Auditorium, 55th and Grant Streets, Hinsdale
WHEN 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 28 and 29
COST Saturday: $29 for adults and $25 for children 12 and under; Sunday: $35 for adults and $30 for children 12 and under
CONTACT Salt Creek Ballet, (630) 769-1199, saltcreek@saltcreekballet.org

The Salt Creek Ballet performs their yearly ballet production of "The Nutcracker." This year, they'll perform the production on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 28 and 29 in the Hinsdale Central Auditorium. SUBMITTED PHOTO

HOLIDAY MAGIC
Brookfield Zoo’s 28th annual Holiday Magic is a celebration of the holiday season with family and friends. Holiday Magic will feature nearly one million twinkling lights illuminated the zoo’s walkways. Ice carving demonstrations, live musical performances, magicians and the new Wild Lights Spectacular light show at Roosevelt Fountain will take place at the event each weekend throughout December.
WHERE Brookfield Zoo, First Avenue and 31st Street, Brookfield
WHEN 4 to 9 p.m. Dec. 5-6, 12-13, 19-20 and 26-31
COST: $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and children; Tuesdays and Thursdays is free admission; parking is $8
CONTACT Brookfield Zoo, (708) 688-8000, www.brookfieldzoo.org

An aerial view of festive trees, sponsored by local corporations, surround Roosevelt Fountain during Brookfield Zoo’s 28th annual Holiday Magic. Spotlights add to the spectacular display with the city of Chicago in the background. SUBMITTED PHOTO

INFLATION IN BATAVIA
Fred Garbo of the Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Co. brings his engaging, family-friendly theater show of inflatables to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in November. See Garbo and Daielma Santos, a classically-trained ballerina, share their unique inflatable inventions on stage in a one-of-a-kind show.
WHERE Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Kirk Road and Pine Street, Batavia
WHEN 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7
COST: $26 for adults and $13 for ages 18 and younger
CONTACT Fermi Arts and Lecture Series Box Office, (630) 840-2787, audweb@fnal.gov, www.fnal.gov

Fred Garbo and ballerina Daielma Santos of Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Company. SUBMITTED PHOTO

CHESTNUTS ROASTING IN WESTMONT
A Frosty & Friends Parade will kick off the 15th Annual Holly Days Winter Festival in Westmont. Get a chance to tell Santa Claus what you would like for Christmas, while visiting Mrs. Claus and his reindeer on Friday, Nov. 27 in Veterans Memorial Park. The festivities will also include roasted chestnuts, wagon rides and village tree lighting.
WHERE Veterans Memorial Park, downtown Westmont
WHEN 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 27
COST: Free
CONTACT Westmont Park District, (630) 963-5252

A child pets a reindeer at the 2004 Holly Days festival. FILE PHOTO

RACING FOR VETERANS
Westchester is remembering its war heroes with the village’s annual Veteran’s Day Run on Sunday, Nov. 8 in Mayfair Park. Called “Veterun,” the event will have a 10K and 5K race for youth and adults with cash prizes for the top runners, plus a two-mile health walk for those who’d rather take a stroll. Proceeds from the race will go to the Wounded Heroes Foundation. A memorial dedication will precede the run.
WHERE Mayfair Park, 10835 Wakefield Ave., Westchester
WHEN 9 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 8
COST: $35 for the running events and $30 for the two-mile walk
CONTACT Chicago Area Runners Association, (708) 865-8200, ext. 39, www.westchesterchamber.org

Runners like Rick David of Chicago (front) participate in the annual Veterans Day Veterun in Westchester in 2005. The race, which features 5K and 10K races and a two-mile walk, will go on again this year on Nov. 8 in Mayfair Park. STAFF PHOTO BY ERICA BENSON

SCARECROW FESTIVAL
See more than 100 hand-crafted scarecrows on display and vote for your favorite one at the annual Scarecrow Festival in St. Charles. From Oct. 9 to 11, a carnival, a petting zoo, live entertainment and food vendors will occupy downtown St. Charles. The Autumn on the Fox Art and Craft Show is in conjunction with the annual festival and will feature more than 150 craft booths. The craft show is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
WHERE Downtown St. Charles
WHEN 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11
COST: Free
CONTACT St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1-800-777-4373, www.scarecrowfest.com

A scarecrow fashioned after the iconic “Wizard of Oz” character stands proudly in Lincoln Park in St. Charles during the city's annual Scarecrow Fest. FILE PHOTO

DAZZLING ART
Get a sparkle in your eye from checking out the latest art exhibit at Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in Elmhurst. “Jeweled Objects of Desire,” on display from Oct. 6 to Jan. 3, will feature a gem collection of ordinary objects made into extraordinary jeweled art objects. Works by San Francisco jewelry designer Sidney Mobell, famous for his jewel-encrusted chess set, are included in the exhibit.
WHERE Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, 220 Cottage Hill, Elmhurst
WHEN Oct. 6 to Jan. 3
COST: $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $2 for students and teens, $1 for children 7 to 12, and free for children under 7; admission is free on Fridays.
CONTACT Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, (630) 833-1616, www.lizzadromuseum.org

Sidney Mobell's jewel-encrusted chess set. SUBMITTED PHOTO

NOT-SO-SCARY DINONITES
October is Halloween at Brookfield Zoo, and the Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit will be getting in on the frights. See the Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit in an new, eerie light during DinoNites, starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 and running until Oct. 25. DinoNites will feature a 7,000-square-foot corn maze, the Tram of Terror, a DJ and halloween-themed craft activities and games at the Hamill Family Play Zoo, including cookie decorating and a scavenger hunt.
WHERE Brookfield Zoo, First Avenue and 31st Street, Brookfield
WHEN 6 to 10 p.m., Fridays to Sundays, Oct. 16-18 and 23-25
COST $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and children 3 to 11, and free for children 2 and under; $8 for parking
CONTACT Brookfield Zoo, (708) 688-8000, www.czs.org

SUBMITTED PHOTO.

DRINKING WINE FROM THE VINE
Sip the best of the vine at Geneva’s Festival of the Vine Sept. 11 to 13. Sample international flavors of wine provided by area restaurants and check out the flower market, arts and crafts show, grape stomping, live music, children’s activities and more. New this year is the Fall Harvest Market in the parking lot of the old courthouse, where a specially designed tower of gourds will stand at the entrance and visitors can feast on breads, cookies, pumpkin butter and cinnamon rolls.
WHERE Downtown Geneva
WHEN 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13
COST Free
CONTACT Geneva Chamber of Commerce, (630) 232-6060, www.genevachamber.com

Barbara Szemplinski of Geneva chooses a pumpkin at Geneva’s annual Festival of the Vine plant sale. The festival, which attracts about 75,000 people to town each year, highlights all manner of vine-grown delights. FILE PHOTO             

OLD-FASHIONED PICNIC
Celebrate the beginning of fall at Graue Mill’s Seventh Annual Cornfest on Sunday, Sept. 13. The event will have an old-fashioned picnic with food provided by Uncle Bub’s BBQ, along with roasted corn on the cob, homemade pies and taffy apples. Entertainment, including games, a German band, races and a fishing tournament for children, will also be available. And the giant woodpile returns for children to create whatever they’d like using hammers, nails and paint. 
WHERE Graue Mill and Museum, 3800 York Road, Oak Brook
WHEN 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13
COST: Free
CONTACT Graue Mill and Museum, (630) 920-9720, info@grauemill.org, www.grauemill.org

Babak Serushan of Oak Brook awaits his ears of corn from Jackie Novack of Oak Brook during the cornfest at the Graue Mill September 18 2005. FILE PHOTO