On the road: Kettle River Paddle Fest
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Kayakers will do stunts during the white-water rodeo at the Kettle River Paddle Festival. |
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Stop at the Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Museum during Whitefish Point Observatory’s annual Spring Fling migration event. Courtesy of Tom Buchkoe |
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Cape May, the nation’s oldest seashore resort, bursts into color with the arrival of its 16th annual Spring Festival. Courtesy of mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Hum |
Paddle battle
Watch kayakers do their stunts and tricks during the white water rodeo, learn to paddle in a clinic, see fireworks and listen to live tunes at the Kettle River Paddle Festival in Sandstone, Minn. The festival has a full weekend of paddling activities for white water and flat water paddlers so you can challenge yourself on white-water rapids or enjoy some easy paddling on the Kettle River's upper or lower sections. In addition to kayak, canoe and raft races, there's a rodeo in which kayakers and canoeists compete by doing stunts and tricks.
Event times vary Friday to Sunday, April 29-May 1, at Robinson Park and Banning State Park in Sandstone, Minn. Visit kettleriverpaddlefest.com.
Chicago events
Tree swing
The Chicago Park District will be celebrating the trees that give the city its natural look at a special Arbor Day celebration. Held at Jackson Park's Wooded Island (just south of the Museum of Science and Industry), the free event is for families with children 12 and younger. You'll learn to identify some common Chicago trees on a nature walk around Wooded Island and (while supplies last) visitors will be given a sapling to plant in their own yard. Make tree cookie nametags, read “The Giving Tree,” make leaf and bark rubbings in a journal and discover the history of Wooded Island.
Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 30, in Jackson Park, 6401 S. Stony Island Ave., Chicago. Registration is required. Call (312) 742-4914.
Dinner and show a go
Dinner and a show in the city sounds great on paper, but searching for a nearby restaurant, parking and hustling to the theater isn't the relaxing evening it was meant to be. Enjoy your evening with a dinner right in the theater district, stroll to the show and snooze downtown with a package at the Great Street Restaurant and Bar inside the Renaissance Chicago Downtown. The Theatre Dinner Package includes a sommelier's select bottle of wine and a three-course meal. The Renaissance is offering theatergoers rate discounts for showing their tickets.
Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel, State and Wacker, Chicago. Theater Dinner Package is $99 per couple. Overnight accommodations are discounted when booking the dining package. Call (312) 795-3333 or visit marriott.com/hotels/travel/chisr-renaissance-chicago-hotel.
Top dog
Vienna Beef wants you to see what goes into their hot dogs with a free, but limited tour of its Chicago manufacturing facility. Tours include a taste of the real deal — a Chicago-style Vienna Beef hot dog.
10 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays at 2501 N. Damen Ave., Chicago. Reservations required for the free tour. Call (773) 278-7800 or visit viennabeef.com/contact/tour.asp.
Around the Midwest
Race like it's 1888
Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor museum of 19th-century immigrant farm and rural life, hosts the second annual Bustle Hustle 5K Run/Walk, which is run on the museum's gravel roads, past historic buildings, oxen teams and farmsteads. All participants will receive a family admission pass for Old World Wisconsin, a goody bag and a T-shirt.
8:30 a.m. to noon Sunday, May 1, at the museum situated on almost 600 acres in the Kettle Moraine Forest in southwest Waukesha County between Milwaukee and Madison. Fees are $22, $18 for the 1K Youth Run. Call (262) 594-6301 or visit oldworldwisconsin.org.
Birders of a feather
Recreational bird watchers flock from all over for the annual Spring Fling migration event at Whitefish Point Observatory in Paradise, Mich. There will be lectures by top birding authors, bird walks including an evening owl flight and a pasta dinner.
5 p.m. to dark Friday April 29; 6:30 a.m. to dark Saturday, April 30; and 6:30 to 10 a.m. Sunday, May 1, at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, 16914 Whitefish Point Road, Paradise, Mich. Call (906) 492-3596 or visit wpbo.org/node/42.
Worth the trip
Get a load of this Jersey shore! Named one of “America's 20 Prettiest Towns” by Forbes Traveler, Cape May bursts into color with the arrival of the 16th annual Spring Festival. The nation's oldest seashore resort's gingerbread architecture, tree-lined streets, historic plantings and Victorian-era landmarks are the backdrop to historic house tours, live theatrical productions, food and wine events, living history programs and more over the 10-day springtime celebration.
Event times vary Friday, April 29, through Sunday, May 8. Call (800) 275-4278 or visit capemaymac.org.
