Children can get their fill at parks Easter egg hunt
It may not feel much like spring, but the children will be out with baskets, gathering Easter eggs this weekend as an unusually early Easter rushes at us.
The Mount Prospect Park District will hold its annual Easter egg hunts Saturday morning at RecPlex, 420 W. Dempster St., Mount Prospect.
The children will be divided into age groups. Three-year-olds get to hunt for eggs at 9:30 a.m. The 4- and 5-year-olds get their chance at 10:20 a.m. and the adventure concludes with the 6- to 8-year-olds hunting at 11 a.m.
The cost is $4 in advance or $6 at the door. Children must bring their own baskets.
Capannari's hunt: For the first time in its history, the Capannari's Ice Cream annual Easter Egg Hunt will coincide with the shop's spring opening. The store will open for its eighth season on Saturday with three different Irish-themed ice creams among the offerings, in honor of St. Patrick's Day.
Then on Sunday, the store will host its 6th annual Easter Egg Hunt at noon with the Easter Bunny himself acting as the celebrity scooper that day. Kids of all ages are welcome to pose with the bunny for photos, but only children ages 2-7 are eligible to hunt for the more than 4,000 Easter eggs hidden in nearby Moehling Park. Once again, you must bring your own basket.
"It takes two weeks to stuff the 4,000 eggs and 3 seconds for the kids to snatch them up," quips Katie Dolan Dix, co-owner of the shop. "It is a great community event."
Three other merchants, B&E Accounting, Novak and Parker and Dr. Scott Smoron, are co-sponsoring this free event with Capannari's this year.
Ellis Island: One woman's journey to make a better life for herself in a new land will be dramatically presented at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Mount Prospect Public Library, 10 S. Emerson St., in a program titled "Ellis Island: Gateway to America."
The program is being presented in honor of Women's History Month and as part of the Suburban Mosaic Program which seeks to promote understanding of the many races and ethnic backgrounds of people living in Chicago's Northwest suburbs.
Following her arrival on a cramped steamer at Ellis Island, the woman portrayed must endure more hardship and overcome a series of obstacles before being able to fully participate in American life.
In case you didn't know, 17 million people entered this country between 1892 and 1954 by passing through the immigration station on Ellis Island. It is said that more than 40 percent of all living Americans can trace their roots to an ancestor who immigrated through the New York station. I am one of them. My paternal grandmother arrived there from Scotland with her family when she was a small child.
Bucket Band concert: The River Trails Middle School Bucket Band/Steel Band will hold its biggest concert of the year at 7 p.m. Monday at the school, 1000 N. Wolf Road, Mount Prospect. The public is invited.
"The bucket band will feature lots of backlights, glow sticks and light shows with a lot of loud drumming," said Steve Flowers, director. "And the steel band portion features Caribbean and pop music played on the unique sounding steel drums."
Prevent shingles: If you have ever known anyone who contracted shingles, you know just how miserable and painful they can be. But there is now a way to prevent them in older adults. There is a vaccine available for those aged 60 and older.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Mount Prospect Human Services Department and the Healthy Aging Services staff from Northwest Community Hospital will jointly offer an educational seminar about shingles and the new shingles vaccine at village hall community center, 50 S. Emerson St. To register for this free presentation, call (847) 870-5680.