Early-bird passes end today; pools prepare to open
This weekend marks the honorary start of summer, and today is the last day to buy your Schaumburg Park District pool pass at the early-bird rate.
Meineke Pool and Volkening Lake will be the first to open with limited hours Saturday.
Besides its 50-meter pool, Meineke features a waterslide, diving well, wading pool and concessions. Volkening Lake has canoes and paddleboats for rent. Official summer hours for both facilities start June 4.
Bock Pool, Atcher Island Water Park and the park district's indoor water park, The Water Works, also begin summer hours June 4.
Atcher Island has water slides, wading pools, a sprayground, locker rooms and a concession stand. Bock Pool has a wading pool with slide, diving area, locker rooms and concessions.
A variety of options exist for membership passes for all five facilities. Call (847) 985-2115 or go to the Web site parkfun.com.
Go fly a kite: The Schaumburg Park District will make your spirit soar Saturday.
The district's Meineke Recreation Center will host Flying4 KIDS, a statewide kite fly to raise awareness for the Park District Youth License Plate program.
The event takes place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the recreation center at 220 E. Weathersfield Way.
There's no admission cost. Families, kids, kite enthusiasts and novices are invited to come and enjoy a day of good old-fashioned kite-flying and refreshments.
Bring your favorite kite or build one on site with the district's kite-making kits.
Proceeds from the license plates go to park districts and recreations agencies across Illinois to provide innovative, after-school youth programs.
Two members of the Chicago Kite/Kite Harbor group, which performs throughout the Chicago area, will attend the event.
For more info, visit parkfun.com or call (847) 985-2143.
Sundays at the Cabin: Step back in time this summer to Schaumburg's humble beginnings as a rural German farming community with a visit to Spring Valley Nature Center's Merkle Cabin.
Nestled among the pines just a short distance from the visitor center at 1111 E. Schaumburg Road, the cabin is now open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays through July.
Trained volunteers are on hand weekly to share information about the fascinating history of the site.
Also, the first Sunday of June and July will feature demonstrations of hearth cooking and other early American food preparations. Other Sundays are designed for family fun and will feature craft projects for $1 or less.
On June 1 and 8, visitors can learn the story of the Redeker peony farm and view the descendants of the original peony flowers growing there today.
For more information, call (847) 985-2100.
• Eric Peterson covers Schaumburg. Contact him with your story ideas at (847) 427-4482 or epeterson@dailyherald.com.