Where you can celebrate the last days of summer

Back-to-school ads. Labor Day sales. Football on TV. Earlier sunsets and nights below 60 degrees.

It's overrrr!

Stop panicking. Shut out those visions of snow shoveling and icy commutes. You don't have to let summer slip away just yet.

Celebrate the sweet last weeks of the season with a few of the warm-weather pursuits that got pushed off your calendar until now.

Splash in the surf. Ride the Scrambler. Have a cold one while the boys of summer swing a few bats. Snuggle up at the drive-in.

We've gathered plenty of ways for you to spend summer's home stretch. So grab your flip-flops and get going!

Dust off that disc

Frisbee golf enthusiasts can get a few more rounds in before the summer concludes at the 4th annual Doubles Disc Golf Tournament from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 30 at two Buffalo Grove Park District facilities: Twin Creeks Park, 401 Aptakisic Road, and Willow Stream Park, 600 Farrington Drive.

Two-player teams will play one 18-hole round at Twin Creeks and a second 18-hole round at Willow Stream in the all-ages tournament. Registration is $17 before Aug. 23 and $20 after, lunch included. Register at the Alcott Center, 530 Bernard Drive, Buffalo Grove. See illinoisdiscgolf.com/calendar for details and other events.

Hear free tunes

Many communities' free summer concert series have concluded, but some outdoor musical options still exist.

• Frank Winkler conducts the Symphonic Pops Orchestra in show tunes and patriotic favorites to end Schaumburg's Summer Breeze series, 7 p.m. Aug. 23 on the grounds of the Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center, Schaumburg Road and Summit Drive. (847) 895-3600.

• Stockwood, billed as "the world's youngest Beatles tribute band," is the final live act for Lombard's Cruise Nights (which continue through Sept. 13), 6 to 10 p.m. Aug. 23 at St. Charles Road and Park Avenue. (630) 620-5718.

• The Neverly Brothers' 1950s/'60s rock caps Deerfield's Summer Samplers, 5 p.m. Sunday at Mitchell Park, Wilmot Road and Hazel Avenue. (847) 945-0650.

• Bloomingdale's Summer Concert Series ends with the big band sounds of the Bobby Sanders Orchestra, 7 p.m. Aug. 26 in the Old Town Park Pavilion, 111 Third Street. (630) 529-3650.

Embark on a RenQuest

Instead of just passively watching the performers of the Bristol Renaissance Faire cavort in Elizabethan costumes, you can join in the festivities with the new RenQuest.

Billed as a live-action role-playing game a la Dungeons & Dragons, RenQuest allows guests to align themselves with two competing teams to win points after solving challenges and interacting with costumed characters (no word on whether multi-sided dice are needed).

Though some RenQuest games last multiple weekends, guests can still join up through the last day of the Faire on Sept. 1.

Head north to the Faire at 12550 120th Ave., Kenosha, Wis., on weekends from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets cost $18.95 for adults and $9.50 for kids younger than 12. RenQuest participation costs an extra $10 per day or $15 per weekend. Call (847) 395-7773 or visit renfair.com for more information.

Catch a ballgame

There's nothing quite like the crack of a bat, the roar of the crowd and a good hot dog in your hand, all while sitting under the summer sky. Better yet, you don't have to drive to Chicago to take in a baseball game. It's not too late to catch a few games with some suburban teams.

The Schaumburg Flyers finish their regular season playing the Gary South Shore Railcats in home games Aug. 29-31 at Alexian Field, 1999 Springinsguth Road, Schaumburg. The Aug. 29 game features fireworks. Aug. 30 is Military Appreciation Night. Tickets are $5-$11. Add an extra $1 for games with fireworks. Call (847) 891-2255 or visit flyersbaseball.com.

The Kane County Cougars will take on the Peoria Chiefs in their final regular season home games Aug. 29-31 at Philip B. Elfstrom Stadium in the Kane County Events Center, just south of the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Kirk Road in Geneva. Tickets are $8-$12. (630) 232-8811 or kccougars.com.

Play ball!

Get your feet wet

Most everyone knows that the summer swimming season starts shutting down when the lifeguards head back to their respective schools. But there's still a chance for you to splash and soak up the sun on sandy suburban beaches.

Here are some that are still open:

• Centennial Beach, 500 W. Jackson Ave., Naperville, is open weekends through Sept. 1. $6 residents; $10 nonresidents. Free parking. (630) 848-5090.

• Independence Grove, 16400 W. Buckley Road, Libertyville, is open weekends until closing on Sept. 1. $7 nonresidents; $4 residents. Parking is $10. (847) 968-3499.

• Main Beach, 300 Lake Shore Drive, Crystal Lake, is open daily through Sept. 1, though the swimming areas are limited. Free for residents (including parking); $6-$10 for nonresidents. Parking is $5. (815) 477-5404.

• Paulus Park Beach, 200 S. Rand Road, Lake Zurich, is open weekends until closing Sept. 1. $8; $5 for kids. Free parking. (847) 540-5083

So long (and thanks for all the fish)

If you love standing eye to eye with the Shedd Aquarium's beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters and penguins, you'd better get there quickly.

On Sept. 2, the Shedd plans to close its 3-million-gallon Oceanarium for roughly nine months so it can do $50 million worth of renovations. During that time, all of the Shedd's whales, dolphins and other Oceanarium occupants will be moved to different aquariums around the country.

It'll also be your last chance to see the Komodo King lizards, since that temporary exhibit will be closing, too.

The Oceanarium's renovation includes recoating the five pools, installing new interactive exhibits and updating the guest areas.

The rest of the aquarium will remain open, so you can still see thousands of fish, including sharks.

The upshot? Ticket prices will be reduced during renovation to $11.95-$17.95, depending on what you want to see. That's more than 50 percent off the regular ticket price. It's recommended that you buy your tickets in advance. Check sheddaquarium.org for up-to-date details.

Make summer last at Last Fling

There's something for everyone at Naperville's biggest festival of the year, the Last Fling. The event, which runs Aug. 29 through Sept. 1, takes place at various sites in Naperville and features main stage entertainment from national artists including the Doobie Brothers and Dennis DeYoung.

Guests can spin, fly and whirl to their heart's content at the carnival midway. The Family Fun Land at the Naper Settlement offers clowns, a petting zoo, and a Toddler Zone with inflatables and activities for the younger guests. Special events include Big Wheel Races and the Four-Legged Follies dog show.

And don't miss the Labor Day Parade, which begins at 10 a.m. Sept. 1 in the downtown area. This year's parade theme is "Restore Our Green Earth." Fees are charged for carnival rides and main stage entertainment. For schedule and information, visit lastfling.org.

Horse around with the stallions

This summer marks a very special anniversary for Tempel Farms and its performing Tempel Lipizzan stallions.

Fifty years ago, the first Lipizzan horses from Vienna arrived in Illinois. Since then, nearly 900 Lipizzans have been born and bred at Tempel Farms, the only place in the United States to do so. But the exclusivity doesn't end there. If Chicago wins its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, Tempel Farms will be the site for the Olympic equestrian events. So if you have wishful Olympic visions in your head, why not take in a show of Lipizzan "horse ballets" and imagine competitors from around the world gracing the Farm's famed grounds?

Performances are at 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays and 1 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 31 at Tempel Farms, 17000 Wadsworth Road, Wadsworth. Tickets are $18, $15 for seniors and $10 for kids ages 14 and younger. Call (847) 623-7272 or visit tempelfarms.com.

Screen some front-seat flicks

Only two drive-in movie theaters are left in the area. Sure, they screen mainstream films rather than the alien/bikini/biker/slasher trash that used to make drive-ins so much fun, but their open-air environments and double-feature bills present a unique and cost-effective alternative to mediocre multiscreen movie houses (or worse, waiting until DVD).

• The Cascade Drive-In, 26W741 North Ave., West Chicago, opened in 1961 and remains the largest outdoor theater in the state, offering new Hollywood releases with parking for 1,200 vehicles. The box office opens at 7 p.m. daily through October, rain or shine. Cash-only admission costs $8.50 for adults, $4.50 for ages 5 through 11; kids ages 4 or younger and pets get in free. (630) 231-3150 or cascadedrivein.com.

• The McHenry Outdoor Theatre, 1510 N. Chapel Hill Road, McHenry, has been around since 1955. It does its best to book family-friendly films, so it's probably a better place to bring your kids than your hot date. Gates open at about 6:30 p.m. on weekends and 7 p.m. on weekdays, and the theater will remain open until at least September, when classics from "Back to the Future" to "Jaws" to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" are planned as Friday/Saturday specials. Admission is cash only, priced at $7 for adults, $3 for seniors and ages 11 and younger. (815) 385-0144 or cyouatthemovies.com/theatres/mchenryoutdoortheatre.html.

Savor the dog days

Stick the kids in the back seat and drive up to Ingleside or Grayslake for a Coney Dog with the works and a side of retro.

Dog N' Suds drive-ins (454 Center St., Grayslake, or Rollins Road and Washington Street, Ingleside) continue to operate as they did when the chain started in Central Illinois in 1944. A la "American Graffiti," drivers park under a canopy and servers bring the grub to the car. Because of that SOP, the restaurants close in the winter rather than have servers don snowshoes.

The Grayslake location plans to close Oct. 5, but the Ingleside spot is keeping its options open.

"We might stay open till the end of October if it's still nice," supervisor Jill Connerty says. "Nice" meaning no snow.

In those final weeks, things don't slow down much, she says.

"People want one last Texas Burger, one last mug of root beer," Connerty says. "They want their fix before winter starts."