Get out of the dugout and Play Ball, Chicago!
Chicago
Get out of the dugout
North Side, South Side, it's time to come together to worship at the altar of the diamond during the second annual Play Ball, Chicago! from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, on Daley Plaza (Washington and Dearborn streets). Be you fans of the Sox or Cubs, Kane County Cougars, Windy City Thunderbolts, Joliet Jackhammers or the Schaumburg Flyers, bring the family for a feast of free activities including picture booths, baseball inflatables, autograph sessions and photo scenes of Wrigley and the Cell. Get the stats at www.ci.chi.il.us/specialevents.
Made in China
Chicago is a treasure-trove of public art and the tradition continues when contemporary Chinese art arrives Thursday, April 9, at Millennium Park. Four colossal sculptures by Sui Jianguo, Zhan Wang, Shen Shaomin and Chen Wenling, some of China's leading sculptors and installation artists, grace the outdoor Boeing Galleries. The sculptures, never before seen in the United States, are substantially different from one another, but are supposed to inspire connections among issues such as materialism and the energy crisis. Ask the kids what they think of the world-class exhibition on display from June 11 to Aug. 27. Staff members offer free tours of the sculptures at 12:15 p.m. every Thursday. Visit millenniumpark.org or call (312) 742-1168.
X marks the spot at Navy Pier
The gamers in your family will be thrilled to test their skills when they visit "Game On!" at Navy Pier. From Saturday, April 4, to Wednesday, April 15, there will be two daily Guitar Hero: World Tour Tournaments for prizes like a $150 Best Buy Gift Card or an Xbox 360 console. Don't want to enter the tournament? Come and play Xbox 360 games like "Madden Live 2009," "NBA 2K Live," "Cars, Project Gotham Racing 4" and more and Microsoft Zune DJ will play from a library of over 20,000 songs. Admission is free; open play is $5 all day; tournament play is $10, which includes entry into video game competition and open play. Visit navypier.com for a discount coupon or call (312) 595-7437 for more info,
Midwest
I've been waiting for a gourd like you
It'll be a gourd-geous day in April at the Third Annual Wisconsin Gourd Society "Gourds Gone Wild" Festival Saturday, April 4, at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave, Madison, Wis.
The group promises a fun-packed event with classes, gourd art and supply vendors and a special place for kids to learn about and decorate gourds all set amid the natural beauty of the botanical gardens. Vendors offer raw gourds, gourd art, supplies and embellishments, beads, color products, gourd jewelry and gourd instruments. Stay for the silent auction and raffle held throughout the day with raffle winners announced hourly. Admission and parking are free. Free. Visit olbrich.org or call (608) 437-1944.
Sappy trails to you
The sap and the sugar bush partner up to make Shepherd, Mich., the "Sweetest Little Town Anywhere Around" during the 51st Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival, Friday to Sunday, April 24-26. Folks have been working hard for months already. It takes between 40 and 50 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup and the festival goes through more than 1,000 gallons of the sugary stuff. Pancake meals, syrup-making demonstrations, parades, amusement rides, arts and crafts and entertainment are just some of the events lined up for this year's bash. Visit shepherdmaplesyrupfestival.org or get travel and hotel information by calling (800) 644-2489.
You should be dancing, yeah!
With six dance divisions, anyone who uttered the words, "I can do that" while watching "Dancing with the Stars" should head to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Hawkeye Swing Festival, Friday to Sunday, April 17-19. Amateur dancers will be strutting their stuff and the team competition is fierce as teams boogie it out for the Cutters' Cup. Not up to snuff yet? There are classes for all levels, dances with live music, DJs playing jazz and blues favorites as well as contests among competitors from all across the Midwest. Bop by hawkeyeswingfestival.com for details.
Worth the trip
Voted one of "America's 20 Prettiest Towns" by Forbes Traveler in 2008, Cape May, N.J., is a seaside resort with award-winning beaches and lovely Victorian homes, hotels and guesthouses. Experience this National Historic Landmark City in full bloom for the 14th annual Cape May Spring Festival, Friday, April 24, to Sunday, May 3. There will be Victorian house tours, garden tours, murder-mystery lunches and dinners, ghost tours, crafts and antiques shows, artist and studio tours, food and wine events and much more. Cape May, America's oldest seaside resort, is also a top site for birders and antique lovers and there's nary a chain store in sight. Stroll around capemaymac.org for more information or call (609) 884-5508 for a visitor's guide.