Lake County briefs

SpringFest Expo at Lakes Community High School:

The Lindenhurst-Lake Villa Chamber of Commerce hosts its 6th annual "SpringFest" business expo at Lakes Community High School, April 4 and 5. The event is 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, and is free and open to the public. This year's theme is "The Race is on to SpringFest" and will feature more than 130 exhibitors. Organizers expect more than 5,000 people to attend. WKRS AM 1220 personality Jerry Booth will host his "Garage Talk" program live from the show Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon. Magician Brent Allen also will perform. Lakes Community High School is on Grass Lake Road, just east of Deep Lake Road, Lake Villa. For details, call (847)-356-8446.

Special needs athletes day in Lake Zurich:

The village of Lake Zurich will observe its 11th annual special needs athletes day April 24. Participants in the local special needs athletic program will compete in the Northern Illinois Area 2 Special Olympics on April 26 at North Central College in Naperville. The special needs athletic program is run by Lake Zurich High School volunteers and includes basketball, bowling, dancing and track and field programs. The after-school program has 28 athletes and more than 100 volunteers.

Financial award for park district:

Gurnee Park District officials recently announced the agency has received financial praise for the 11th consecutive year. The park district was given a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The district was lauded for its comprehensive annual financial report. The organization says the award is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.