Fashion Focus Chicago 2009 brings the hottest looks to Millennium Park

Chicago

Up on the catwalk

Fashion Focus Chicago 2009 brings the hottest looks to Millennium Park and venues throughout the city for four days of runway shows, cutting-edge designs from emerging artists, shopping events and previews of designers' latest collections for spring 2010. Put it all together with Sofitel Chicago Water Tower's Fashion Focus package, featuring accommodations, VIP event tickets, designer consultations, dinner for two and more. When you book a stay between Thursday and Sunday, Oct. 22-25, (starting rates of $365 per person, per night), you claim luxurious guest room accommodations; two tickets to a Fashion Focus Chicago fashion show; two VIP fashion show passes providing access to the preshow reception and reserved seating at the fashion show; $500 Maria Pinto gift certificate (good toward any purchase of $1,000 or more); personal fashion consultation; and dinner for two in Café des Architectes.

Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 22-25, at 20 E. Chestnut St. (312) 324-4000 or sofitel.com.

It's all about you

The Museum of Science and Industry is ready to unveil its newest permanent exhibit - YOU! The Experience. The complex mix of choices, your personality and environment and thousands of other variables make you, well, you, and the exhibit brings these elements together in a 15,000-square-foot interactive space. See your face age 20 years according to your lifestyle choices, examine real human embryos and fetuses illustrating the wonders of human development, test your basketball moves with a virtual coach or play a game of "competitive relaxation" in which players win by controlling their brain waves.

9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. The museum is offering free general admission on weekdays from Thursday, Oct. 8, to Friday, Oct. 30. (773) 684-1414 or msichicago.org.

Dead would be grateful

By the far the most popular exhibit every year at the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Day of the Dead display dazzles adults and children with ofrendas (altars), sugar skull sculptures and colorful art in many media celebrating the dearly departed in weird and wonderful ways. "Camino a Casa: Coming Home on Day of the Dead," is the largest Day of the Dead exhibition in the nation and includes works of art from Mexico and the United States. Programs, held in Spanish and English, include public tours, children's art classes and sugar skull demonstrations.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays through Dec. 13 at 1852 W. 19th St., Chicago. Free admission. (312) 738-1503 or nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org.

Midwest

Galena arena

Fall is ideal for a trip to the hills of northwestern Illinois and the 30th annual Galena Country Fair adds to the autumnal fun. More than 150 vendors display original handmade arts, crafts and fine arts plus there's a bakery, farmers' goods, kids' activities and live performances in Grant Park overlooking the historic town.

Can't make it over the long Columbus Day weekend? Plan a stay at Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa later this season when the resort offers value-driven packages. Try hiking, horseback riding, hayrides and more. Value Season Rates run Oct. 25 to Dec. 24 and Jan. 1 to May 21.

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10-11. Visit galenacountryfair.org. For information on Eagle Ridge Resort, call (815) 777-5000 or visit eagleridge.com.

You're covered

The Madison County Covered Bridge Festival in Winterset, Iowa, southwest of Des Moines, celebrates the famous covered bridges, John Wayne's birthplace and George Washington Carver's time in town. Take a guided bus tour to the bridges, free horse-drawn wagon ride to Wayne's house, enjoy appearances by Carver and other historical figures, spelling bees, a belt-buckle auction, live music and an antique vehicles parade.

6:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11. (515) 462-1185 or madisoncounty.com/bridge_fest.html.

Reap Harvest Fest

Harvest Fest, held on the city square of Wausau, Wis., has all of nature's accessories for a great autumn getaway - fall colors, crisp air and crunchy leaves as well as a pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, live music, vendors, arts and crafts and a scarecrow decorating contest. Wausau offers a bevy of additional attractions, too. The area boasts one of the top white-water courses in the United States and the Ice Age Trail is only one of eight National Scenic Trails in the country. The Three Day Weekend, a promotion offered by the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau, offers a free room on Sunday after a Friday and Saturday stay at any one of 20 participating hotels.

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, in downtown Wausau, Wis. The special lodging promotion is offered every weekend through the end of the year. (715) 843-0748 or visitwausau.com.

Worth the trip

For most of us, scary tarantulas make great Halloween decorations, but the folks in Coarsegold, Calif., celebrate and embrace these eight-legged arachnids. The mining town pays homage to tarantulas during the annual Coarsegold Tarantula Festival. Fest events include a cheesecake contest, pizza-eating competition, trick-or-treat parade, a hairiest leg contest with men and women's categories, and tarantula races. Or you can enter the spider "scream off" where vocal competitors challenge each other with the most bloodcurdling scream. The Yosemite/Sierra Country area also offers wine trails, bald eagle viewing, a National Scenic Byway and Yosemite National Park.

10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. (559) 683-3900 or coarsegoldhistoricvillage.com/Tartantula.html.