On the road: Party for the Planet at Brookfield Zoo
Earth Day worth it
Earth Day at Brookfield Zoo means a special Party for the Planet celebration. The daylong event highlights polar bears and the effects of climate change on wildlife. Festivities will feature fun ways to learn how to do things that help the environment, live entertainment, crafts and activities, zoo chats and an electronic recycling event. There also will be a cooking demo and kids can help plant flowers outside the Hamill Family Play Zoo.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at 3300 Golf Road, Brookfield. General admission is $13.50 for adults, $9.50 for children 3-11 and seniors 65 and older. Children 2 and younger admitted free. Parking is $9. Visit CZS.org/Events.
Chicago
Crumpets and couture
Since your invitation to the royal wedding still hasn't shown up, the 900 North Michigan Shops and the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago offer to dry your tears with a “Crumpets and Couture” event. London fashion will be on parade as retailers Karen Millen and soon-to-open L.K. Bennett feature their collections while you sip English tea, watch coverage of the royal wedding, have a champagne toast, snag a gift bag and enter a raffle. Executive chef Kevin Hickey will presents an English-inspired tea menu of crumpets, fresh baked scones, whipped double Devon cream and preserves, tea sandwiches, tea bread and pastries.
3 p.m. Friday, April 29, at 120 E. Delaware Place, Chicago. The cost is $55 per person. For reservations, visit shop900.com/royalweddingtea or call (312) 649-2349.
Sensory overload
Grab a seat at a free concert of innovative electronic music and digital art as part of the Music Under the Dome series at the Chicago Cultural Center. Avant_MUTEK, with Quebec's Gemmiform and Thierry Gauthier, combines electronic music, acoustic improvisations and audiovisual art for a full sensory experience under the Tiffany dome.
6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at Chicago Cultural Center's Preston Bradley Hall, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago. Free admission. Visit ChicagoCulturalCenter.org or call (312) 744-6630.
Trump this
The Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago will offer a special “Kids in the City” package. The package features a signature Trump kids welcome amenity, the option to reserve gaming systems such as Wii, PlayStation or Xbox, and popular board games for in-room fun, a turndown snack of milk and house-made cookies, overnight accommodations in a suite, continental breakfast for two in the restaurant Sixteen, a nightly $15 hotel credit, special in-room dining options and treatments at The Spa at Trump.
The package is available through Dec. 30 at 401 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago. Rates start at $415 per night. Call (312) 588-8000 or visit trumpchicagohotel.com.
Midwest
Lodge anniversary
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Maumee Bay State Park Lodge in Oregon, Ohio, offers an open house, guided tours and discounted room rates on Sunday, May 1. On selected dates throughout the month, the lodge will also offer rates at 1991 levels. The full-service, resort-style lodge features 120 guest rooms, 24 cottages and 24 Lake Erie marina slips. Check out the 18-hole golf course, tennis and basketball courts, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, children's play room, racquetball and wallyball courts. Canoes, paddleboats and bikes are available to rent, and there are miles of hiking and biking trails.
All standard and lake-view rooms with two double beds are $20 Sunday May 1 at the lodge, 1750 State Park Road, Oregon, Ohio. Rooms will be $79 per night May 8, 15-17, 22, 25, 30-31. Visit maumeebaystateparklodge.com or call (800) 282-7275 and use the promotional code HOTDATE.
Over there
Stepping back into history is as close as Muskegon, Mich., when you visit the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum. Located on the Muskegon Channel, the facility offers tours of two World War II ships. The USS Silversides is the most decorated surviving submarine from World War II and the USCGC McLane is a 1927 Coast Guard Cutter that patrolled the Bering Sea. Visitors can watch a movie about the Pearl Harbor attack and spend the night aboard one of the historic vessels.
Tours run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day in April, May, September and October, and from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in June, July and August at the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum, 1346 Bluff St., Muskegon, Mich. Closed for Easter from Friday to Sunday, April 22-24. Call (231) 755-1230 or visit glnmm.org.
Worth the trip
If you're looking for bike tours as opposed to bus tours, consider Time to Celebrate offered by the Preferred Hotel Group. Book a two-night stay at any of the more than 100 Preferred Hotel Group destinations worldwide, and your second night will be $65 or local currency equivalent. Explore the temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia; take a camel safari through Udaipur, India; or enjoy the ocean at Delray Beach, Fla.
Offer valid through May 31. Visit phgoffers.com/babyboomer.