New digs at Greenbelt open to public tour

Celebrate the opening of the newly expanded and renovated Greenbelt Cultural Center in North Chicago at a free event from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. The event is open to all ages and will feature tours, refreshments, entertainment and children#146;s activities to showcase the center#146;s expansion. #147;We are very excited to unveil to the public the wonderful additions and improvements that are part of the expansion of Greenbelt Cultural Center,#148; said Ann Maine, Lake County Forest Preserve District board president.#147;An important part of our mission and a goal for this expansion was to provide more educational space for the surrounding communities. This popular community gathering place now features two dedicated classrooms and an outdoor pond that will be used to teach a full selection of environmental education programs to schoolchildren.#148;The center has more than doubled in size, from 7,500 square feet to 18,500 square feet, and offers a new multipurpose room for events and meetings that can seat 350 people.Grand opening visitors can see #147;A Picture is Worth a Thousand Yards: Sports Photography of Walter Payton,#148; an exhibit now on display in the new community art gallery.Tours also will provide information about the green technologies integrated into the design. These include geothermal heating and cooling systems, passive heating and cooling (natural ventilation), use of sustainable materials, a green roof, natural day lighting, high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, and the North Shore Gas Living Wall made of air purifying plants.

The Greenbelt Cultural Center first opened to the public in August 2000. During the past decade, it has met the goals to bring people and nature together, provide a venue where everyone can enjoy and learn about the environment, the arts and the diverse and colorful cultures that make up Lake County#146;s population. Popular programs such as Profiles in Excellence, Fiestas Patrias, community theater and the summer concert series are hosted at the center.The Cultural Center is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. It is open Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays only when a festival or other special event is scheduled. Enter on Green Bay Road, south of Route 120 (Belvidere Road). For details, call (847) 968-3477.