Itasca's village hall saves festival by harboring pets

Lack of electricity didn't stop Itasca's Spring Brook Nature Center from celebrating its annual family festival.

Organizers simply shifted all of the activities over to Itasca's village hall, where there was not only power -- but plenty of room to spread out stations of snakes, turtles, animal tattoos, games, raffles, the Illinois Natural History Survey's Traveling Science Center, crafts, storytelling, nature walks and face painting.

The location change prompted organizers to put in four early hours of extra setup work, but it was appreciated by those who attended. The theme for this year's 27th Anniversary Family Festival was Biodiversity.

David Evans, 7, of Roselle couldn't keep his hands off the animals -- especially the turtles and snakes.

"I like the snakes because they feel like a basketball," he said.

Jacob Pollack, 3, of Itasca and his mom, Melissa, were busy painting a rock Sunday afternoon.

"We just came for some fun," Melissa Pollack said as she put eyes on Jacob's rock, which was splashed with blue and pink paint.

After his rock was ready to go, Jacob was off to see the turtles.

Older children also enjoyed the activities. Francesca Catalano, 10, of Itasca played games featuring animals and amphibians with her brother, friend and parents.

"It's really fun, and it's going great," she said. "My favorite was the ring toss."