Concert to benefit new home for sandhill cranes

Local bands will bust out their guitars, play Celtic tunes and rock out Saturday in Oak Brook all in the name of … birds.

And why not, since DuPage County is home to two sandhill cranes who are in quite a pinch?

After serving as surrogate parents to a flock of whooping cranes that environmentalists helped save from extinction, the DuPage birds are now too accustomed to human contact to re-enter their natural habitat.

So members of the Willowbrook Wildlife Foundation, which supports the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, will raise money for a new sandhill crane exhibit at the center.

Roger Kotecki, a trustee for the foundation, said moving the cranes to Willowbrook from their current home at St. James Farm in Winfield will help both the birds and local residents.

"We don't really have a good enclosure at St. James, so it makes a lot more sense to have them at Willowbrook, where we can better care for them and use it for our educational programs," Kotecki said.

The $100,000 cage, which will feature a pond for the birds, is the largest fundraising project the foundation has ever pursued.

Kotecki says that's why the group is kicking off this fundraiser with a bang, hosting performances by local folk and acoustic bands at Mayslake Peabody Estate Saturday in Oak Brook. Performers include The Grasslands Quartet, the Old Time Country and Blues Revue, Cooper and Nelson, and Patti Ecker.

There is no set ticket price, but Kotecki said organizers hope music (and bird) lovers will dig deep at the doors.

"We would like people to be generous, but we're not going to turn anyone away because we'd like to have fun too," he said.

The foundation also has organized pie sales and an auction for a "Cranes in Silhouette" quilt during the concert to raise additional funds.

For more details, call Kotecki at (630) 393-1890 or e-mail rkotecki@dupageforest.com.

If you go

What: Concert for the Cranes to benefit Willowbrook Wildlife Foundation in Glen Ellyn

When:2 to 5 p.m. Saturday

Where: Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook

Cost: Donations accepted

Details: (630) 393-1890 or www.dupageforest.com