Cheap stuff: Polish Fest, World's Fair show, soap box derby
$10 and under
Polish Fest
The Sons of the American Legion host their Polish Fest, featuring traditional Polish music and an all-you-can-eat Polish meal. Fare includes cabbage rolls, pierogi, kielbasa, potato pancakes, pork cutlets, salads, desserts and more. Event is open to the public.
7 to 11 p.m. Friday, April 16, at the American Legion Hall, 122 W. Palatine Road, Palatine. Tickets are $10 at door. Call (847) 359-1606 or visit amlegion-palatinepost690.org.
International Quilt Festival
The spring edition of the annual International Quilt Festival/Chicago attracts an estimated 20,000 quilt artists and collectors. The event features more than 7,000 quilts, textiles and wearable art on display. Other highlights include classes, lectures and vendors with 500 booths of quilts, fabrics, books, notions, crafts, machines and supplies.
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont. Admission is $8-$10. Children ages 10 and under are fee with a paying adult. (713) 781-6864 or visit quilts.com.
Chicagoland Breweriana Society's Show
See beer cans, bottles, glasses, light-up signs, coasters, tap knobs and microbrewery items.
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at the VFW Post 9284, 400 E. Devon Ave., Elk Grove Village. Admission is $1. (630) 778-1482.
Meet me at the World's Fair
Collectors and dealers meet to buy, sell and trade items relating to the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair at the 16th Annual World's Fair Memorabilia Show. Items from the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition and other Chicago-related items are featured. Other highlights include home movies and newsreel footage of Chicago and World's Fairs.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at the Holiday Inn, 1000 Busse Road, Elk Grove Village. Admission is $4-$5. (Early preview admission at 9 a.m. is $20). Visit worldsfairshow.com.
Free
Sheep Shearing
Watch as the sheep from Kline Creek Farm lose their winter coats in the Sheep Shearing program. Shearing will take place by both modern and old-fashioned methods, including 100-year-old hand-cranked shears. See what happens when wool is scoured, carded and spun into yarn during demonstrations. Guests can also watch as demonstrator John Seraphine's border collies herd and move sheep from pasture to pasture.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 17, and Sunday, April 18, at Kline Creek Farm, 1N600 County Farm Road, West Chicago. Free. No registration is required. (630) 876-5900 or dupageforest.org.
Start your soap boxes!
The Greater Chicago Soap Box Derby Association invites youngsters ages 8 to 17 to participate in the group's annual Rookie Race. Kids can race down a hill in an official club-provided Soap Box Derby car. Spectators are welcome. Pre-registration is required; slots fill up quickly.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at Frontenac and Dielh roads, Naperville. Free. Call (630) 841-8832, or visit chicagosoapboxderby.org.
Much more than juggling
Performer Mike Vondruska performs juggling, comedy, unicycling and ball spinning tricks.
2 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at the Round Lake Area Public Library, 906 Hart Road, Round Lake. For all ages. Free. (847) 546-7060.
Harry's world
See the traveling Harry Potter exhibit "Harry Potter's World: Renaissance Science, Magic and Medicine," for just a few more weeks at the Vernon Area Public Library District. The exhibit, developed and produced by the National Library of Medicine, runs through Sunday, May 2, and explores Harry Potter's world and its roots in Renaissance science.
During regular library hours through Sunday, May 2, at the Vernon Area Public Library District, 300 Olde Half Day Road, Lincolnshire. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. (847) 634-3650 or visit vapld.info.