Celebration supports Springbrook's nature education

Not every young student gets into sports. Some are more interested in learning about what a hissing cockroach eats for breakfast or what kind of raptors make the Illinois woodlands their homes.

So it was with one of Kara Fleming's three sons. From an early age, he spent his free time at the Springbrook Nature Center in Itasca.

"He grew up at the nature center," said Fleming, a teacher in Glenbard High School District 87 who is chairwoman of the Friends of Springbrook fundraising organization. "The nature center in Itasca is a wonderful asset. It offers so much to so many different age groups."

On Saturday, Sept. 26, the second annual Springbrook Celebration fundraiser will bring opportunities for family fun along with a chance to help support the center's educational and recreational mission.

Fleming said the center is a popular year-round retreat for children and adults alike.

"A lot of people walk and bike. You can go in the evening, you almost always run into a deer," she said.

For adults, the Springbrook Celebration will offer wine and beer tastings, nature walks and music. Younger visitors will find crafts, games, face painting, bounce houses and encounters with exotic animals, courtesy of an animal handler. A roving guitarist will entertain.

Each adult ticketholder will receive four drink-tasting tickets, Fleming said. Craft beers from the Church Street Brewing Company and the Itasca Brewing Company, along with wines from Itasca's Wine With Me shop, will be available.

Children ticketholders will get snacks and beverages.

Every ticketholder also will get an entrant into the duck derby, Fleming said. Rubber ducks will bounce along the current of the center's creek, racing for the finish. The first ducks to float all the way will win prizes for their owners. Fleming said prizes include a gym membership for two through the Itasca Park District, wine tastings at Lynfred Winery in Roselle and an overnight stay at the Eaglewood Resort in Itasca. There also will be gift certificates for several local restaurants, she said. Raffle prizes will include an Itasca Country Club social membership and a 2016 Itasca Waterpark family season pass.

Birds of prey, lizards and fish will be on display at the center, she said, where there also will be a scavenger hunt offering prizes. Fleming said several donors have contributed funds and in-kind donations to the event.

The event will go on even if it rains, she said. If skies threaten, visitors will be moved indoors at the center and sheltered in the park's gazebo.

"The whole thing is a fundraiser for Friends of Springbrook," said Fleming. Currently the chairwoman of the fundraising group, Fleming has been on the organization's board of directors for six years.

She said the organization awards college scholarships to Lake Park High School students who demonstrate an interest in environmentalism. It also helps support the Junior Naturalists Club for students ages 10 through 18.

Preregistration for the Springbrook Celebration, which runs from 3:30 to 6 p.m., is $15 for adults, $10 for children; admission at the event is $18 for adults, $12 for children. Visitors may register through the Itasca Park District.

"Everything we earn that day goes back into the center," she said.

If you go

What: Springbrook Celebration

When: 3:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26

Where: Springbrook Nature Center, 130 Forest Ave., Itasca

Tickets: $15 for adults, $10 for children in advance; $18 for adults, $12 for children at the door; register through the Itasca Park District

Info: itascaparkdistrict.com