Leapin' Lizards! Lombard plans Orphan Annie party

There's a reason Little Orphan Annie always looked so young.

Some say she attributed it to her birthday, which apparently fell on Feb. 29.

This Leap Year, the Lombard Historical Society is holding a birthday celebration for the adventurous redhead to highlight the village's connection to the classic comic strip.

"Annie has such a neat history," said Natalie Troiani, director of the Lombard Historical Society. "The gentleman (Harold Gray) who created Little Orphan Annie actually was a Lombard resident and was living in Lombard when he came up with it."

Families are invited to attend Annie's birthday party from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Victorian Cottage, 23 W. Maple St. The event is free and open to the public.

Children will have a chance to play games that were popular during Annie's time and create a "Leapin' Lizards!" craft, inspired by one of her favorite phrases. There also will be Annie coloring pages, cookie decorating and other family activities.

Aside from highlighting Gray's work, the event is serving as a promotion for the historical society's new Saturday museum hours. Earlier this month, the group decided to close the Victorian Cottage and Sheldon Peck Homestead on Sundays and instead open them from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

"We noticed there was not as much traffic as we were hoping to see on the weekends," Troiani said. "We're hoping that being open longer hours on Saturdays will draw in more people who are maybe just out and about."

For details, call (630) 629-1885 or visit lombardhistory.org.