Spring is a funny thing in Chicago. The February thaw that leaves everyone hoping that spring has arrived early usually is followed by the April blizzard. Those who are counting the days until the Memorial Day weekend need not suffer cabin fever. There is plenty to do in that blustery time of the year between snow and sand-otherwise known as spring-and much of it is in Wisconsin. Our neighbor to the north offers dozens of activities for day trips or weekend getaways to break up the winter blahs and have you entering summer at a run.
– A good place to put you in the vacation mood would be the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, whose current art exhibit is titled “Getting There Is Half the Fun.” The exhibit takes a look at the great American vacation by offering the perspectives of 36 Wisconsin and Michigan 19th and 20th Century artists. The art ranges from paintings and photographs to sculpture. The exhibit runs through March 30.
– The Fox Cities Paper Arts Festival is a natural for one of the nation’s largest producers of paper products. The festival (March 31-May 7) will feature paper-making demonstrations, paper sculpture, paper-kite creations, paper lanterns and numerous paper art exhibits and workshops in paper crafting. Call 414-730-2882.
– Stevens Point is having its Festival of Arts at the University of Wisconsin campus April 2. More than 50 artists from six neighboring Midwest states will exhibit their work, ranging from painting and photography to jewelry and stained glass. Call 800-236-4636.
– More than 200 boats are expected to participate in the April 29 Pewaukee River Run Canoe and Kayak Race. The 6-mile run begins in Pewaukee and ends on the Fox River in Waukesha just north of Frame Park. Call 414-691-2250.
– Wisconsin history comes alive at Fur Trading Days May 5-7 at the Bloody Lake Rendezvous in Woodford. People come from across the country to display furs, demonstrate the process of loading a flintlock musket and prepare Indian fry bread and buffalo burgers. Call 608-966-3728.
– Door County is hoping April showers bring May flowers for its May 5-28 Festival of Blossoms. Door County residents planted 1 million daffodil bulbs that should be blooming, in addition to the apple and cherry blossoms and countless wildflowers. Call 800-52-RELAX.
Tennis, everyone?
Sportsworld has 27 tour packages to this year’s Wimbledon Championships that will offer fans even on the strictest of budgets a chance to see a piece of tennis history. Prices vary according to ticket packages, accommodations and length of stay, but they range from $775 to $4,700. The price includes accommodations at the hotel of your choice, full English breakfast daily, and reserved tickets at Centre, Number One or Number Two Courts. In addition, there are theater tickets to any of eight plays and five day and half-day tour excursions available at extra cost for those times when you’re not courtside.
Sportsworld’s VIP option adds a touch of luxury to the tour by offering, among other things, champagne, flowers and chocolates upon your arrival in the hotel room, chauffeur-driven transfers between your hotel and Wimbledon on the days you have tickets, ticket to a top London show, private guide for sightseeing, and a leather-bound copy of “Guide to Good Living in London.” For a booklet describing each tour option, call 800-278-6738.
– If you really want to do Wimbledon as if you were to the manner born, Steve Furgal’s International Tennis is offering the “Best of the Best” tennis tour June 23-July 3, and it’s deluxe all the way. The tour begins in New York, where you will board the Concorde for the New York-to-London flight and a five-night stay at the five-star Regent Hotel in London’s Marylebone district.
You will arrive at Wimbledon via limousine and have Centre Court Debenture tickets for June 26, the opening day of the tournament, and June 27. With the ticket comes the Debenture Holder’s Lounge Pass, which features a restaurant, bar and viewing area of the outside courts. In addition to world-class tennis, you will receive a theater ticket to the play of your choice in London. For the finale, you will leave England on June 28th and return to New York aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 with outside stateroom accommodations. You will arrive in New York on July 3.
The cost for this princely vacation is $7,695 per person, based on double occupancy (single supplement varies). For readers who mention that they read of this tour in the Tribune, International Tennis will give a $200 per-person discount. Call 800-258-3664.
New routes
The summer travel season will be upon us shortly, and several airlines are offering new flights to favorite international destinations.
– It might be a little early to be thinking about Oktoberfest in Munich, but it’s never too early to start planning. Starting March 26, Lufthansa is establishing daily non-stop service between Chicago and the Bavarian capital. The flights will depart Chicago at 5:25 p.m. and arrive in Munich at 9 a.m. the following day. Return flights leave Munich at 11:30 a.m. and arrive at O’Hare at 1:55 p.m. the same day. In addition, Munich’s new international airport serves as an alternative hub for Lufthansa, so there are quick and convenient connections to other European capitals and major cities.
– Also starting March 26, Scandinavian Airlines is establishing five non-stop flights per week between Chicago and Copenhagen with daily service beginning May 1. Flights will leave Chicago March 26 through April 30 on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and arrive in Copenhagen the next day at 7:45 a.m. Return flights leave Copenhagen at 10:40 a.m. and arrive in Chicago at 12:50 p.m. the same day.
– American Airlines begins daily non-stop service between Chicago and Ottawa, Winnipeg and Calgary beginning May 25. There will be three daily non-stops between Chicago and Ottawa, three between Chicago and Winnipeg and two between Chicago and Calgary.
