In-line skates are the latest must-haves on American’s wish list of material possessions. “Everybody has to have a computer, a high-tech bike and a pair of in-line skates these days,” says Jan Caille, executive director of Capri Events, Inc. Those who haven’t made the necessary purchases yet, can try out a pair of in-line skates at Sunday’s Sportmart/Rollerblade “Skate It Up Baby” in Palatine.
It includes in-line skating races for elite skaters, but also a more leisurely 3k Roll for adults and kids who are just beginning. Kids can also learn the techniques of roller hockey from players and coaches from the Chicago Wolves.
Spectators will be able to watch performances of in-line skaters doing acrobatics in an event called roller extreme. While speed and stunts are a part of in-line skating, there is also another crucial s-word in this sport: safety. “Helmets will be required,” says Caille. “They are like seat belts. You’re expected to wear them, so you just do it.”
Sportmart/Rollerblade Skate It Up Baby, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Harper College, Roselle and Algonquin Roads, Palatine. Free for spectators; $10-$15 pre-race individual entry fee; 312-404-2372.
Last year when juggler/magician/stiltwalker Kevin Adair was performing at North Pier he spotted a vest and hat depicting America’s legendary highway Route 66. He bought them just in case he might need them and his impulse was right. This summer he’s been wearing them when he performs a show called “Travel the Reading Highway” based on the theme created by the Illinois Library Association. In it he describes the development of the road from the time of the cavemen up to the information highway using references to favorite literary works and a full bag of tricks.
He can juggle five balls on his own, but at one point he has children help him out so that six balls can stay in the air at once. “I want to show how people can work better when they work together,” he says.
He will also do some juggling while on stilts at Navy Pier. He says that if he drops something during his act, he knows he can count on someone to retrieve it for him. “When you’re on stilts,” he says, “you have to have faith in the human spirit.”
Kevin Adair, Palos Park Public Library, 1 p.m. Thursday, 12330 Forest Glen Ave., Palos Park, 708-448-1530; Acorn Public Library, 15624 Central Ave., Oak Forest, 708-687-3700; Navy Pier, Aug. 17, 19 and 30, 312-595-PIER.
While adults learn how to design and plant a landscape of species native to Illinois, children will get to play some games and hear a story at the City Wilds Festival: A Celebration of Backyard Biodiversity at North Park Village Nature Center. In one of the games called Weave a Wild Web they will pretend to be the plants and animals in the food web of an eco-system. The kids will hold onto strings that link them all inextricably together until one species disappears and then another. “We are focusing on the interconnectedness of all the components of an eco-system and the importance of biodiversity,” says Jennifer Skosey, the center’s director.
City Wilds Festival, 10:00 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 N. Pulaski Rd., free; 312-744-5472.
When the sun is out and the weather is warm there is no better place to be on a Saturday morning than Ravinia for one of the Kraft Kids Concerts.
Some families bring red wagons full of picnic paraphernalia and stuff for fun and games, but ready-made food is available on the spot and all you really need is a blanket to spread out on the grass. This Saturday Fred Penner will feature his “Happy Feet” and songs from his new album “Moonlight Express.”
Fred Penner, 11 a.m. Saturday, Ravinia, Lake-Cook and Green Bay Roads, Highland Park, $5 pavilion, $3 lawn, 312-RAVINIA. Penner will also perform a mini-concert at 2 p.m. Saturday, Noodle Kidoddle, 307 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, free, 847-559-0202.
Friday
TOYS AROUND THE WORLD, 2 p.m.-3 p.m., Chicago Children’s Museum, Navy Pier, 700 E. Grand Ave., $5; 312-527-1000.
Saturday
WEB SITE: Visit with a tarantula, noon, Children’s Museum of Oak Park, 809 West Lake St., Oak Park, $3; 708-524-2275.
COMET CRAFTS: noon-3 p.m., Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive, $3 adults, $2 children; 312-922-STAR.
Sunday
DIORAMA! “Windows to Summer,” diorama workshop, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., DuPage Children’s Museum, 1777 S. Blanchard Rd., Wheaton, $1 material fee in addition to $4 admission; 708-260-9960.
CREATE YOUR OWN SPECIAL EFFECTS WORKSHOP: every half hour between 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., Museum of Science and Industry, 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, free with admission, $6 adults, $2.50 children; 312-684-1414.
