The Ohio Ballet has found a unique way to present an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s “JUNGLE BOOK” at the COLLEGE OF DuPAGE. They’ve teamed up with the Dhananjayan Bharata Kalanjali Dance Company of Madras, India to combine the dance styles of the East and West in an an all-new adaptation of the classic children’s tale. The Indian dancers will use their expressive, classical movements to portray Mowgli, the tiger and the monkeys, while the performers from the Ohio Ballet will combine their modern and neoclassical styles to depict the heroine Sita, the lively wolf cubs and the timid deer, all to the sounds of original Indian music composed for the performance.
“Jungle Book: The Adventures of Mowgli,” 8 p.m. Friday, Arts Center Mainstage, College of DuPage, 22nd St. between Lambert Rd. and Park Blvd., Glen Ellyn, $24-$25, $110 for family of five; 630-942-4000.
The “Zoo Run Run” at Brookfield Zoo has races for adults, but also a 1/2 mile “Fun Run” whose name says it all. It is for children under 10 and young adults with physical disabilities.
“Zoo Run Run” “Fun Run,” 10 a.m. Sunday, Brookfield Zoo, First Ave. and 31st St., Brookfield, $15 (includes T-shirt, free zoo admission for 2 adults and 2 children, free parking and a raffle ticket) ; 773-274-8183 for information and to register for all races.
Pioneer life during the harvest season meant a lot of work, but there was also some music and merriment. To the sounds of the dulcimer and the auto harp, visitors to the annual Will County Pioneer Festival at Pioneer Settlement in Lockport can watch as craftspeople practice their crafts, which range from blacksmithing to quilting and, of course, cooking (the last activity takes place in a log cabin of a settlement nestled near the shady banks of the I & M Canal). Children will be able to try out the safer crafts: For example, they can make rubbings with charcoal, and use the tin smith’s awl and the hammer to punch out designs in a piece of metal. For once, chores will seem like fun, and youngsters won’t even be aware of the fact that they are learning about history.
Will County Pioneer Festival, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Pioneer Settlement, on Ill. Rte. 7 one block west of Ill. Rte. 171, Lockport, $2 adults, 75 cents children; 815-838-5080.
In 1861 paleontologists discovered a fossil in a limestone quarry in Germany, and they couldn’t believe their eyes. They had found what looked like a dinosaur, yet it had feathers and wings. They called it Archaeopteryx, which means “ancient wing,” and many scientists have come to believe that it is the missing link between birds and the ancient dinosaurs. Six other fossils like this were found in the same place, and one has now made its way to the Field Museum, where it will be exhibited for the first time outside of Europe. During “Archaeopterfest,” kids can listen to stories and make kites that resemble the dynamic dino.
“Archaeopteryx: The Bird That Rocked the World,” Saturday-Oct. 19; Archaeopterfest, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Oct. 11, Field Museum, Lake Shore Dr. at Roosevelt Rd., $7 adults, $4 children; 312-922-9410.
Families can find out what fall was like on the farm long ago at the Autumn Harvest Festival at the Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg. They can see the cows, the pigs and their recent litters, the chickens and the turkeys and feed handfuls of grass to the sheep. They can see how cider and butter were made, take a hayride, or go down to the field and pick some corn. Draft horses Babe and Bonnie will bring the corn back to the barn where visitors can husk and shell it, and then they can see how it is ground into feed for livestock. There’s also a pumpkin decorating contest. to see who can make the scariest, the funniest and the most creative jack-o-lanterns. Winners get a small prize — but so does everyone who carves a pumpkin.
Autumn Harvest Festival, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary and Volkening Heritage Farm, 1111 E. Schaumburg Rd., free; 847-985-2100.
For 5 years, as director of education and outreach at the Old Town School of Folk Music, Jacqueline Russell helped children discover their musical creativity. Now she has set up shop as head of the Lookingglass Theatre’s new Education and Outreach Program, where she is sure to conjure up the same kind of enchantment.
Lookingglass Studio, Athenaeum Theatre Building, 2936 N. Southport Ave., classes for ages 3-18 beginning Oct. 6, $83-$143; 773-477-9257.
