HEADS UP A free beginner class on using the camera you already carry runs today at 10 a.m. at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Dr., covering camera features, composition, and editing apps. No registration, but the room holds 20 and that is the whole rule. |
Fall Adult Athletic League signups close next week: men's softball Wednesday or Thursday nights, Cup In Hand Kickball on Tuesdays. The registration link is in the comments on the park district's Facebook post. |
The Naperville Park District is running prescribed ground-level burns at park sites and Springbrook Golf Course this fall, handled by maintenance crews and outside contractors as the weather allows. Smoke drifting off a park site is one of those burns, on the schedule and under control. |
 Wonderful World of Wheels runs Monday, September 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Commissioners Park, free, with police cars, firetrucks, tractors, and other community vehicles open for kids to climb on and look through. |
| THE READ The centerpiece of the Cmdr. Dan Shanower September 11 Memorial is a Bill Cooper sculpture called "Lean on Us," and the stone in it came from the Pentagon, trucked up from Washington in June 2002 while CBS Channel 2 filmed Congresswoman Judy Biggert, Mayor George Pradel, and resident Chuck Johanns standing at what was then an empty site. Twenty-five years on, that is where the city gathers: this evening, Friday, September 11, at the memorial behind the Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St., with the Naperville Municipal Band at 4:45 p.m. and the ceremony at 5, a keynote from retired Marine Maj. Charles Lynn Lowder, and the community spread along both banks of the DuPage River. Rain moves it into the City Council Chambers. Two beams of light have been running behind the Municipal Center since dusk on September 10 and go until dawn. First responders park free at Cantigny all day with ID, and its permanent "Heroes of 9/11" exhibit is up whenever you get there. |
| THE ROUNDUP Naperville's council adopted a happy hour ordinance on September 1, ending a ban the city had kept in place for decades: discounts up to 50 percent off posted price, one drink at a time except wine by the bottle or carafe, a 7 p.m. cutoff that is earlier than the state's, caps of 4 hours a day and 15 a week, and posted price schedules required. A week in, nobody has spotted new deals downtown, so call before you build an evening around one that may not exist. |
 Cinemark Seven Bridges in Woodridge has added The Odyssey in IMAX 70mm showtimes through the second half of September, and seats are still open. The 70mm run has been extended to September 16, with some listings going later. |
Artist Dodie Mondero spent two days on scaffolding restoring "The Spirit of the American Navy," the 1923 bronze in Burlington Square Park just south of the train station, plaque included. Worth 10 seconds on your next walk to the platform, while the work is fresh. |
Craft by Beer: That Belongs in a Museum runs Thursday, September 17 at 7 p.m. at Naper Settlement. You bring one curious, sentimental, or outright strange object and make your case to the room for why it deserves a display case. It is 21 and up and takes advance registration. |
| THE EAT  The first Oathie's Mighty Fine Taco T.K.O. runs Saturday, September 12 from 1 to 7 p.m. at Solemn Oath, free and open to all ages, with a field of city taco slingers, neighborhood favorites, a mobile eatery, and a churro specialist each building one taco to compete on. You vote for the People's Choice. The full lineup is still being announced, which is the only soft part of the plan. |
| THE WEEKEND The Forecast Friday opens at 62, so you'll want a light layer for the morning walk or commute. By midday it's 79 and full sun; shed whatever you grabbed. Saturday stays warm and mostly sunny, climbing to 84 by afternoon. Dress light and you're set all day. Sunday is where fall actually shows up, cooling through the 70s and 60s with a 24 percent rain chance hanging around, so bring an umbrella if you plan to be out past midday. |
The Naperville Sister Cities International Festival runs noon to 9 p.m. Saturday in Central Park, 104 E. Benton Ave., free, with food, live performances, and cultural demonstrations from Slovak, Hispanic, Irish, Lithuanian, Indian, and Chinese communities among others, plus a set from the Naperville Municipal Band for the country's 250th. Graze your way down one side and start over on the other. |
 Firefly Market sets up at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle with about 60 small businesses, food trucks, and music: VIP night Friday from 4 to 9 p.m. at $35, general admission Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at $25 for adults and $19 for kids 4 to 17, $5 for members. The ticket covers Arboretum admission too, so plan to walk the grounds after you shop. |
 Noon Whistle's Naperville Oktoberfest runs Saturday, September 12 from noon to 11 p.m. with German-inspired beer releases, food trucks, live music, and stein hoisting. There is no wrong time to show up. If Saturday is spoken for, the Lombard edition lands October 3 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. |
 The Hot Ghoul Summer Market, run with Streetz Artz Alliance, creeps into Noon Whistle Naperville on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., free and rain or shine: art, handcrafted jewelry, sculptural oddities, dark decor, stickers, books, and real insect taxidermy. Come for the weird stuff, stay for a beer. |
The 13th annual Judd-a-thon steps off at 10:01 a.m. on Sunday, September 13, a tenth of a kilometer with costumes encouraged, benefiting the VFW National Home for Children. Day-of registration is $25 and runs from 8 to 9:30 a.m., which is roughly 90 minutes longer than the race itself. |
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YOUR TURN Running an event, or know something happening around town? The best stuff out here spreads by word of mouth. Be the word, we read every submission. |
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