FROM KEVIN Quick note before the fun stuff. The wildfire smoke parked over us this week is already knocking out events; Saturday's Touch-A-Truck was the first domino, pushed to August 1. Everything below is still on as I hit send but keep a close eye out on anything that is outside... and even reconsider if that's the right move. So treat this weekend's plans as a menu. Check before you drive, and if the air stays in the red, stay in and keep the kids in too. The forecast says Saturday's air clears and Sunday is the day to maybe get some outside time. Kevin |
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HEADS UP Construction starts at the Naperville Metra Station Monday, July 20, running about two weeks for brick tuckpointing on the north wall. The north doors will be closed during that stretch, so use the east or west doors and budget a few extra minutes to reach the platform. |
Lisle Park District is running Down & Dirty Day on Friday, July 31 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Lisle Community Park, with mud, water balloons, and sand toys, and you need to register by July 24. Wear something that can go straight into the trash. |
The Naperville Public Library is bringing in live raptors on Friday, July 17 at the Cedar Glade branch, with the Northern Illinois Raptor Rehab & Education Center running a hands-on bird-of-prey program geared toward grades K-5. Tickets are free but limited to 160 spots and handed out at the Children's Services Desk starting 15 minutes before showtime, so get there early. |
The library is running a Zelda-themed afternoon on Friday, July 24 at 200 W. Jefferson Ave., with crafts, trivia, and the original game on Switch for grades 1-5. Registration status isn't confirmed yet, so check napervillepl.librarycalendar.com before you show up. |
Saturday's Touch-A-Truck at the DuPage Children's Museum is pushed to Saturday, August 1, same 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. window, included with museum admission. The smoke claimed its first event of the weekend. |
| THE READ  The tenant list reads like a Logan Square group chat's wish list: 99 Ranch, Gen Korean BBQ, Kitakata Ramen, Ba Le. TESO Life is open now, the rest roll out through 2027, and the anchor is Illinois' first 99 Ranch Market. We'll be covering this plaza one opening at a time. |
| THE ROUNDUP Dirty soda is the Utah import your teenager already knows about. Thirteen locations are coming, ours included, starting in August. |
| THE EAT  A cookie-first bakery just opened on 95th in the Jewel shopping center, and the menu has the confidence of a place that only does a few things: the flagship is a brown-butter chocolate chip, the brownie is named The Batch Standard, and the gluten-free crispy treat gets equal billing. Singles run $4.87, so audition one before committing to the 4-pack. |
This is the kind of thing we promised to dig out of the corners of TikTok. Michaela bakes sourdough out of her Plainfield kitchen, opens preorders on Sundays, and hands loaves over on Fridays. A chamber of commerce named her food-and-bev business of the year in 2025, which is a lot of hardware for a home kitchen. Set a Sunday reminder. |
| THE WEEKEND The Forecast First, the air: the smoke that closed pools around here Thursday is sticking around, and the state has flagged Friday as a Red air quality action day, with the alert running through Friday night. Smoke hangs on through Friday morning, then scattered afternoon and evening storms (54%) help knock it down. It's hot regardless, high 89 with a heat index near 96, so if your lungs have opinions, Friday is an indoor day. Saturday buys the weekend back. The air clears overnight, the morning starts mostly sunny and hot (high 89, heat index near 98), and storms turn likely after 1 p.m. (70%), so do the outdoor thing early and keep the evening flexible. Sunday is the day: sunny, 84, essentially zero rain chance. |
 Naper Settlement has both weekend nights covered: Friday at 8 it's ZZ Top and Doobie Brothers tribute sets from Eliminator and The Doobie Others, Saturday it's DLC Music Chicago doing K-pop covers before Dylan Chambers runs the pop canon from the Beatles to Bruno Mars. Food on site, free kids' activity area, tickets at NaperNights.org. |
 Free outdoor concerts in Central Park this Friday through Sunday, July 17-19, with activities starting at 6:30 p.m. and headliners at 7:30 each night: Friday is a Paul Simon tribute by Michael Mahler, Saturday is The Lovettes doing the female icons of the '50s and '60s, and Sunday is Better Together running soul and groove improv in the spirit of Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. All three nights are free, all ages, on the lawn. If you're picking one, Sunday's got the most room to surprise you. |
 Cantigny's Voyage en France runs Sunday, July 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and this year they've added a Makers Market in the Allee with local artisans alongside whatever French-countryside-in-Wheaton thing they've got going on. Tickets are at cantigny.org, and it's a solid way to spend a summer Sunday if you want something that feels like an outing rather than just a park trip. |
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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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