FROM KEVIN For those of us living on the south side of Naperville where they are installing EZEE Fiber, the technician just came through my neighborhood in Knoch Knolls signing people up for services starting in 30-60 days. If you've been waiting for an update, hopefully this is helpful for timing where you live. |
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HEADS UP Kids ages 3 to 5 drop a stuffed animal at the 95th Street Library (3015 Cedar Glade Dr.) between 4 and 5 p.m. on Monday, August 31, and it spends the night there. Pickup is a storytime on Tuesday, September 1 about what the stuffies got up to; check the library calendar for registration before you go. |
Lisle Park District is taking teams for a cup-in-hand kickball league at River Bend, $350 a team, which is the version of gym class we would have shown up for. Co-rec softball plays Monday nights at Community Park from September 14 through October 26 ($730 a team, double headers) and registration closes Labor Day night; men's leagues start September 23 and October 1. Most park districts around here run some version of the same thing, so look up yours before the rosters lock. |
Did you know the Naperville Public Library's 95th Street branch has a green screen room and a full sound recording studio you can book with a library card? If a podcast idea has been sitting in your notes app, this is the lowest-stakes way to find out whether you like doing it: real mics, real room, no gear to buy. The catch is a one-time 30-minute orientation before you can reserve either room. The next one is Tuesday, September 1 at 9:30 a.m. at 3015 Cedar Glade Dr., registration required with a Naperville card or a registered reciprocal card, and sessions repeat through November. |
| THE READ  Gabriele Bonci's Roman pizzeria is the one Netflix built a Chef's Table episode around, and Bonci USA has spent years as a West Loop, Lakeview, and Lincoln Park thing. This week it becomes a 22 E. Chicago Avenue thing too. It's the first suburban Bonci, and the grand opening is Friday, August 28 at 4 p.m. The format is pizza al taglio: long rectangular slabs from a dough that proofs for up to 72 hours, baked in trays, cut with scissors to whatever size you point at, and priced by weight. The lineup rotates through the day based on what came in, so what's in the case depends on when you walk in, and there's always a vegetarian option up. Round it out with supplì (fried rice and pasta balls stuffed with cheese and meat) and a short list of craft beer, wine, teas, and sodas. It's cards only. Tell your city friends it's their turn to make the drive. |
| THE ROUNDUP  Cantigny's Upper Display Garden is mid-dahlia season, with blooms in a full run of colors, sizes, and petal shapes, and the Reflecting Pool south of the McCormick House is covered in water lilies with frogs and dragonflies working the pads. Neither needs a ticket or a plan beyond parking. Hours and the parking fee are at cantigny.org; go while the late-August lineup holds. |
Voting for the Dog Days of Summer sculptures closes Saturday, August 29, 1 vote per IP address at downtownnaperville.com, where the sponsor map with all 24 dogs and the lone cat lives too. They come down after Labor Day weekend, so this is the last stretch to walk the route. |
A resident who grew up playing tennis-ball cricket in India is starting a WhatsApp group to get matches going, with Harris Fawell Park near Route 59 and 75th Street as the proposed home ground, and beginners are explicitly welcome. The group link is in the r/Naperville post titled 'Naperville Cricket WhatsApp Group'. |
Naper Settlement has 2 walking tours left this season: the Naperville Architecture Walking Tour on Thursday, September 3, then the Origins of Naperville tour on September 17. Start times and registration are through the link in Naper Settlement's Facebook post. |
| THE EAT  Sips Around the States: Lake & Grain is a hands-on class from Cantigny's mixologists in the North Scallop Garden on Thursday, September 3 at 6 p.m., drawing on Chicago tavern drinks, Wisconsin supper clubs, and Iowa grain. The $75 ticket covers 2 cocktails, small bites, tax, and the service fee; register at cantigny.org, and an earlier session in this series sold out. |
| THE WEEKEND The Forecast Friday is simple: cool around 66 to start, 82 by afternoon under full sun, then upper 70s into the evening. Wear layers you can ditch. Saturday stays mild and mostly cloudy with a 23% rain chance, low enough to ignore unless you're planning to be outside all day; temperatures track Friday's almost exactly, so same approach. Sunday is the warmest of the three, starting around 70 and pushing 84 to 86 by midday, with a slight rain chance late and nothing in the forecast to plan around. Leave the jacket at home. |
 Naperville Park District's free outdoor movie night is Friday, August 28 at 95th Street Community Plaza (3109 Cedar Glade Dr.): movie bingo at 6:45 p.m., the 2025 Lilo & Stitch at 7:45 p.m., bring chairs and snacks. Rain already took out the August 21 Shrek night, so check the park district's Rainout Line before you load the car. The district added two make-up dates after this summer's weather cancellations: Homeward Bound on September 25 and Shrek on October 2. |
 Wheaton College's Arena Theater does Shakespeare in the Park at Memorial Park (225 Karlskoga Ave.) at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, August 28 and 29, free, with a puppet show at 6:45 p.m. and the gates open at 5:30 p.m. for blanket and bag-chair seating. They sell pizza and popcorn on site, and fair warning that Romeo and Juliet ends the way it ends, so it's a better pick for the older kids than the preschool set. |
 The Arboretum's Honeybee Weekend runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days on the east side (Arbor Court and the Meadow Lake Trail, park in P-1) with beekeeping touch tables, candle making, artist demos, and a vendor row of honey, beeswax, and pollinator plants, all included with admission. The one thing that costs extra is Sunday's Mead Tasting, noon to 3 p.m. in the Grand Garden: $45 ($35 for members), 21 and over, 10 pours from 8 regional meaderies, a commemorative glass, and it covers your admission that day. |
 Noon Whistle turns its Naperville parking lot (1748 W. Jefferson Ave.) over to 20-plus small plant and plant-adjacent vendors on Sunday, August 30, noon to 5 p.m., with live music, food, and the full beer list. Entry is free and it's family friendly; the only real cost is however many pothos you convince yourself the bookshelf needs. |
 Wonder Woods, the Morton Arboretum's nine-hole, tree-science mini golf course, is open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last tee time 5 p.m.) through Labor Day, which leaves this weekend and next. Weekend tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for kids, $2 less for members, on top of regular admission, and the whole course is wheelchair accessible. |
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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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