HEADS UP The lots you would aim for are closed. The Alfred Rubin Riverwalk Community Center lots and the Park District Administration Building lots closed at 5 a.m. September 2 and stay shut through September 8 for Last Fling, and the center itself is closed September 2 through 7. Knoch Knolls Nature Center is closed September 6 and 7, Centennial Beach is on modified swim sessions September 5 through 7, and Paddleboat Quarry runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. those same days. |
Nichols Library at 200 W. Jefferson Avenue closes Friday, September 4 and Saturday, September 5 for Last Fling, and every Naperville Public Library location closes Sunday, September 6 and Monday, September 7 for the holiday. The library reopens Tuesday, September 8 at 9 a.m., so holds, printing, and study space wait until then. |
The museum is open through Labor Day Monday, September 7, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Monday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, then closes Tuesday, September 8 through Friday, September 18 for annual maintenance. That is 11 straight days without the rainy-weekday fallback, so plan the back half of September around it. |
The Naperville Public Library runs a beginner kitten yoga hour Saturday, September 5 at 7 p.m. at 3015 Cedar Glade Drive, with adoptable kittens from NAWS Mokena loose in the room for the whole session. No registration, but tickets go out at the Customer Services Desk at 6:45 p.m. and the cap is 40, so get there early. |
Author and illustrator Jacob Grant walks grades 3-5 through how he makes his picture books Tuesday, September 8 at 2035 S. Naper Blvd., then hands out oil pastels for a take-home monoprint. Grab a numbered ticket at the Children's Services Desk 15 minutes ahead. Only 30 get in, and the oil pastels will end up on somebody's shirt. |
Wheaton Park District takes submissions for Wheaton's Got Talent from performers ages 8 to 18 through Tuesday, September 8. Dress rehearsal is September 10 and the show is the 17th, so the registration deadline is the only date that needs you this week. |
| THE READ  Summer ends here whether you show up or not, so you may as well show up. The Naperville Jaycees run Last Fling on Jackson Avenue and the Riverwalk from Friday, September 4 through Monday, September 7, and walking onto the festival grounds is free. Friday runs 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday go 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Monday closes at 6 p.m. The carnival and the beverage tents are ticketed separately, and the Labor Day Parade steps off downtown at 10 a.m. Monday and runs until noon. |
| THE ROUNDUP Naper Settlement marks 25 years since the 9/11 attacks on Wednesday, September 9 at 5 p.m., built around a first-hand account from retired Naperville firefighter Chuck Wehrli, who served at Ground Zero in the aftermath. The program is free and registration is required. |
Director of Horticulture Jamie Burghardt leads a 90-minute walk through Cantigny's America 250 garden installations Thursday, September 10 at 6 p.m., covering the 1893 Chicago World's Fair thread and where the everyday Americana in the beds came from. It is the last walk before the display comes down. Tickets are $25 with a drink included, and guests meet in front of the Visitors Center. |
 Sim Racing Naperville at 1911 Glacier Park Avenue is running a time-attack qualifier with a Toyota Supra valued around $60,000 as the prize. The top 45 times advance to live finals at the Sim Gaming Expo in Schaumburg on September 18 and 19, and finalists have to race in person. Qualifying closes Sunday, September 6. |
Two Brothers Brewing has 14 nominated rescue animals from shelters including Chicago Rescue Authority, KittenVille USA, and Tails of DeKalb, and whichever one wins the public vote gets its face on a Prairie Path can. The brewery introduces one pet at a time on Instagram over the coming weeks. Votes are $1 each and run through the brewery's Rescue Relief Fund campaign. |
| THE EAT  The ISKCON temple at 1505 McDowell Road runs its Janmashtami food festival Friday, September 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday, September 5 from 4 to 9 p.m. The menu is vegetarian and vegan and runs to thalis, dosa, chaat, bhatura, and sweets, and anyone is welcome. There is no price posted, so ask the temple before you plan around one. |
Pinecone Cottage Tea House at 1029 Burlington Avenue serves its September Harvest afternoon tea Saturday, September 5 from 2 to 4 p.m. It is a three-course prix fixe, ages 13 and up, and $62 for the standard menu or $67 for the dietary version, with 20 percent gratuity included. BYOB runs $10 a bottle, and seats are reservation only, so book before you drive out. |
 Angry Chickz opens its first Illinois location, and its first anywhere in the Midwest, Friday, September 4 at 11 a.m. at 1167 N. Eola Road, Suite 101 in Aurora. The menu is tenders, sliders, and bowls, with heat that runs from Country up to Angry. The chain says the first 100 guests get a jersey and the first 500 who register on site go into a prize drawing. |
| THE WEEKEND The Forecast Friday is the hot one: 78 by breakfast, 93 and full sun by afternoon, still 87 at dinner. If Last Fling is your Friday, go after the sun drops and bring water. Saturday backs off to 87 with a 27% rain chance, low enough to ignore unless you're outside all day. Sunday and Labor Day Monday run the same shape: around 70 in the morning, 82 by afternoon, and a 2% rain chance both days. The 10 a.m. parade Monday gets the best weather of the weekend. |
 The International Kennel Club of Chicago runs the Great American Dog Show at Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road in Wheaton, September 4 through 6, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, with Greet the Breeds, demonstrations, a Kids Corner, vendors, and competition rings. Saturday night the Sounds of Summer series closes at the Military Tank Park with Second Hand News, a Chicago Fleetwood Mac tribute, 7 to 9 p.m., and parking is a separate purchase. The Sheridan, the M60, the M113 and the Abrams are roped off for repainting until September 25, so the Tank Park is running short. |
Great Decoding runs Saturday, September 5 at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster Street, with sessions at 10:30 a.m., noon, and 1:30 p.m. You take the role of a cargo-shipping analyst for the Great Lakes Naval Intelligence Office and work out where to land an Allied ship full of secret cargo. Tickets are $15 a person and you have to sign up ahead. |
 September First Fridays runs Friday, September 4 from 5 to 9 p.m. across downtown Aurora, and it's free. The ArtBar inside the Two Brothers Roundhouse at 205 N. Broadway is the venue that started the whole thing, and it hangs a new themed show every first Friday. Gallery openings, live music, and food and drink specials run at participating spots the rest of the night. |
Joy Clark brings Louisiana-rooted folk and Americana to Two Way Street Coffee House, 1047 Curtiss Street in Downers Grove, on Friday, September 4 at 8 p.m., doors at 7:30. She has performed with Allison Russell. The suggested donation is $10, and there is a virtual stream for anyone not making the drive. |
The Paramount screens Hairspray on Labor Day Monday, September 7, then Gremlins on the 14th, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on the 21st, and Superman II on the 28th. Tickets are $1 at the door and cash only, though concessions take a card. |
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