The Monday Parks PlayBook: Saturday’s Free For All!

Making weekend plans? Be sure to include the annual Spring Fun Fair on May 18 from 10am to 1pm. Start in the Juno Lighting Parking lot and put the kids in the driver’s seat at the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce Touch a Truck event. Kids can get behind the wheel of big rig, honk the horn and make the sirens whoop in safety vehicles, and explore fire trucks and police squad cars. Across the street, at Mountain View Adventure Center, the Pooch, Pet, and Pedal Parade kicks off at 10am. Come in costume, decorate your bike, leash your pet, and strut your stuff! Registration is at the event starting at 9am, and don't forget your bike helmet. If you don’t have a helmet, be one of the first 100 kids at the Des Plaines Community Foundation and Healthy Partnership tent to be fitted for a free one. After the parade, test your strength on the YMCA climbing wall, and bounce, climb, and wiggle through the inflatable obstacle course sponsored by the Des Plaines Park District. 

While Mom and Dad are checking out the Health Fair and picking up some gardening tips, kids can ride through Safety Town sponsored by Maine Township & Cook County Sheriff’s Youth Services Department, and then grab a bag of popcorn from the Crime Stoppers table. Fishing, anyone? Don’t forget to bring your rod and reel for some catch and release fishing fun in the retention ponds at Mountain View. The Izaak Walton League will be on hand with tips on how to land the big one. The Des Plaines History Center will be at the fair with games for kids, and the Des Plaines Public Library will have a table for kids young and old to get a library card. 

Then, we are off to the races! The Des Plaines Park District is hosting a 100-yard Kids’ Dash with prizes for the fastest runners in each of four age groups, and The Friends of the Parks is sponsoring a Rubber Duck race. Purchase a little quacker for only $1. They will be corralled at the top of the waterfall at Mountain View, and you can watch as they tumble and race over the falls to the finish line. The owner of the winning duck will split the pot. 

Get there early so you don’t miss any of the fun, then stay all afternoon and play mini-golf, or get in some practice time in the batting cages. The Mountain View concession stand will be open for tasty snacks, cold drinks, and ice cream treats. For more information on the Spring Fun Fair, call 847-391-5700. 

See you around the parks.