Designed to assist migrants, who recently have been arriving via buses from Texas to Highland Park, while they await transfer to the Chicago Processing Center, the “Take Care” Packages will be a tangible expression of our community’s care for others.
Non-Perishable Food/Drink: Bottled water, granola bars, dried fruits and nuts, and packaged healthy snacks
Hygiene Products: Toothbrushes/toothpaste, soap/shampoo (travel size), feminine hygiene products, diapers and baby wipes, and hand sanitizer and wet wipes
Clothing: Hats, gloves, socks, and underwear
First Aid Kit: Bandages, antiseptic wipes, pain relievers, and face masks
General: Reusable water bottles and flashlights with extra batteries
Communications: Basic travel translation guides or dictionaries, and prepaid phone cards
Comfort Items: Children’s books, magazines, or puzzle books (Spanish language), and stuffed animals
Gift cards for grocery stores or pharmacies (please do not drop-off at Park District sites)
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 8pm this evening to midnight on Tuesday night. Wet snow accumulations from 5-8 inches are expected with wind gusts as high as 35 mph Tuesday night. We encourage our residents to be careful when driving. Hazardous road conditions could impact the Tuesday morning and Tuesday evening commute.
If weather conditions impact Park District programs, we will share updated information on our website, social media, and in our emails. Please follow our Facebook or sign up for our e-newsletters for updates.
We endeavor to keep our facilities and programs operating whenever possible. There are times, however, when weather, road conditions, or facility malfunctions dictate that programs and/or services must be canceled, or temporarily postponed or entire facilities closed. Click here for a complete description of our Emergency Closing Policy.
For information on road conditions and road closures, please visit https://www.lakecountypassage.com/index.jsp.
The golfing landscape has witnessed a remarkable resurgence over the past three years, transcending the conventional boundaries that once defined the sport. National Golf Foundation data revealed a staggering 106 million people engaged in golf in 2021. We’ve seen the interest in golf grow exponentially at the Park District at the Highland Park Golf Learning Center and at our beautiful Sunset Valley Golf Club. “It is especially exciting to see so many kids enjoying the game and coming to us wanting to play golf for the first time,” said Ryan Ochs, Superintendent of Golf Operations at Sunset Valley, “and once they gain some basic skills, they’re hooked on this game that they can play for the rest of their lives.”
To meet the demand for golf in Highland Park, the Park District is now partnering with The Golf Practice to bring the community a wide range of golf summer camps and group lessons with PGA-certified coaches. We’re excited about this and think you will be, too.
We asked Alex Prior, Co-owner/Director of Operations at The Golf Practice, to tell us what to expect. “This summer, we’re happy to team up with Park District to deliver the most comprehensive approach to golf training on the North Shore. Through our multi-level camps and programs, junior golfers have a complete path from beginner to high school varsity golfer and beyond.”
The Golf Practice uses a holistic approach to golf training, focusing on the whole student and not just swing mechanics. Golfers will build their overall athleticism and coordination, develop their mind and body, and learn important social skills—including course etiquette—that will elevate them on and off the golf course. The golf curriculum at The Golf Practice is based on developing curiosity about the game. Being curious will help a student learn throughout their life,” said Prior, “We think curiosity is one of the most important life skills we can impart in our training.”
Golf summer camps designed by The Golf Practice coaches include fast-paced stations, colorful aesthetics, and an energetic staff that creates an engaging environment of learning and fun. “Once students become interested in the game and develop their skills, they graduate to the Travel League and High School Prep Summer Camps where they can hone their game, learn to compete, and develop confidence on the golf course.”
As with each of our sports programs at the Park District, golf camp participants learn the fundamentals, are encouraged to set and achieve goals, make new friends, and become caring, confident, successful young adults. It’s what we’re all about.
In Highland Park, hundreds of kids (and adults) are discovering the game of golf for the first time every season. The challenge in retaining these newcomers is why we’re developing exciting and innovative programs that include instruction, on-course play, and socialization. When you ask Ryan Ochs why he thinks it will continue to grow, he shares an interesting perspective: “For some golfers, technological advances have made the game more fun and accessible – things like GPS on the golf carts. For many golfers, the flexibility to work remotely at their 9 to 5 job has opened up more free time for leisure activities—one of the genuine benefits of the pandemic. Parents are bringing in their kids, and kids are seeing golf for the first time on social media—including influencers on TikTok.” Years ago, it was all about following Tiger Woods. “Now, young golfers are more interested in the whole game than in any one player on the tour,” and that means they keep playing through high school and college.”
“To ensure everyone has access to golf, the Michael Goldman Memorial Golf Scholarship is available to Highland Park and Highwood middle and high school students facing economic, social, or emotional challenges,” said Ochs. Last year, 12 applications were received. “That’s double the number from past years.” The annual scholarship is made possible through our Parks Foundation by a generous donation from the family of longtime Highland Park resident Michael Goldman as a means for young people to overcome obstacles and foster physical and emotional well-being through golf. Rob Saunders, the Park District’s resident PGA Pro, interviews and selects applicants. The scholarship provides one-on-one golf instruction and the use of a set of clubs. You can read more about this unique scholarship on the Park Foundation website.
We know that the golfing resurgence is not just a temporary phenomenon; it’s shaping the future of the sport. For young golfers, it’s about the whole package: a healthy three-season outdoor activity (that happily continues indoors during the winter), making friends, and learning life skills that they carry over into school, family, and the community.
Check out the new golf programs on your Park District’s website. The Highland Park Golf Learning Center is where you’ll find an impressive Driving Range, with 40 hitting stations–grass tees and mats–a short game practice area, a putting green, and a bunker practice area. During winter, you can enjoy the indoor hitting range at the Highland Park Fieldhouse. It’s open Monday–Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Summer Camp registration is going on now, and with the increased interest in golf, you’ll want to sign up early! In the meantime, you can practice yelling Fore!*
See you on the course!
*There are some interesting theories on why golfers yell Fore! after they’ve hit the ball. You can read more about that here.
Childhood is a time of growth, exploration, and developing various skills. Engaging in physical activities from a young age can profoundly impact a child’s overall well-being. Ice skating and gymnastics offer many physical, mental, and social benefits. Your child can experience the joy and benefits of both activities at the newly renovated Centennial Ice Arena! Our highly qualified staff ensure your kiddos evolve through our progressive programming.
Centennial Ice Arena can help your young skater or tumbling star build strength and flexibility and nurture a sense of self-discipline and self-confidence. Here are some of the wonderful benefits of ice skating and gymnastics.
The Benefits of Ice Skating
1. Physical Fitness: Ice skating is an excellent way to get kids moving and stay physically active. It engages multiple muscle groups, especially in the legs and core, improving balance and coordination.
2. Cardiovascular Health: Skating promotes a healthy heart by boosting cardiovascular endurance. The aerobic aspect of ice skating helps improve lung capacity and overall fitness.
3. Balance and Coordination: Ice skating requires children to develop a strong sense of balance and coordination, which can transfer to improved agility in other sports and daily activities.
4. Mental Focus: Skaters must concentrate and focus to glide gracefully on ice. This cultivates mental discipline and sharpens their ability to pay attention to detail.
5. Social Interaction: Ice skating often takes place in group settings, providing kids with an opportunity to make friends, learn teamwork, and enhance their social skills.
6. Confidence Building: As children learn to skate, they build self-confidence, setting and achieving small goals, and overcoming challenges, all of which contribute to a positive self-image.
7. Stress Relief: Like all physical activities, ice skating is an excellent way for children to blow off steam, reduce stress, and relax.
The Benefits of Gymnastics
1. Strength and Flexibility: Gymnastics builds strong muscles and promotes flexibility. Children develop power and endurance through routines and exercises.
2. Body Awareness: Gymnasts learn to understand their bodies better, which can help reduce the risk of injury and improve posture and body mechanics.
3. Discipline and Focus: The structured nature of gymnastics teaches children discipline and focus as they work diligently to master new skills and routines.
4. Balance and Coordination: Similar to ice skating, gymnastics hones balance and coordination, improving a child’s overall athleticism.
5. Goal Setting: Gymnastics is goal oriented. Children set goals for themselves, learning the value of hard work and perseverance.
6. Creativity and Expression: In artistic gymnastics, children can express themselves creatively through their routines, fostering artistic and imaginative abilities.
7. Self-Confidence: As children gain competence and master challenging moves, their self-confidence soars, and they learn to trust in their abilities.
So, what are you waiting for? Develop your young one’s physical fitness, mental acuity, discipline, and social skills. Whether your child is eager to learn a new skill and have fun or progress to be a true competitor, Centennial Ice Arena provides it all.
On Wednesday, November 1, the Park District of Highland Park, in conjunction with the Parks Foundation of Highland Park, celebrated the renaming of Cloverdale Park to Fontana-Pasquesi Park in honor of the Italian immigrant families from the Modena Province in the Emilia Romagna Region who settled in this area beginning in the early 1900s. The Fontana-Pasquesi family gave a generous donation to the Parks Foundation that will be used to maintain and improve the park for the neighborhood and the entire Highland Park community for many years to come.
The Park District Board of Commissioners approved the renaming of the park at the October 25, 2023 Regular Board Meeting. The naming rights agreement was presented and approved by the Park Board of Commissioners at the August 23, 2023, Regular Board Meeting. The name sat for a period of 60 days for public review before final approval by the Park Board.
A dedication plaque will be posted at the park giving the history of the Italian-American families who settled in the Highland Park/Highwood area.
This park is dedicated to the Italian immigrants from the Modena Province in the Emilia Romagna Region. The capital of Modena is the city of Modena, which is one of the Sister Cities of Highland Park.
These immigrants settled in Southeast Lake County beginning in the early 1900s. They strongly supported their adopted homeland and were proud to become U.S. citizens with many serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
It was their sacrifice, spirit, and work ethic that contributed to Highland Park History.
Laurence Pasquesi
Maria Fontana Pasquesi
We can put you where you’ve always wanted to be. In the spotlight. In the action. Onstage!
Your Park District is creating a theatre program where all are welcome, and all can shine. Acting? Yes. Singing? Yesssss! Designing and building props? We have all the tools.
Do you love to perform? Well, we spent the last year thinking about you. We used our time creating a new Theatre program where you can use your talents, learn, grow, and show your friends and family that you’ve got what it takes! Sound like fun? It is!
This fall, you have the opportunity to sign up for any of the 8 new classes we’ve created that can start you on the road to stage (or screen) greatness. Take a look:
Introduction to Theatre. This class is all about learning stage directions. Those are all critical for any young performer, and you’ll concentrate on the basics, and the correct terminology, so you’re ready for whatever comes your way. Things like:
Broadway Here I Come. Acting, of course. But also music and dance. If musical theater is your thing, then this is your class. You’ll be swell. You’ll be great. You know the rest.
Teen Improv. This is a brand new class. It’s specialized, but maybe you are, too. Check it out!
Take the Stage. Our 2023 summer camp was a great big hit! Look for details next spring.
In our art classes at the Park District, we’ll teach you what to look at, how to look at it, and how to draw it!
Most people who really would love to draw and paint have never taken a class because they just don’t think they have any talent. Well, drawing is a skill. It can be taught. We can teach you to draw, and you’ll have a great time doing it.
How do we know? We do it every day, for artists of all ages at all levels. Can you see shapes? Great! That’s where all art begins. Circles, squares, triangles, ellipses. On one level it’s quite simple, and when you learn to see, and learn to make the shapes you’re seeing, your confidence grows exponentially. Join one of our classes and beyond the joy of creating you’ll also get some extra benefits.
More hand-eye-brain coordination. That’s important at every age, along with developing and maintaining fine motor skills, but seniors may find it especially important to keep their hands, eyes, and brain working together in harmony.
Actual benefits to your brain. While you draw, your brain builds new connections and pathways. The left side is responsible for logical thinking and the right side is where your creativity comes from. Since both sides are active, the brain grows. Query: If you draw the brain does your brain grow even more?
Concentration. Drawing requires that you focus on the subject and concentrate on the marks you’re making. You must be present. In the moment. Doing that for an extended period of time, like a class, can train your brain to do that at other, perhaps more important times. It’s so much better for you than scrolling endlessly, and when you’re done concentrating on your drawing you just might have a beautiful piece of art that you can be proud of for years to come. Wouldn’t that be lovely!
A better mental attitude. Many people feel more at ease while they are drawing. Certainly, Vincent did. Drawing is a well-known therapy tool for stress relief. It can feel like meditation. When you feel productive, you more often just feel good about yourself. We know we do.
You might just develop an artist’s “eye.” Drawing can help you see proportions and the relationships between objects. It can help you be a better judge of measurements and distances. Things you can apply to other areas of your life. Drawing can be so much more than marks on paper, once you learn to see.
Did we mention how much fun it is? If nothing else we’ve said has moved you (or made your brain light up), think about taking an art class with a friend. Sharing your new skills and enjoying each other’s sketches is one of the great joys you’ll experience. We guarantee it!
One of the areas that Julie Nichols, our Recreation Program Manager, and Chris Holling, our Recreation Supervisor for Youth Enrichment & Arts, began to focus on a couple of years ago was the creation of a Dance program at the Park District that filled a need in the community.
After running some free workshops and talking with those participants to better understand what they wanted from the district, they built a program that grew to include more than 200 dancers—in just 9 months. Is it fun? You bet. Is it providing a place for young performers to express themselves? Without a doubt. Is it successful? On more levels than you would think.
Dance is one of the Performing Arts that benefits all ages in ways that go way beyond just physical strength, movement, and flexibility. In our program, dancers learn about good nutrition and how to combine that with proper stretching and strengthening routines. Dancing is an excellent outlet for their creativity, and they get support for that from their peers. That builds self-confidence and self-esteem which can carry over into so many other areas of their lives.
Our Spring 2023 Dance Recital, held onstage at Northwood Middle School, was attended by more than 400 of the dancers’ family members and friends. Confidence poured from the stage. That’s what a well-crafted program can do when it’s run by Park District staff who care deeply for the participants. We know that many of our Cultural and Performing Arts programs are the first step on the road to the next level. That’s what you’ve told us you want, and that’s how the programs are designed. But even if your child is a budding Yo-Yo Ma, or Baryshnikov, or Kristin Chenoweth, they need a place to start where they get the support they need—and still have fun. That’s us. That’s what we do, every day.
Just as our Music program feeds the brain, so does our Dance program. And while your dancing brain is lighting up, here are some other well-documented things that are happening:
We hope knowing some of that makes you want to get up and dance. We’ll join you down at the Ozdust Ballroom!
2 Science confirms: Dancing makes you happy. Read the article here.
As cold weather approaches, the Park District of Highland Park and City of Highland Park are partnering with the Community Care Collective of Chicago’s 33rd Ward to collect much-needed items for asylum seekers arriving in Chicago.
More than 18,000 migrants, mostly from Central and South America, have come to Chicago since last fall. Hundreds continue to arrive daily in need of shelter and supplies. Together, we can make a difference and extend a warm welcome to those who are seeking refuge and a brighter future.
For Men, Women, and Children (Lightly Used/Clean OR New):
For many families in Highland Park and Highwood, their Park District is the place for recreation and healthy activities, including music lessons!
Ask Sonia Rochon, and she’ll focus on something you might not think of as what we do here: how much her son Desmond loves taking piano lessons at the Park District! Sonia and her family moved to Highland Park from Chicago in 2019. In addition to taking other fun classes at West Ridge Center, Desmond, who is now in 4th grade, has been studying piano for the past year. “He really likes his teacher,” said Sonia. We hear that a lot about our teachers, and it’s something we’re quite proud of. “He’s come a long way in a short time,” said Sonia, “and I feel like he’s gotten a great start for everything moving forward.”
She also agreed with some other things that music educators have always known, and that we stress in our program: learning to read music is akin to learning and communicating in another language, and playing an instrument activates parts of the brain that are strikingly different than the ones we use when listening to music. That can help students, of any age, be more successful in other areas of academics and socialization. Research on the neurobiological effects of music on the brain has shown that the process by which we hear and interpret musical sounds is quite complex and that different types of music, and different musical instruments, activate different areas of the brain. So, while you have always known that playing piano, guitar, or violin is certainly a physical activity with great benefits to manual dexterity, and a mental activity that increases your ability to concentrate and memorize, now you can add brain development to the reasons why taking lessons is good for your health and happiness1. Sweet!
Of course, we never forget that music lessons at the Park District are fun! Check them out and we think you’ll agree.
1 Here is some extra special “This is your brain on music” fun: Dr. David Silbersweig of the Harvard Medical School has written about these specific areas of the brain and what they do as far as playing and listening to music: The temporal lobe helps us understand tone and pitch. Our cerebellum helps us process rhythm and timing. The amygdala and hippocampus are responsible for emotions and memory.
