Post-Tribune

Celebrate St. Pat’s Day with a head shaving

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:08:00 -0500

St. Patrick’s Day is upon us, and locally there are some fun and family friendly ways to celebrate: eat a corned beef dinner and watch a parade, hunt leprechauns and get your head shaved. Yes, getting your head shaved has become a good way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day while supporting a good cause. Since the first St. Baldrick’s head-shaving event on St. Patrick’s Day in 2000, the organization has raised and contributed more than $100 million to childhood cancer research. The money is primarily raised through sponsors of shavees, men and women who get their heads shaved at St. …

Adventure awaits armchair travelers

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:33:21 -0500

Some great family destinations are as close as your computer. Two of my favorite websites will soon be at their annual best. One takes visitors along on a wild ride across some of the world’s most harsh terrain and weather conditions, but from the warm comfort of your desk. The other allows you to be a closeup voyeur in a fascinating spectacle of nature. www.iditarod.com Starting on Saturday, this website will take armchair adventurers along a route of nearly 1,000 miles on “The Last Great Race on Earth,” the Iditarod. As of now there are 66 mushers planning to race …

Life of Benjamin Harrison is focus of program

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:21:06 -0500

Monday is President’s Day. At the Indianapolis home of Benjamin Harrison, the only president from Indiana, visitors can have a unique experience to learn about the man, his life and his times at “President’s Day: LIVE! From Delaware Street.” Harrison was our 23rd president, serving from 1889 to 1893. This special event at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site will offer guided tours of his beautiful Victorian Italianate home along with a chance to meet Harrison, Mary Lord his second wife, Josie the household seamstress, Delia their cook and Charles the butler, as portrayed by costumed actors and based on extensive …

Washington Park Zoo throwing itself a party

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:07:22 -0500

A big birthday is reason to celebrate. Even more so when improving over the years, like the Washington Park Zoo, which celebrates its 85th birthday on Saturday. The event will have a birthday-party theme complete with presents — for the animals, that is. There will be cake for visitors, a craft activity and moon bounce for children plus opportunities to talk to the keepers and meet some zoo residents up close. Seeing the animals up close in their enclosures is a feature of this charming little zoo, but on Saturday macaws, a boa, a baby alligator and a skunk are …

Taltree Arboretum plans events for gardens day

Thu, 09 May 2013 02:08:32 -0500

From daffodils to dogwoods, and dandelions too, it seems that right now plants are in bloom nearly everywhere you look. How fitting that tomorrow, Friday, May 10, is National Public Gardens Day. And how nice that Better Homes and Gardens teams up with other garden organizations to offer free admission coupons to many lovely gardens across the country. Locally, the coupon will be accepted at Taltree Arboretum and Gardens in Valparaiso, which has tours and special programs planned for the day. “For anyone who hasn’t experienced Taltree before, or for anyone who wants to see the highlights of the season …

Civil War history on display at welcome center

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:11:44 -0500

‘When the Civil War started many men volunteered thinking it was a lark and they’d be home in about six weeks or so,” according to Steve Batey, a Civil War re-enactor from Hammond. Batey portrays John Myer, who he said was one of the original enlistees in the 20th Indiana Infantry. He said Myer “was not a coward, not a slacker” given that records show he served for four years before being wounded, mustered out in 1864 and then returning to the Crown Point area. Re-enactors like Batey will be at the Indiana Welcome Center from 8 a.m. to 5 …

Uncover history at family archaeology program

Sun, 12 May 2013 13:20:03 -0500

If a student in your family has an interest in archaeology, then they’ll really dig Sunday’s Junior Archaeologists Family Program at the Oriental Institute, a University of Chicago museum and research organization dedicated to the study of ancient Egypt and the Near East. Families will participate in a dig for artifacts and get a guided tour of the museum’s galleries to learn about the artifacts discovered in this program designed to teach about the work of archaeologists. The program begins in the museum’s Kipper Family Archaeology Discovery Center, which features a tel, an artificial ancient mound holding buried replicas of …

Carve out block of time for Ice Fest

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 07:32:49 -0500

A winter weekend will heat up into something fun and magical this Friday through Sunday as St. Joseph, Mich. hosts Magical Ice Fest. Eighteen ice carvers will work their magic, and a magician will perform his kind of magic. To heat things up, hula dancers and fire artists will perform. But these are just some of the fest’s free special activities. There will also be free movie screenings for a children’s film festival, all in addition to an outstanding children’s museum, art centers, ice rink and charming downtown with unique shopping and dining options that make St. Joseph a nice …

Avoid crowds at after-hours programs

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:36:23 -0500

If you’re looking for a great family museum experience but without the crowds, go after hours. No, you don’t have to hide behind an exhibit case at closing time or look for a window inadvertently left open. Museums are offering an increasing number of after-hours programs that offer visitors more unique and personal experiences. Snoozeums One example is Snoozeums at the Museum of Science and Industry, where you might unroll your sleeping bag next to the Boeing 727, in the midst of Science Storms or next to the giant heart in “You the Experience” after an evening of activities throughout …

Indoor, outdoor fun at winter fest

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:53:53 -0500

There are some people out there who are hoping for cold, snowy weather. One of them, Michael Boos, has good reason. As executive director of the Association for the Wolf Lake Initiative, he hopes the conditions will be right for visitors to try ice skating, cross-country skiing and even ice boating at the free Winter Wonderland at Wolf Lake festival Saturday, Jan. 19. Regardless of the weather, activities are planned indoors and out, including presentations on area biology studies and history, nature and art hikes, opportunities to meet local authors and to see the work of an area videographer. The …

Eagle watching for birders of all levels

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:23:52 -0500

Early birds, night owls and all in between won’t be disappointed at two interesting upcoming eagle-watching events in Indiana: the Eagles in Flight Weekend at Turkey Run State Park, and the Eagle Watch Weekend at Lake Monroe. Both events will be held Feb. 1 through 3, and both are family-friendly and offer programs for beginning to experienced birders, from early in the morning into the evening. “The reason we can have this event is that we’re at this lovely, magical spot where you may see up to 200 eagles. This area has plenty of flowing water that doesn’t freeze, like …

Family-friendly New Year’s Eve fun

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:41:47 -0500

Ring in the New Year with music, magic and more, celebrate on ice, or get a little wild with these family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebrations. † New Year’s Fest in Kalamazoo, Mich., is an event that offers 6½ hours of entertainment and activities at 15 venues with options for all ages. The first acts start at 4:30 p.m. CST and include a Vegas-style vocalist, a tuba ensemble playing holiday music and an “America’s Got Talent” performer who combines comedy, juggling, Michael Jackson moves and more into his shows. The evening ends with a bang and fireworks at 11 p.m. (midnight …

Dazzling displays light up the nights

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:48:36 -0500

The shortest days of the year are here but that just leaves more nighttime to enjoy the dazzling light displays throughout the area. † Skating penguins, a roller coaster, dancing daisies and a fire truck with a firefighter climbing a ladder as it rises are just some of the many whimsical and impressive lighting displays in two public lights installations in Northwest Indiana. The Winter Lights Drive Through at Sunset Hill Farm County Park will dazzle from dusk until 9 p.m. through Jan. 1. The park is at 775 Meridian Road, just south of Highway 6, in Valparaiso. Admission is …

Unique holiday events worth a drive

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:13:22 -0500

Christmas and astrophysics are two topics that don’t often go together, yet these are combined in one of the interesting and unique upcoming Christmas programs in South Bend. † “What and When was the Christmas Star? An astrophysics perspective presented by Professor Grant Mathews” is a free program offered at the University of Notre Dame Friday, Dec. 7, through Sunday, Dec. 9. “Two thousand years ago in Bethlehem, a lot depended on the learned people who studied the heavens. At that time, people told time, directions and more by looking at the sky. Professor Mathews’ part of the program will …

Winter outdoor fun at many venues

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:42:08 -0500

Snow or no, here are some hot destinations for cool winter fun, regardless of the weather. Downhill skiing in Michigan: Though not much snow has fallen, it’s been cold enough for ski areas across Michigan to make snow. And, two programs offer skiers nice discounts: Discover Michigan Skiing and Ski Free. More than 20 ski areas in Michigan are participating in Discover Michigan Skiing, which offers discounts to introduce new skiers to cross-country and downhill or snowboarding. The package includes a beginner’s lesson, rental equipment and a lift or trail pass at $20 for cross country, $30 for downhill, and …

Relive Christmas circa 1916

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 01:59:19 -0500

This weekend you can walk back in time and experience a tale of Christmas past, and of Christmas “presents,” that would warm even a Scrooge’s spirits, at Christmas Long Ago at Buckley Homestead in Lowell. “This is an interactive performance that gives people more of a sense of what it was like back then by getting them involved,” said Sandy Basala, superintendent of visitor services of Lake County Parks. She said that the program was revamped three years ago, borrowing from the very popular group tour-performance format of the park’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” program, while also reducing the distance …

Tribute brings ‘Christmas Story’ alive

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 11:42:12 -0500

On one of the most memorable flights I’ve ever taken, the passenger next to me started to cry. He wasn’t alone. Fortunately, it was laughter that brought them to tears while watching an on-board movie. The film was “A Christmas Story.” On Saturday, Nov. 17, the quirky fun of this classic holiday film will come alive in the Downtown Hammond Council’s event, A Tribute to “A Christmas Story.” “This event just keeps growing and growing, and at the same time, downtown Hammond has been going through a wonderful transformation ... with a theater, art galleries and a diverse mix of …

Unwind at Dunes winter open house

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 07:18:14 -0500

This can be a hectic time of year. For a nice change of pace, spend some time outdoors in nature at the Dunes Learning Center winter open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16. You can leave your credit card and the crowds behind, and enjoy free activities for all ages including hikes in the woods, nature-inspired crafts, winter survival skills sessions, plus live music and hot chocolate by a fire inside the lodge. “We’re not generally open to the public at this time of year, so this is a rare opportunity for the public to see …