Author: khalverson

Press Release – November 27, 2023 AURORA – The sights, sounds and spirit of the season return to festively garnished Blackberry Farm, where Holiday Express revs to welcome all aboard another magical experience highlighted by a train ride to the virtual North Pole. Trimmed with accents of the treasured 2004 movie The Polar Express, the… Read More

Rewind two years when the world collectively sought alternatives to binge-watching, Zoom-meeting and TikTok-ing during the lockdown stage of the pandemic. With gyms shuttered and playgrounds cordoned by caution tape, we all wanted – needed – to get out and play, to sample new adventures and realign our recreational activities. One sport, its fuse already… Read More

FEBRUARY 28 UPDATE On Monday, February 28, Governor J.B. Pritzker lifted the statewide indoor mask requirement. The Fox Valley Park District has followed and will continue to follow guidance from the State of Illinois and local government. Face masks will no longer be required in District facilities, but are strongly encouraged. We ask that everyone be… Read More

Press Release – July 27, 2021 Free event at Red Oak Nature Center aimed at removing invasive crayfish species  AURORA – A curious visitor asks a naturalist to describe the appearance of a rusty crayfish. When she says, “It looks like they’ve been pinched with Cheetos fingers,” the mind wanders to something kinda cute, maybe… Read More

Keep your feet on the ground, but your eyes on the stars. It’s a quote made famous by Theodore Roosevelt during a speech in 1900 in Chicago. Nick Sargis has been repeating it half the summer. “We lived through so much darkness and we need to know that better days are ahead,” said Sargis, the… Read More

Pesky and persistent. Annoying and unflappable. Utter nuisances, especially around a picnic. Widely considered real pains in the … (depending where they sting), bees, mosquitos and an assortment of their other friends sure do get a bad rap. Truth be told, however, “Our lives depend on them,” says Lonnie Morris, an environmental activist and coordinator… Read More

Paul Thill gets the picture.   (Quite literally, in fact, when you consider the Sugar Grove resident hadn’t seen one of our favorite images when asked: What makes Live & Uncorked so enjoyable?)  “The setting of Blackberry Farm is idyllic, particularly on a sunset night,” said Thill, a Live & Uncorked “regular,” along with wife Jen.… Read More

“I could have been an American citizen living in Aurora.” Given the robust, multi-cultured society that helps define the City of Lights, those aren’t exactly words that get accompanied by parades and noisemakers. But when they’re spoken by the Ambassador of Luxembourg to the United States of America, well, two city blocks filled with people… Read More

Press Release – June 7, 2021 26th edition tees off on Monday, June 28  AURORA – You don’t need a birdie’s eye view to notice the resurgence. Heck, it doesn’t even take a golfer to realize the sport is writing quite the comeback story. “You drive down the street and pass a golf course, and we’ve… Read More

Press Release – May 24, 2021 Splash Country, Phillips Park ready to reopen this summer AURORA – Absent of splashdowns, sand volleyball and dumping coconut trees, the Fox Valley Park District’s two outdoor aquatics centers didn’t see a drip of action in 2020. But that’s about to change, as Phillips Park Family Aquatic Center and… Read More