Bison named Buffy newest addition to Lords Park Zoo menagerie
Buffy, a 600-pound bison, is the newest addition to the Lords Park Zoo in Elgin.
Just a little over a year old, the animal arrived Monday and joins the zoo’s other bison, Takota, following the deaths of Drew and Becky last year, a city of Elgin news release said.
Buffy was donated by the Diamond Tail Ranch near Fort Collins, Colorado, in consultation with the veterinarian responsible for Lords Park Zoo medical care and experts from Brookfield Zoo and Fermilab, the release said.
The city is “also considering adding another bison later in the year and plans to add up to four white-tailed deer, bringing the zoo to full capacity with native animals,” officials said.
For more information, go to elginil.gov/zoo.
The 150th anniversary of Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin and the launch of the library’s summer reading program will be celebrated with an outdoor fair Saturday at the downtown library. (Gail Borden Public Library)
Giant fair being held Saturday for Elgin library’s 150th anniversary
Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin is celebrating its 150th anniversary and the launch of its summer reading program with a fair from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday that will include old-fashioned games, prizes, food and other activities.
Among the performers at the event will be a juggler/stilt walker, strolling magician and fortune tellers, a news release said. Cotton candy, popcorn, hotdogs and ICEEs will be available, and games include a duck pond, Bozo buckets, pig race, cow milking, penguin fish flinging, skeeball, a milk jug toss and more.
A full-sized carousel also will be set up. Timed-entry tickets for rides will be distributed at the fair entrance, the release said.
Because a large crowd is expected, the activities and food will be spread out into different areas of the main library’s back yard and parking lot, 270 N. Grove Ave.
Youth who check out books as part of the summer reading program, the theme of which is, “I think I can, I know I can …150 Years of Reading,” will receive a light-up yo-yo.
For more information, go to gailborden.info/read2024.
East Side Neighborhood Garden painting party planned for Sunday
Elgin’s East Side Neighborhood Garden will be holding a painting party from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 9, at the corner of Channing and Division streets in Elgin.
The afternoon will feature free family-friendly art activities and live music, according to a social media post.
In addition, Make You Brush will be offering guided canvas painting for $15 per pre-sketched 11-inch-by-14-inch canvas. Payment is due prior to the event. To reserve a Make You Brush easel, email paintpartybyabby@gmail.com.
For more information, go to ourgarden2019.wixsite.com/website.
Wind and Steel concert to be held at St. Charles Public Library
The St. Charles Public Library will conclude its 2023-24 Sunday Concert Series with a performance by Wind and Steel at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 9, in the Carnegie Community Room at the library, 1 S. Sixth Ave.
Wind and Steel features flutist Kristin Paxinos and guitarist Ben Westfall, who have been performing together since 2008. Their repertoire consists of standard classical works for flute and guitar as well as original arrangements of classical, popular and film music, according to library officials.
For more information on the free concert, go to scpld.org or call 630-584-0076.
