The Forest Preserve District of Kane County will hold its annual Maple Sugaring Days event from noon to 3 p.m., March 1 and 2, at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve at 37W700 Dean St. in St. Charles.
Forest Preserve District naturalists will demonstrate how to tap a maple tree, and visitors can also try drilling and setting their own tap, according to a press release about the event.
Participants can then watch sap simmer over an open fire, as it thickens to syrup, the release said.
Inside Creek Bend Nature Center at the preserve, visitors can go to the Maple Cae to sample pure, local syrup. Syrup will be available for purchase, while supplies last, officials said.
As part of the festival, the district will also be celebrating two anniversaries — the Forest Preserve District’s 100th anniversary and Maple Sugaring Days’ 30th anniversary.
To mark the occasion, Riverlands Brewing Company has created an exclusive Maple Replay Imperial Stout, brewed in collaboration with the Kane Forest Preserve Foundation. The craft brew features the same maple syrup that’s offered at the festival, sourced locally from Funks Grove, Illinois, according to the release.
The beer will be available for purchase inside the beer tent at Maple Sugaring Days. A portion of the proceeds will benefit nature education and other initiatives supported by the Kane Forest Preserve Foundation, according to the release.
Maple Sugaring Days will also have the usual items available for purchase inside the nature center, including ice cream drizzled with maple syrup, hot chocolate and maple-glazed doughnuts.
No registration is required for Maple Sugaring Days and admission is free.
For more information on the fest, call 630-444-3190, go to www.kaneforest.com, or find the Forest Preserve District of Kane County on social media by searching @forestpreserve.
History of glass company to be shared
A program at the St. Charles Public Library will focus on the history of the Heinz Cut Glass Company on 13th and Indiana avenues in St. Charles, which became one of the largest glass-cutting factories in the Midwest.
Don Quant of the American Cut Glass Association will share the history of the Heinz Brothers at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at the library, 1 S. Sixth Ave. in St. Charles.
Many photos of the factory and the glass it produced will be shown, and stories will be shared of the brothers’ personal lives, according to a press release about the event. Actual pieces of Heinz Brothers cut glass will be available for viewing.
A collection of Heinz Glass on loan from the St. Charles History Museum is on display in the library’s lobby display case during January, officials said.
To register for the Jan. 30 program, go to scpld.org or call the library’s Research and Reading Desk at 630-584-0076, Ext. 1.
Free digital skills training set
Waubonsee Community College, in partnership with the Aurora Public Library District, Kaneville Public Library, Messenger Public Library of North Aurora, Sandwich Public Library District and Sugar Grove Public Library, will offer free digital skills training sessions in February for students and community members.
The sessions will be hosted at two locations: Waubonsee’s Sugar Grove Campus Todd Library and Waubonsee’s Aurora Downtown Campus Library. All programs offered in English will include Spanish translation services.
While registration is encouraged, it is not required to attend, officials said.
Sessions planned include Intro to Microsoft Word at noon and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, and
Thursday, Feb. 13; Intro to Microsoft Excel at noon and 6 p.m on Wednesday, Feb. 19,
and Thursday, Feb. 20; Intro to Google Drive for Students at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 26, and Thursday, Feb. 27; and Intro to Google Drive for the Community at 6 p.m Wednesday, Feb. 26, and Thursday, Feb. 27.
Go to waubonsee.edu/community for location details and additional information or call Waubonsee Community College Libraries at 630-966-4625 to register.
Broadway performers to be part of fundraiser
Five Broadway stars will perform in concert with a 20-piece orchestra as part of a Feb. 21 fundraiser for the Illinois Conservatory for the Arts in Naperville.
The gala scheduled for 5 p.m. at Wentz Concert Hall in downtown Naperville will include the live concert, an open bar, plated dinner, free valet parking, silent and live auctions, and an afterparty, a news release said. It is black-tie optional.
Tickets for the dinner and concert are $250. Concert-only tickets range from $50 to $100.
The show will feature Myles Frost, the 2022 Tony Award winner for “MJ the Musical” and the youngest male solo Tony Award winner in history, event organizers said.
Other performers are J. Harrison Ghee, the 2023 Tony Award winner for “Some Like it Hot;” Amber Iman, the 2024 Tony nominee for “Lempicka;” Karen Mason, a longtime Broadway performer and Arlington Heights native; and Aisha Jackson, the first Black actress to portray Anna in “Frozen.”
Among the items available in the silent auction are vacations, wine tastings, sports packages and jewelry.
For tickets and more information, go to ilconservatory.org.