Winter Fun!

Hello, Harper students and community! Yes, winter is upon us. Although prolonged snow and frigid temperatures routinely define this season, don’t let that get you down. There is plenty to do in the local and not-so-far away areas.

One option for an activity to partake in is the winter sculpture fest in downtown Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Admission is free for the event, which runs from January 31 through February 4. The photo at the top of this blog post is of one of the very creative ice sculptures featured at last year’s festival. For more information, please visit this link: https://www.visitlakegeneva.com/winterfest/

As I am a strong advocate for hiking during all four of the wonderful seasons in the Chicagoland area, I recommend going on hiking trails as part of your fun winter activities. One hiking trail that is in Lake County, Illinois, not far from the main campus of Harper College, is the Lakewood Forest Preserve trail in Wauconda, Illinois. Covering about 2,800 acres, this trail has great winter hiking conditions, including hills to climb and a small lake to walk near. More information about this particular forest preserve trail can be found at this link: https://www.lcfpd.org/lakewood/ Also, on the south end of Harper’s campus, there is the quaint Plum Grove Reservoir Park. After putting on your winter boots and heading to the park, the quick trail walk here will get your heartrate going in no time! The Palatine Park District webpage link that has more information about this area is as follows: https://www.palatineparks.org/rccms/location/plum-grove-reservoir/

For those more prone to stay indoors for fun during the cold, snowy, and icy winter season, there is fun to be had in the form of local coffee shops (of course, tea is always an option at the cafes as well). One of my favorites is local to Glenview, Illinois, a coffee shop cleverly named “The Glenview Grind.” It is in downtown Glenview, just down the street from the Glenview Public Library, as well as the Oil Lamp Theater. Going to see a play and taking part in the theater scene are also great ways to spend time this winter. Another coffee shop that I will mention in the nearby area is Around Cafe, located in the downtown area of the nearby suburb of Arlington Heights. Although not traditionally a winter coffee drink, the “coffee avocado” smoothie, which mixes avocados and espresso, is my favorite smoothie and can only be had at this particular place.

As always, be sure to come over to the Library here at Harper College during the Spring semester. You can be sure that books and other materials on hiking, coffee, and winter activities in general are here to look over and check out. Don’t hesitant to ask one of our friendly librarians or librarian assistants for help. That’s what we are here for!