Happy Memorial Day

ChiIL Mama will be taking a long, holiday weekend and we'll return with lots of great photos on Tuesday. Happy Memorial Day!

The Franklins and The Foamers At Railroad Daze

We spent this past Saturday at Franklin Park's Railroad Daze. This annual fest is the epitome of small town fun, a half hour out of the big city. It was such a welcome relief to find close, free parking a block from the fest. And there was not an overpriced parking meter to be seen!


The kids rode a free fun little red train made from barrels pulled behind a glorified lawnmower and decked out in American and Canadian flags.






And we all rode a free bigger version of a train, which got stopped at the tracks for an even bigger version of a train--a reeeeeal slooooooow reeeeeeal freight train, that is.
Our Montessori teacher friend, who lives in Franklin Park, ran into many of her relatives, friends, neighbors, etc. every time she turned around. Her husband has lived in Franklin Park all his life as did his family for several generations before. The Green Festival the following day was a bit like that for us, since we ran into no less than 16 of our friends there. But in Franklin Park, we were pleasantly incognito. We only met up with two families we know, which was the perfect size to share a picnic table with.Railroad Daze was staffed by the local police and firemen, while neighborhood restaurants and non profits ran reasonable food booths and a beer garden. The kids were elated to score their first funnel cakes of the year.We toured a variety of trains from modern Metras to vintage sleeper cars with ornate living rooms. Sage was ready to move in and ride the rails indefinitely, traveling all the time. The kids got a kick out of "driving" the trains and one friendly Metra engineer said he'll occasionally let kids really drive the train......."If you catch me and I'm on something, driving." This provoked much laughter from my friend. Casey Jones you'd better watch your speed.The tracks were lined with a good share of train buffs and those loco for locomotives. I've heard them affectionately called foamers, because they foam at the mouth over trains of all sorts. But man, did they have some NICE cameras.

The Lean Green Festival

Sunday afternoon, I dragged my Blackhawks jersey wearing, long suffering husband along to Green Festival, during game one of the Stanley Cup Finals, while Tivo taped it for later. He met many booth workers to commiserate with, but had to hold his ears and protest loudly when they tried to give him score updates off their mobile phones. Ah, the bonuses and pitfalls of living in a technologically advanced society.

Yes, the hippies all have cell phones and lap tops and eco-friendly jobs now. Most of it was the same old same old. Dug was just about sold on a carbonation machine, since he's a huge fan of San Pellegrino water, with all the attendant wasteful glass bottles and cans we recycle. And he bought a packet of "remailables" stickers to send back junk mail. But the geothermal boilers and other eco-accouterments for home improvement were prohibitively expensive.

The kids had a good old time collecting freebies, while I attended a talk by a long time friend of mine on Raising Green Children. She's been a vegan for over a decade, and is a huge proponent of kicking the meat habit, as the most effective way to green up the family. She's pictured below, with her son, Justice.Last year we came home with a gallon of organic milk, a big hunk of family farmed cheese, enough ginger and echinacea tea to last through 6 months of cold and flu season, and 3 bulging bags of goodies. This year, The Science and Industry Museum gave nice water bottles and cloth bags, but most samples were tiny bits of cut up foodstuffs to eat on the spot.

At least the sticker makers are thriving in these tight financial times! One exception was a lovely bag of soap and wool to make your own loofah. Very cool! Even the kids activity section was scaled way down from last year, when they had musicians, performers, and lots more hands on activities. Bad news--all the booths weren't sold and some smaller eco-businesses are suffering or going under. Good news--it wasn't as crowded and was more comfortable and easy to negotiate this still impressively large indoor fest.

Here's Du-Jay practicing to reduce our electric bill with people power. He pedaled hard enough to run a blender and turn on a light. Who needs a gym? Take that, Com Ed.
Sagezilla's practicing up so she can bike behind the Smartcar, and keep up, when we no longer have room for the kidlets in our two seater! Seriously, she had a great time pedaling and powering the mini replica around the world. Actually, this booth was run by an awesome organization, Working Bikes, that collects bikes locally, refurbishes them, and sends them to 3rd world countries.

Sometimes less is more. Even if it's for the wrong reasons, it's nice to see the arm of the "organic industry", which was offering us a prepackaged, wastefully wrapped, kinder gentler way to buy buy buy, growing up a little. If there's a little good news in these times, it's that people will drive and pollute less, bike more, eat more locally grown produce, reduce, reuse, and recycle and live more sustainably. It's not just trendy or PC, it's cheaper!

We still got to see a baby chick and get up close and personal with millipedes, tarantulas and worm bins. And we still got Vegan soy cream cones and lots of great info about nature related events coming up this summer. We'll keep you up to date on what's happenin' in Chicago's green spaces. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.....Read on line.

I ♥ Faces-Blurb Book Photo Contest

Recently, I've been having a blast with the I ♥ Faces web site. Photography is a daily passion of mine and this site has inspired my creativity and helped hone my skills. There are thousands of talented, passionate photographers out there! I love this shot of Sagezilla. She was mid-jump, with her hair still flying, and she reminds me of a Dr. Seuss character. It expresses her playful, exuberant, colorful personality!

"I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."

Help ChiIL Mama win best local blog-Chicago--on GoCityKids

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Click on the round button to make your voice heard. This link will appear on the right side of ChiIL Mama, under the slide show, for easy access, for the duration of the contest.

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Summer Camp Season Again

The countdown has begun and in 4 days we'll be off to camp.....Summer Camp at 3 Sister's Park in Chillicothe, IL, that is. This annual music festival is heavy on the jam bands, but encompasses an eclectic range. With 60 bands on 5 stages spanning 3 days, there's sure to be something to appeal to every member of the family.Last year, Sagezilla and Du-Jay thoroughly enjoyed the kids' area, where they launched water balloons in giant sling shots at unsuspecting adults. Zilla got her first hair wrap, and both kids made hemp and bead bracelets.All the fest kids loved having pro looking face paint done for the "golf cart kids parade", where they threw candy and played music while riding through the grounds in style.








A talented balloon man made the kids outrageous hats and even mugs of beer for those of age.













And both kids learned juggling tricks from the pros. They especially bonded with a school teacher who moonlights as a knife and fire juggler. It was like joining the circus for a long weekend. Kids Camp runs daily 11-6pm and all activities are free with paid festival admission.

Of course, the main attraction is the music. With camping on site, it's family friendly, even for the young ones, who need to be tucked in to their sleeping bags before the last notes dye away.




We were still able to camp close enough to one of the main stages, to hear
everything from our site while the littles snoozed.

The kids got a front row look at The Flaming Lips, whom they had seen from afar at Lollapalooza the year before. What's not to love about giant robots and aliens, confetti cannons, humans in hamsterballs rolling over the audience, and enormous balloons released to bounce around the crowd. George Clinton and P Funk were also a huge hit, as were nightly sets by headliners, Moe. The kids were entranced by all the glow sticks and audience members who twirl fire. Dad was happy to hear Clutch and hang at the heavier punk and metal Jagermeister stage.

This year we're looking forward to seeing Les Claypool, Keller Williams, Willie Nelson, Darkstar Orchestra, Gomez, Cornmeal, and Bucket Head, among many others. They've even added a new, hot air balloon ride attraction. Of course, in years past, the kids were excited enough about the tractor pulled wagon ride that circles the grounds all weekend.



If you ever followed The Grateful Dead or Phish before becoming a parent, and you're not afraid of a bit of mud, pack the tent, bug spray, sunscreen and earplugs for the kidlets and introduce the family to "The Family". Tickets are still available and it's worth the 3 hour drive down from Chicago.