What better way to celebrate Memorial Day than spending time with your family and honoring all the brave men and women who gave their lives to make this country what it is? Below are some Memorial Day parades and ceremonies in the Chicagoland area over the weekend.  

Chicago

Chicago is starting Memorial Day Weekend with a wreath laying ceremony and parade at 11a.m. on Saturday, May 26 at the Eternal Flame on Daley Plaza. Following the ceremony, there will be a parade promptly at noon that will go south on State Street from Lake Street to Van Buren.

The Norwood Park Memorial Day parade will begin at 11 a.m. on Monday and end with a ceremony at approximately 12:15 p.m. The parade will begin at Onahan School and travel west toward Northwest Highway, ending at Taft High School where the ceremony will take place.

North/Northwest Suburbs

Lincolnshire Memorial Day Ceremony

At Lincolnshire’s ceremony, Captain Raymond C. Leung of the U.S. Navy will speak at 10 a.m. on Monday at Spring Lake Park. The Daniel Wright Middle School band and color guard will perform at the event. After the ceremony, the Sea Cadets Division 911 will retire a worn American flag. Those who plan on attending may also bring flags to retire.

Lincolnwood Memorial Day Parade

The parade will begin at 10:20 a.m. on Monday at Madeleine’s Garden. The parade will start at the corner of Cicero and Pratt Avenues and will end in Proesel Park at Madeleine’s Garden, where a ceremony will be held at 11 a.m.

Lincolnwood’s parade allows children ages eight and under to participate by riding bikes, scooters and wagons decorated in a patriotic theme. Children participating must be accompanied by an adult and all riders must wear helmets.

West Suburbs

Battle of Cantigny 100^th Anniversary

In Wheaton, there will be a 100^th anniversary celebration of the famous World War I battle where the U.S. Army liberated the French village of Cantigny from German occupation. The celebration will include a wreath-laying ceremony, a poppy display, World War I themed family activities, military vehicles and a World War I themed photo booth. To end the celebration, the Illinois Brass Band will perform at 3 p.m.

Naperville Memorial Day Parade

The Naperville Memorial Day Parade will include 17 different marching bands and will begin at roughly 10:30 a.m. at Jackson and West Street. It will end at the Saints Peter and Paul church parking lot.

South Suburbs

Beverly Area Memorial Day Parade

Before the parade kicks off, the Beverly Area Planning Association’s 41^st annual Ridge Run will take place where more than 3,000 athletes will gather to compete. There will be entertainment, food, children’s activities and special guests at Ridge Park following the race.

The parade will begin from 110th Street and Longwood Drive at about 10 a.m., and march north to Ridge Park. After the parade, the BAPA will have a wreath-laying ceremony along with a color guard at Ridge Park.

Homewood Memorial Day Parade

The Homewood Memorial Day Parade will start at 10:30 a.m. and travel south on Dixie Highway before ending at Veterans Park for a Memorial Day ceremony. The ceremony is to remember, reflect and honor those who have served, are serving and those who have given their lives for this country.

Illinois saw a record number of visitors last year.

According to the Illinois Office of Tourism, nearly 114 million people traveled to Illinois in 2017, an all-time high for the number of tourists visiting the state. Last year’s visitor totals were 3 percent higher than 2016, which set the previous record.

An estimated 2.36 million travelers visited from other countries, primarily Canada, China, the U.K., Mexico, Japan and Germany. The majority of the remaining 111.5 million U.S. visitors came to Illinois for vacation, as opposed to work. Nearly 83 percent were leisure travelers, the category that saw the most growth. The other 17 percent were in Illinois for business.

The Illinois Office of Tourism kicked off National Travel and Tourism Week by unveiling a new Frank Lloyd Wright Trail to celebrate the famed architect’s history and connection to the state.

Wright was known for his uniquely American style of architecture, including several well-known buildings in Illinois. His creative period spanned over 70 years and produced designs for homes, offices, churches, schools, hotels, museums and other structures.

Two new road trip itineraries will feature buildings designed by Wright, who spent the first two decades of his career based in Chicago and Oak Park. This self-guided architectural adventure will feature 13 Wright-designed buildings open to the public throughout Illinois.

One trail goes from Chicago to Springfield, with stops in Kankakee and Dwight, allowing visitors to discover the shining examples of Wright’s signature Prairie style.

Another trail takes travelers from Chicago to Rockford, with stops in Geneva, Hampshire and Belvedere, following Wright’s career from his earliest designs to his biggest innovations.

Both itineraries – which can be downloaded from EnjoyIllinois.com – also suggest other activities along the way, such as Chicago’s architecture cruise, the Oak Park walking tour of Wright-designed homes, and various eateries and tourist attractions.

The creation of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail was approved by the General Assembly last month. This summer, official Frank Lloyd Wright Trail road signs will be displayed across Illinois.

It is National Kite Flying month and what better way to celebrate the nice weather than taking the entire family out to fly some kites?

Flying a kite can be a fun activity for the entire family and people of all ages. Below are some special kite events that are happening in the suburbs.

This month, we are featuring a unique conservation area in Illinois’ “Little Egypt” region called Cache River State Natural Area. The park exists to preserve unique wetlands that are home to a wide variety of protected flora and fauna.

The Cache River wetlands sit within a floodplain carved thousands of years ago by glacial floodwater from the Ohio River. Growing throughout the wetlands of the Cache River State Natural Area are large cypress trees, many of which are over 1,000 years old and more than 40 feet in diameter. The Cache River wetlands are home to Illinois’ state champion bald cypress tree, which is noted for its height, trunk girth and thick canopy of branches and leaves.