News

The 2015 Skokie Festival of Cultures was recently awarded a $5,200 arts grant from the Illinois Arts Council. The event, organized by the Skokie Park District, the Village of Skokie and the Skokie Public Library, is one of the premier ethnic festivals in Illinois, having attracted more than 430,000 attendees and dozens of cultures since 1991, all representing Skokie's tremendous diversity.

The Skatium Ice Arena will officially announce its hockey Legacy Class of 2014 on December 16 at 6 p.m., in a ceremony at the venerable Skokie Park District rink. The new legends names will be engraved in brick and laid into the Skatium’s outdoor legacy brickyard.

As part of an agreement between School District 219, the Skokie Park District, the Morton Grove Park District and Lincolnwood Parks & Recreation, Niles North High School's new $15 million state-of-the-art aquatic center is now offering community open & lap swimming on Tuesdays & Thursdays, beginning January 6, 2015 from 8:15-9:15 p.m. Admission is $3 per person, or 10-visit cards for $27 and 20-visit cards for $40, all payable at the center.

While visitors to Skokie's 45 beautiful parks can certainly take a short stroll around almost all of them, eleven parks offer longer circular walking paths, which allow more serious walkers and hikers a chance to really stretch their legs.

Don your winter apparel and bring the whole family to downtown Skokie's Holiday Fest & Cookie Walk on Dec. 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. The celebration begins at event headquarters, located at the Skokie Heritage Museum, 8031 Floral Ave. To set the mood, the 'First Fridays' event will feature live reindeer, elves, photos with Santa, carolers from Lincoln Junior High School, and much more.

HauntedIllinois.com, the clearing house for Illinois haunted houses, recently stopped by the parks district's Scream Scene and gave the event a nice review. Kudos to Corrie Guynn, Lisa Sullivan, Crystal VanHyning, and their staff and volunteers for creating a unique event again this year.

After the completion of its annual financial audit, the Skokie Park District today released its 2012-13 Annual Report, detailing its work during the fiscal year ending on April 30, 2014.

In the early to mid 1990s, as the Skokie Park District began the massive rebuild of its parks and facilities, district staff went to DuMor Site Furnishings in Mifflintown, Pa., and asked for a new custom park bench —one that would be sturdy, attractive, modern and eco-friendly.

When Mishawaka, Indiana's 'Funky Plastic Offspring' took their fourth World Wiffle®​Ball Championship on July 13 at Skokie's Channelside Park, ESPN had a camera there to shoot the final game. With footage in the can, the "worldwide leader in sports" featured the world's oldest and largest wiffleball tournament on SportsCenter on July 18, as part of their 'Summer of Champions' segment.

With biking becoming more popular every year — and park district residents looking for more bicycling opportunities — we offer the following links to Bike Routes in Skokie and Skokie's Bikeway System Plan, courtesy of the Village of Skokie's website.