Summer registration for Northbrook Park District begins April 29

Do you want to learn how to make fettucine from scratch? Are your children interested in checking out dance, taekwondo or skateboarding classes? Have you always wanted to figure out how to beat your grandma at canasta?

Families can dive into all that — and so much more —thanks to the Northbrook Park District’s summer programs.

The summer guide is now available at Park District facilities and online at nbparks.org. Registration for residents opens at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 29, and registration for nonresidents opens at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 6.

The Northbrook Community Center, whose renovation will be finished in time for summer, will once again host a variety of programming for children, adults and seniors that had been temporarily relocated to other park district facilities.

New cooking classes

The Community Center features extensive upgrades, including a larger, modern kitchen that will accommodate revamped cooking programs for all ages.

Options starting in June include “Schoolhouse Kitchen: Adult/Tot,” “Mini-Chefs Dinner Crew” and “Schoolhouse Kitchen: Youth” for ages 5 to 10, “Schoolhouse Kitchen Teen Workshop” for ages 12 to 17, and “Yeasted Breads 10,” “Mediterranean Summer,” “Homemade Pasta from Scratch” and “Fresh Flavors for the Sheet Pan Dinner” for adults.

The Community Center will also host classes for all ages in dance, drama and visual arts, along with Northbrook Theatre and Sunshine Preschool.

Health and fitness

Techny Prairie Activity Center offers a wide range of fitness options for all levels, whether people are just embarking on a healthful journey or have made exercise a regular part of their day.

Following the success of goat yoga classes, this summer’s new addition is Family Goat Yoga on July 16. Other new specialty workshops are Posture Reset on June 20 and Ankle Alignment on July 25. New weekly specialty classes are Partner Yoga and Thrive Through Midlife starting in June.

Youth and adult sports

The park district offers youth sports such as baseball, basketball, cycling, lacrosse, martial arts, soccer, volleyball and fencing. Children can also take skateboarding classes through our partner Asylum Skate at the park district’s Skateboard Park at Techny Prairie Parks and Fields.

Adult sports include pickup basketball, soccer and volleyball.

There are tennis lessons for youth and adults, and pickleball lessons, leagues and clinics for all ages.

The Northbrook Sports Center, which features two Olympic-sized ice rinks, offers year-round classes for youth. This summer’s options include classes for ice skating, hockey and speed skating.

The park district’s Northbrook Golf Academy offers golf lessons for youth and adults, along with youth golf leagues and an LPGA/USGA girls golf program, both starting in June.

Special events

As always, summer is filled with lots of outdoor events for all ages.

The adults-only Grapes on the Green event, which has become a favorite for the Northbrook community, takes place June 20 (please note the date change). Tickets will be on sale soon at nbparks.org/event/grapesonthegreen.

The Tuesdays in the Park free concert series at Village Green Park kicks off June 23 for seven weeks of great outdoor music and dancing, and a chance to win prizes and visit with sponsors.

As per tradition, the Fourth of July festivities, in partnership with the Village of Northbrook, include the 18^th Liberty Loop and Lap in the morning, a community parade in the afternoon and spectacular fireworks in the evening. Race registration will open for residents April 29 at nbparks.org.

The free, all-ages Party on the Green will be back at Village Green Park on Aug. 15 with entertainment for the whole family, from Taylor Swift covers from the band Totally Taylor to blues guitar tunes from Duke Tumatoe, along with games, bounce houses, arts and crafts, face painters and giveaways for all.

Summer camp

Summer is also when children and teens can engage in exciting activities, make new friends and create lifelong memories at summer camp.

The park district offers a rich lineup of camps for ages 3 to 13 featuring swimming, field trips, sports, crafts, theater, dance, hockey, ice skating and golf. New this summer are cooking camps and Lego challenge camps for ages 5 to 11.

To offer families flexibility, there are weeklong camps, along with pre-season and post-season camps.

Pools

Of course, it’s not quite summer without a splash in the water, so take advantage of early bird savings for pool passes through May 6 at nbparks.org/pools.

Meadowhill Aquatic Center will be open May 23 through Aug. 9. The facility features four outdoor pools: a lap pool, a children’s water playground, a diving area with three boards, and a pool with tube and body slides.

The Sports Center Pool will be open June 6 through Sept. 7. The facility features a 25-yard pool with six lanes, a leisure pool, a vortex pool, zero-depth entry, two diving boards, deep water diving pool with a drop slide and a climbing wall.

Pool passes are on sale now for individuals ages 2 to 64, seniors ages 65 and up, senior couples , and families (with option of one nanny pass per family).

Established in 1927, the mission of the Northbrook Park District is to enhance the community by providing outstanding services, parks and facilities through environmental, social and financial stewardship.