Busy weekend on tap in Elgin to walk, run, watch and listen
By Mike Danahey mdanahey@stmedianetwork.com September 6, 2012 6:18PM
Mike Holton and his wife Janice Redmond walk their dog through the Freedom Run dog park on Russell Road in Hoffman Estates. The four-acre park is dedicated to Military Service Dogs who have served alongside the men and women of our armed forces. August 24, 2012 | Michael Smart~Sun-Times Media
Updated: October 9, 2012 2:36PM
ELGIN — The city is going to the dogs this weekend. Along with the culture vultures and social butterflies.
Saturday marks the grand opening celebration of Freedom Run — Elgin’s first dog park — located at 6150 Russell Drive in Hoffman Estates. It takes place from 10 a.m. to noon.
Elgin and the Hoffman Estates Park District each contributed $53,865, and Streamwood Park District added $25,000, to convert what were soccer fields at Hoffman’s Canterbury Park South — which borders the far-northeast side of Elgin — to the pooch park. The agreement is for 25 years, has an automatic renewal clause, and the HEPD is responsible for all maintenance and paperwork.
The four-acre Freedom Run is dedicated to military service dogs and their owners. Mike Kies, director of facilities for the Hoffman Estates Park District, noted that the Saturday festivities will include unveiling plaques displayed along the walkway in the park that showcase dogs from each branch of the military.
While any human is welcome to the event, dog attendance is limited to those whose owners have purchased annual memberships to the facility. The annual fees for the park are $49 for residents of the three towns and $59 for nonresidents, with each additional dog registered $15 for residents and $20 for nonresidents.
More information is available by calling 847-285-5442.
Arts on display
For culture vultures and social butterflies, downtown Elgin will host the Next Wave Art Salon from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. today and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday in the Haight Building, 166 Symphony Way.
The juried event features artists of all sorts, including spoken word performer Martina Knizka, sonic artist Daniel Burke, knitter Cindy Caravello, and painter Pat Brutchin.
Presented by the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, the salon is free to attend. For more information, visit www.thenextwave.me/2012/.
In its 60th season, the Elgin Theatre Company will present the comedy “Social Security” today, Saturday and Sunday at the Kimball Street Theater, in the Ryder Center at Elgin Academy. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for youths and seniors. For more curtain times and further information, phone 847-741-0532.
The Gifford Park Association will host the 31st Annual Historic Elgin House Tour from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in Elgin’s Southwest Area Neighbors (SWAN) neighborhood. For more information, visit GPAElgin.org.
The Elgin Symphony Orchestra opens its 63rd season this weekend with performances Saturday and Sunday at the Hemmens Cultural Center downtown under the baton of a world-class guest conductor, with an award-winning guest artist and the music of a new composer.
Conductor Dorian Wilson, who was one of Leonard Bernstein’s last students, is a candidate in the Elgin symphony’s international music director search. Joining Wilson will be guest pianist Joyce Yan, who will perform Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.”
Also on the bill is Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” and “Rusty Air in Carolina,” which was written by Mason Bates, composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
‘Change’ for ESO
The concerts are being called “A Change in the Air,” an apt title as the ESO continues its hunt to replace musical director and conductor Robert Hanson, who resigned in June 2011 after 26 years with the organization.
It could also apply to the venue the ESO calls home.
In July, Grand Victoria Casino representatives told city officials they won’t be moving forward with any plan to build a new entertainment venue tied to its operations. The idea had been floated that such a facility could house the ESO.
For this season, the city council changed how the Hemmens is operating. The city will not sponsor shows, is not giving breaks on rentals to nonprofits, and is looking for more outside bookings.
Mayor Dave Kaptain has said the casino study points to a need for a community conversation about operating the Hemmens and a “need to change the business model to run the thing. We still need to have a discussion about what to do with Hemmens.”
This weekend’s ESO performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Hemmens. For tickets, phone 847-888-4000 or visit www.elginsymphony.org.
