Various activities held throughout the holiday season including light parade and lighting ceremony, entertainment, demonstrations and giveaways.

Featuring horse-drawn carriage rides, visits with Santa and entertainment. Check website for detailed schedule. Weekends from Nov. 10-Dec. 23, 2012.

The festival kicks off at 6 p.m. on Nov. 15 in Pere Marquette park. Featuring live music, fireworks and the ceremonial lighting of the downtown lights. The light festival features thousands of lights and holiday displays.

Search for gnomes in the Children's Garden using your best "I Spy" skills. Checklist provided.

Visitors can walk inside the two-story silo and turn the crank of a silage machine, watching "corn plants" delivered to the top of the silo. Plus, learn about the history of silos and silage, build miniature silos with building blocks simulating wood, brick and metal and much more.

With small solar lights to guide their way, hikers, skiers and snowshoers can traverse the 1.3-mile fitness trail at Old School Forest Preserve in Libertyville or the 1.65-mile hilly section of the Millennium Trail adjacent to the winter Sports Area at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda. Starting Sunday, Nov. 4, the trails and adjacent parking lots will remain open until 9 .m. daily until March 9.

Activities nurture every child's curiosity about natural science. Class meets for four weeks at Lincoln Marsh and and four weeks at the Northside Park Girl Scout Cabin.

Play with toys and games from all around the world and meet their inventors, stage events, characters, Radio Disney, Top Trump Tournament, KenKen Tournament, Star Wars Breakfast, mascots and more. New in 2012, toy and game fashion show on Nov. 14.

Kick-off to the Christmas season and the annual Red Kettle campaign. Celebration includes musical performances by cast members of the Goodman Theatre's "A Christmas Carol" and the Salvation Army Brass Ensemble and culminates in the lighting of an 18-foot-tall Christmas tree.

See a toy so amazing, so unbelievable, it has the power to transform into anything you want it to be. Enter a world where imagination rules, and ordinary becomes extraordinary.

Build a snow fort, throw snowballs, dress up a snowman and ice skate - all inside.
The brand new "ice" rink has more space to skate in your socks.

A new traveling exhibit created by Children's Museum of Pittsburgh that links familiar childhood objects to a process of manufacturing that combines people, ideas and technology. Inspired by the factory tour segments from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the exhibit offers hands-on activities using real factory tools and machines to create objects including crayons, a baseball bat and a matchbox car, just to name a few.

Kids enter artist Gino Severini's interpretation of trains by role-playing engineer, passenger or conductor in a child-size train and look for objects in an eight-foot wide "hidden pictures" mural of artist Don Stewart's "Steam Train."  Plus, enjoy specially designed wooden train tables and a huge new interactive crane.

Third Thursday is a special time once a month at DCM for families of kids with autism spectrum disorder, visual, and mobility impairments to come play at the Museum. The entire family can explore the Museum from 5-7 p.m. during a typically quieter time, although it is open to the public. Photo books are available to help visitors structure a visit. Specially trained staff will assist with art activities, and resource tables will provide information on issues and services. Call for more information.

The exhibit features the illustrations of W. W. Denslow, a Chicago resident whose famous illustrations helped to inspire the design of the classic 1939 MGM film starring Judy Garland. The bright and colorful exhibit provides a variety of learning opportunities and hands-on activities within a three-dimensional representation of Denslow's distinctive illustrations.

Discover how sounds make music, and how music makes you feel, with activities like making melodies on bolt- and wrench-a-phones, using soft sculpture pegs to make a music box, blowing air over a reed, moving musical notes on a staff, beating percussion instruments, and creating an artistic masterpiece that reflects how music makes you feel

Stop by for live children's music, a great introduction to the magic of music.

See snakes up close and learn about their fascinating lives. Naturalist Deb Krohn ("The Frog Lady") shows how wonderful and beneficial these creatures are. Registration required.

Take a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the world of magic and its historic roots in Chicago. Features a multimedia object theater experience, artifact display and live performances. Discover the tricks of the trade and witness Chicago's magical past reappear before your very eyes.

A special exhibit on the history of Girl Scouting, with special focus on Oak Park, River Forest, and Forest Park. Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

Hundreds of objects and documents from the exclusive private collection, together with a rare collection of first editions of his most famous works, tell the story of how Charles Dickens and his characters became enduring cultural icons. Interactive and multi-media displays and personal effects take visitors through a chronological tour of the life, literature and legacy of Dickens. View his personal traveling inkwell, take a ride in an early century carriage, and learn about the memorable characters, stories and themes of his famous tales through games, time period puzzles and Dickens' own personal Facebook page.

Visitors become space adventurers and set off on a journey to discover the Universe in a way never done before. Travel a billion light-years and back, fly through space, orbit the Moon, zoom into a canyon on Mars, and soar through the cosmic web where a million galaxies shower down. The experience was created utilizing real telescopic data and the best scientific imagery.

Exhibit examines the ancestry and evolution of numerous species, ranging from huge to tiny, from speedy to sloth-like, and displays animals with oversized claws, fangs, snouts, and horns. Highlights include taxidermy specimens, an entire skeleton of a giant hoofed plant-eater, a life-size model of the largest land mammal that ever lived, one of the oldest fossilized bats ever found, and an impressive diorama featuring the swamps and forests of an island in the Arctic. Runs May 26, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013.

Exhibit explores Schulz's personal history and his role as the sole inspiration and artistic talent behind Peanuts and its unique cast of characters. Through original cartoons, reproductions and related Peanuts ephemera, guests see how characters were developed and evolved. Schulz's Santa Rosa, Calif. studio, recreated for the first time, allows for a deeper look into his work and life. Kids and families have a chance to exercise their own Schultz-like creativity with activities like making a zoetrope.

Exhibit challenges guests to communicate, move and live like bugs at interactive stations. Live insects are featured throughout the exhibition, plus larger-than-life robotic creatures allow visitors to observe the often overlooked beauty and complexity of the insect world.

Learn and connect to the history of the Marathon race, inspired by the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), from the first Marathon race in the 1896 Athens Olympics to today. Includes section on The Chicago Marathon. Children are invited to participate in a Race for Pheidippides scavenger hunt to redeem a prize. Exhibit coloring pages also available.

Play, eat a special lunch of a slice of pizza or hot dog and a small drink get 10 game credits, then listen to a story read by Claudia Freeman, Superintendent of Cultural Arts for the Waukegan Park District. After the story, paint a masterpiece with Claudia.

Program is managed by Stepping Stones Therapy. Social skills groups provide interactive and fun opportunities to increase speech, language, oral-motor, motor planning, socialization and sensory processing and modulation skills. Visit www.airtastic.com to request additional information.

Watch men painted blue do unusual performance art and original slapstick comedy. It's fun to sit in the front, but remember to wear a plastic poncho to avoid the flying food and liquids. Buy tickets at the box office, online, via Ticketmaster or by calling (773) 348-4000.

In a world where a trip to the Laundromat threatens to separate Trixie from her beloved bunny, a girl needs a hero to help--Dad. Can her parents understand what she's saying in time to rescue Knuffle Bunny? Performances run Oct. 2, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013.

This third installment continues the marriage of classic literature to music. Students will be introduced to Blues concepts along with other contemporary music. Playwright J. e Franklin reconstructs timeless fables about morals and values that stimulate critical thinking in a setting filled with music, fun, and laughter. Showtimes are 10 a.m. and noon Monday-Friday from Oct. 29-June 14. Summer performances are June 24-Aug. 2.

Teenage DeShawn goes from making exceptional to poor grades in a matter of months due to the violent death of his best friend and the break-up of his family. Presented in collaboration with the University of Chicago Urban Health Initiative, this performance examines the need to recognize signs of depression in youth due to family disintegration and violence. Performances run Oct. 29-June 14.

See a variety of styles ranging from hip-hop, ballet, tap and jazz to contemporary and more. The festival is a cornerstone of the city's fall dance season and showcases more than 300 individual dynamic acts from more than 2,500 talented dancers and choreographers from some of Chicago's best dance companies. Check website for schedule. Oct. 20-Dec. 1.

Street Tempo Theatre takes the audience on a seasonal adventure with singing, dancing, stories, interactive games and non-holiday specific eggnog. Previews are 3 and 8 p.m. Nov. 15, 16 and 17. Regular run is 8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays Nov. 23-Dec. 30.

Performances are 7 p.m. Nov. 15, 5:30 and 7:30 Nov. 16, 1 and 3:30 p.m. Nov. 17-18,

The story of Ariel is performed at7 p.m. Nov. 15; 5 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16; 1 and 3:30 p.m. Nov. 17-18.

A new respite care program offers free childcare for children with special needs. The program is free for all families. No affiliation with the church or any church is required.Facilities specific to children with special needs include: wheelchair access, quiet room, sensory wall, playroom, nursery, accessible restroom and changing table.Volunteers are trained with sensitivity and knowledge to care for children with autism, Down syndrome, behavioral disorders, cerebral palsy, speech and language impairments, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, and developmental/cognitive disabilities. There is a place for any child affected by special needs, as well as their siblings. Childcare is provided from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday evenings. Children may be dropped off and picked up at any time during this period. Parents are welcome to spend time in the facilities to observe, meet other parents, or connect with volunteers. To register, email or call Amy Giacalone, churchinroscoevillage@gmail.com.

Just as Victor Frankenstein created his monster from parts of many different people, this new iteration of "500 Clown Frankenstein" is constructed by a cast of rotating performers. Five clowns reconfigure into three different casts, each charged with the same task: "make monster."

Write and decorate letters to those in service to our community, and our country, during the holiday season.

Gather a team of your favorite Diary of a Wimpy Kid fanatics and battle for a chance to win copies of The Third Wheel. Call (847) 376-2839 to register your team today.