Creepy, crawly, scaly, slimy. If those are your opinions of reptiles, you should plan to head to Lake Forest this Sunday and have those opinions changed. Sunday, Oct. 25 is the Wildlife Discovery Center’s CROCtoberfest, a celebration of all things reptilian, and a major fundraiser for the center.
The Wildlife Discovery Center is one of the hidden gems of Lake County. Housed at Elawa Farm, it’s a living natural history museum where you can get up close and personal with local native wildlife and learn the importance of wildlife conservation. And you get to do it all in the gorgeous setting of Elawa Farm in Lake Forest.
This day-long event has a little bit of something for everyone, and if you don’t already love reptiles you will at least walk away with a better understanding and appreciation of them.
Bubba, the Discovery Center’s world famous American Alligator will be on hand from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. He is just one of the reptilian photo opps that will make you the Instagram star for the day, you will also be able to meet and learn about the other residents at the Discovery Center.
Guests speakers from the Chicago Herpetological Society and the Madison Area Herpetological Society will be present. For those of you that aren’t science geeks, Herpetological is the study of amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders) and reptiles (snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians).
It wouldn’t be a fest if there wasn’t a whole lot of fun, too! There will be kid-friendly activities all over the grounds including feeding demos, face-painting, a storyteller and hands-on activities. There will also be craft vendors, original art on sale–including pieces made from prints of the animals scales–and a silent auction.
The Discovery Center’s Wildside Store will also be open selling ‘Save the Crocodile’ shirts and more. And all that fun is bound to make you hungry. Chef Steve Chiappetti will be serving up delicious food that will be available for purchase.
All proceeds from the CROCtoberfest event will go to maintain the high level of care the Center provides to its crocodiles and alligators. A portion of the proceeds will also help support crocodile conservation.
Admission is $5 per person; food, the auction and shop items are priced separately. Cash, check or credit card will be taken at the door.
