My husband and I went to The Art Center Highland Park looking to see some art by local artists…read more Inside there are several galleries with art in it. There was a exhibit that was being put up while we were there. There is a small gift shop where you can buy work by local artists. The receptionist on duty never welcomed us, spoke to us, or even looked up while we were there. This did not create an inviting atmosphere.

I was here on a Saturday for an event and it is a beautiful space. The exhibits are nice and it…read moretotally works as an event space!

I remember taking all kinds of after school / summer arts, crafts, and sports activities here as a…read morekid, decades ago. Having seen inside the building, it hasn't changed a whole lot. Having been converted from a school that was built in the late 1950s,heavily renovated in the late 1970s, and only minor renovations in the 80's to present day; the building still appears in excellent condition. They host a number of Park District activities mostly for children, and some adult activities, as well as a number of all-ages events in the adjacent park. They also rent out rooms for community activities and private events, though the Highland Park Park District website. In the winter, the building is toasty warm though a teensy bit drafty near some of the windows (specifically those facing the park - maybe they're older?). In the summer, it seems like the place can get a little warm, as the AC seems to struggle a little. Still, the building is relatively comfortable for its age, and all the facilities are well maintained. The adjacent park - West Ridge Park - is very nice. There is a 0.4 mile (0.64 km) asphalt track that circles the park, with additional paths leading towards Red Oak Elementary School and surrounding city sidewalks. The parking lot is in great shape, has plenty of spots, and drains nicely. Accessible parking is near the West Ridge building. The playfields are pretty nice, though seem to flood a little bit during the rainy season. During the peak of the youth baseball, softball, and soccer season the field seems to stay dry enough. In early spring and fall, it can get a little muddy. The track also can get flooded in some spots, so walk carefully after a heavy rain. In the summer, you probably should wear a good mosquito repellent - West Ridge Park seems to have more mosquitos than other parks in the area (Woodbridge Park on Barberry Rd. or Devonshire Park at Devonshire Ct. and Winthrop Rd.), but not as bad as Larry Fink. During several weeks out of the year, Canadian geese like to chill here. I wouldn't recommend saying 'hello,' they can be a little aggressive. I frequently see whitetail deer roaming around as well. There's a playground that has equipment for 3 ~ 12 years of age, with benches around it so parents can comfortable supervise. The play area is pretty far from the parking lot, which is nice for some peace of mind, but - because there's only a little bit of cover - means you should keep an eye on the sky for rain. There are two or three water fountains around the park, a pet bag dispenser, and numerous garbage & recycling cans. There are a few porta-potties, and the park district will add more whenever there are events like movie night at the park. Aside from a few lights in the parking area, and alongside the building, the park isn't lit - best to head out before dusk. West Ridge Center offers a lot to residents of Highland Park, especially grade school to high school age kids. If you live in the area, I suggest checking out all the programs and activities they offer. Even you don't participate, the park is a nice feature for anyone needing a little time outdoors.

This is a review of the West Ridge walking/running path. During this mandatory stay-at-home order,…read moreit's still essential and okay to take a walk and get some fresh air. My hubby has been doing a great job of pushing us out the door to get a two mile walk in as often as possible. Yesterday we were about 30+ minutes away from a rain shower, so I suggested taking a walk closer to home. The truth is, the path is nothing fancy, the cement is a little bit cracked in a couple of areas, but it sure does the trick. This path is .4 miles all the way around, and it's small enough that you can keep your eye on the starting post for when you need to count your laps. There is onsite parking. It never seems crowded. It's flat and a little monotonous, but it gets the job done! Great little neighborhood walking path.

I recommend the center for enriched living because the staff is so caring to all the members that…read morecome to the center for enriched living the staff helps the members with everything I also like all the volunteers that come out to volunteer their time at the center for enriched living the staff take their time putting the in person and virtual programs for us together the staff comes up with fun things for us to do when we come to the center for enriched living the programs are so fun at the center for enriched living there's Sunday morning cafe Monday night bowling Tuesday night Art Wednesday night sampler Thursday night bingo Friday music night Saturday social Sunday events Summer camp teen night and reach day program

This was another facility that I volunteered this summer for my 42 hours that is required for my…read moredegree in Special Education. This non-for-profit organization provides programs for teens and adults who have disabilities so that they can live more independent lives. One of my favorite programs that I got to volunteer with was Teen Party On The Patio on Tuesday nights. Basically, this class was a life skills cooking class that taught teens how to cook food so that they can do this when they eventually live on their own. Each Tuesday night the teens would make either a salad, soup, or side dish and one main entree dish with supervision. After they made the food, the teens would sit outside (or inside depending on the weather) and socialize with one another. Overall, I had such a wonderful experience at this center. This truly is a special and unique place for students with disabilities. This place really shows that students with disabilities can be a success in life just like their other peers. If you have a teen with special needs I highly recommend this center. I wish more states would have these type of centers so that more teens with special needs can be successful.

Attended a Weigel/Rowley talk, mid-size room, good for town hall type meetings, plenty of parking…read moreon side and in back, around the corner from Mickey Finns.

If you're looking for more indoor fun this winter this review is specifically for the treehouse. I…read morewas a bit worried about the crowd factor on a chilly Saturday morning but my twosome had the company of only q few other kids. At first look my daughter said "this is amazing!" And I thought "nice! $3 (per child) well spent." Main attractions for my children included a little playhouse (where they probably spent most of their time) and of course a huge ball pit. They technically don't allow kids under 3 in the ball pit but since there weren't many kids around didn't seem to mind my 2 yr old was there. Then again I understand the age requirement because having to recuse him from the balls over and over again proved to be annoying. Be sure to check their website* for their hours but they are typically open: Mon/Wed/Fri: 9:15-11am Tues/Thurs: 3-5pm Sat: 10am-12pm It's also a very popular and affordable spot for BDAY parties. * http://www.deerfieldparks.org/parks-facilities/jewett-park-community-center/tree-house/

We travel for play parks. For reals, people! Parks can get boring after a while. The same park over…read moreand over and over again. So when a friend put together a play date here, I cried out "Sign me up!" And boy we were not disappointed. The park actually has several sections to it -- two toddler/infant playgrounds that were gated. (We didn't spend any time here so I can't comment.) It has a baseball field and then the big playground, which is where we spent time. As a mom, I appreciated the picnic benches in the shade as well as clean (yes CLEAN) bathrooms. The playground was impressive. There were a huge merry-go-round with ropes you could climb up as well. It was pretty freaking cool! And you don't see those things that often anymore. Which makes me sad and makes me old all at the same time. But the killer was the slide/fort monstrosity that any kid would go ape over. You just gotta check out the photo for yourself. There are two incredibly long curly cue slides. My kids could have run up and slid down all day. But then the structure is made like a fort with a full deck at the top. And it's covered so no one gets sunburned. Kids banded together and before I knew it, there were about ten boys playing pirates. I felt like I was watching a rendition of Lord of the Flies but thankfully everyone survived. This park is worth a little drive to wear out the kids!

Amazing staff that all deserve raises and commendations! Especially the court monitors are great!read more

One of the dumbest business policies I've ever encountered…read more I walked in ready to buy four tickets for 120 minutes. Because the park was closing within that time frame, they refused to sell regular admission and would only sell me a membership. Imagine turning away customers who are literally standing there ready to spend money. No partial ticket option, no common sense, just "buy a membership or leave." So we left. If your goal is to repel customers and send them to competitors, this policy is working perfectly.

I have volunteered here several times doing different roles such as sorting and stickering books…read more The facility here is amazing, with an enormous warehouse and the other areas being a great place to socialize as well, surrounded by tons of books, coat area, and lots of Bernie's Book Bank branded items. The staff here is always super friendly and great at helping new volunteers with understanding their roles and how to perform their jobs. If going with a group from work, this is a great way to meet others and socialize, while doing your volunteer job.

I went there for a yelp event. it was calledneon night and it was a fundraiser. I have never been…read morehere prior to it nor was I familiar with it. It seems like a wonderful organization. You can donate books or money, and it helps children that don't have the means to buy books and you donate money or books, and it helps them. The CM of the North Shore suburbs Keisha and her assistant were kind enough to organize this.

I wasn't aware this place existed, as it's a bit out of my usual distance for going to events. But…read moreI saw an instagram ad for Michael Cavanaugh and couldn't pass up the opportunity to see him (Movin' Out is one of my favorite Broadway shows). The location is very convenient to the Metra, and there's free parking in the lot for the building, which is always appreciated. The venue itself is nice -- intimate and a community-based feeling (there was a community band of some sort rehearsing in a room outside the theater when I left, which is charming). The theater itself isn't elaborate, but it's a nice space. It's great for this type of event. The show itself was great -- he's a fantastic performer, and I loved the set list and how interactive he tried to be with the audience (more on that later). I also loved that I was able to get a discounted seat because I bought a single seat in between seats that had already sold, so it was half price. (I don't know if they always do this, or if it was just because there were still quite a few seats left at the time I bought my ticket 2 weeks beforehand. Regardless, my frugal self appreciated it. I wish more places did that.). There were a few times during the show that the house lights randomly came on during a song, and it didn't seem like it was intentional. Maybe it was the light board operator hitting the wrong thing, or maybe a house manager bumped a switch. It was a little odd though and it happened a few times, which kind of took me out of the performance and made me think something was going on. But oh man, the crowd itself was an interesting experience from a people-watching perspective. It must be a Lake Forest thing? 96% of the audience seemed to think they were in the waiting room of a dentist office waiting for a root canal, and about 1% of the audience thought they were at Coachella (including the three 55-65 year old women next to me, who I'm pretty sure were drinking vodka out of a water bottle because they were getting progressively more wasted during the show despite only drinking from a clear water bottle lol. No judgement. We've all been there...I just haven't been there since I was 21 and trying to sneak my own alcohol into a street festival because I was cheap and not going to pay for overpriced drinks. But hey, you do you. YOLO!). The other 3% were like myself and wanted to get into it, but because everyone else seemed like they were afraid to move, we were holding back (because we didn't want to be "those people", like the ladies next to me...although honestly they seemed like they had a GREAT time, by the way they were grooving and had their hands up in the air even though not another soul in the theater did lol. I can only hope I'm that carefree when I grow up. I'm certainly not at this stage in my life). I almost feel bad for Michael, because I assume he wanted the audience to be a bit more into it than they were. He asked people to clap along a few times and he would start it and then as soon as he put his hands back on the piano to play, people stopped clapping (then he would start clapping again to try to get people going, and they would until he went back to playing. My dudes....he wanted you to clap along to the beat during the song. That's literally how that song works). I tried to keep it going but it was awkward (and bless the people next to me...they tried to clap but the alcohol was definitely impacting their ability to find and stay on the beat. I was fighting a losing battle trying to guide them haha). Also, the crowd here could stand to learn a few things about technology to avoid annoying everyone around them. Obviously people are going to take videos and photos, which is fine. I did too. But it seems like no one knew to turn down their screen brightness in a dark theater so you don't blind the people around you. It was super distracting and headache-inducing to see super bright phone screens out of the corner of my eye every few minutes (maybe it was just the section where I was seated). It would be nice if the ushers or house manager could've said something to folks or reminded people at the beginning not to let their phones be distractions. I was a house manager out in the western suburbs for a similarly sized theater while I was in grad school, and I worked at a theater that held concerts like this in high school, so I've worked at (and attended) hundreds of concerts just like this. This was definitely the strangest experience of an audience I've ever encountered. Apparently this is par for the course, though, because I made an IG story post describing my people observations during intermission and my friend asked me if I was at Gorton Center...I asked her how she knew and she said it was because of the audience description I gave lol. I'd go back and I'm glad I went. I'd just need to prepare myself so I'm not so jarred by the bizarre audience vibes.

Great community center! I had an office here for about 10 years and ran a non profit and watched…read morethe center grow from well appointed but not fully utilized community center into a bustling hub of classes, shows, private events, parties for the town. Rents are reasonable for private events. Shows are very reasonably priced. Classes are well attended.