Living history demonstrations, encampments, performances and other interactive activities will be part of the events Nov. 20 when Sand Ridge Nature Center hosts the 44th Annual Settlers’ Day events on Sunday, Nov. 20.
The event opens at10 a.m. with a formal flag-raising ceremony with an honor guard in periodic dress. Events continue until 3 p.m. Sand Ridge Nature Center is at 15891 Paxton Ave. on the border of South Holland and Calumet City.
Settlers’ Day is free to the public, though non-perishable food and cash donations will be accepted on site to benefit local food pantries.
More than 150 costumed re-enactors will represent and interpret Native Americans and French voyageurs, as well as pioneer and settler times through the periods of the Underground Railroad and the Civil War.
Activities and interpretation during the event also include pioneer-era cooking demonstrations; Benjamin Franklin: “Born British, Died American” performances; mock interactive wagon train trips from Ohio to Illinois in 1821; history hikes; and period crafts.
For more information contact the nature center at 708-868-0606. A complete listing of all programs is posted on the Cook County Forest Preserves’ events website at fpdcc.com. Seasonal brochures can be downloaded.