Things To Do In Evanston

For three weekends each October, wicked surgeons, rotting corpses, and malevolent clowns haunt the corridors of St. Thecla Parish’s basement. A team of designers, actors, and effects artists with more than 30 years of haunted-house experience designs each petrifying scene, with a scare level catered to guests aged 12 and older. Numerous exits let terrified visitors escape, while No Scare Days invite costumed kids aged 11 and younger to feast on candy and wander the lit house during the daytime, when it’s not full of frightening creatures or owls holding staring contests. Proceeds from Hair Razor Haunted Scenes help fund and sustain St. Thecla Parish.

The indoor music and art festival takes over the Chicago Urban Art Society for a full day with exhibits and interactive pieces that ensnare the senses with bursts of color and sound. More than 100 artists fill the marketplace stalls with their wares, showcasing works that include portraits and 3D canvases peering out through a sea of color. Nearby, craftspeople display beaded necklaces, seashell-laden earrings, and hand-painted animal figures for sale. As the crowds peruse works, live music and DJ tunes fill the room. Guests get their own chance to be creative too: patrons can create their own artwork or act as lookouts while Hugo Style paints live graffiti art.

At Chicago Firearm Training, chief instructors John Frycek and Jamie Tallerico combine their NRA training certifications with field experience as private investigators and personal-security specialists. The two assemble their instructional team from experienced law-enforcement officers, who receive ongoing training so they can pass on the most current armed defensive tactics to students. In addition to keeping their team's skills sharp, John and Jamie assign two or three instructors to each class. Coupled with enrollment limits, this approach helps ensure instructors can give individual attention and greet each student in their class by humming them a personalized theme song.

Choose between 3 different classes: Cardio Tennis, Social Tennis, or Beginner Tennis. You can take indoor classes at the Combe Tennis Center at Northwestern University, or wait for the weather to turn, and go outdoors at the Diversey Tennis Center (141 W. Diversey), except for the Social Tennis classes which are only available at the Combe Center. Diversey schedules will be announced on the site as it gets closer to the warm weather season.

Formerly known as the Frank Govern Memorial Golf Course, Evanston Wilmette Community Golf Course awakens the competitive spirit of golfers of all abilities with an 18-hole, par 60 executive layout. With a total distance of 4,000 yards, the fairway chain invites players to attack each hole from the tee box, as the bulk of the course's difficulty awaits in the form of challenging greens and scorecards that hypnotize anyone who attempts to read them. Trees also loom on the edges of most holes as the layout winds along the edge of the North Shore Channel. Requiring a considerably shorter playing time than its full-length counterparts, Evanston Wilmette's abridged links cater to workers squeezing in a quick, after-hours round or 9-irons trying to get in 18 before their date with a dashing pool cue.

The Akemi Fitness Method studio hosts a mix of alternative workout classes that incorporates a range of movements to tone muscles, improve equilibrium, and enhance endurance. Inspired by the results-oriented Lotte Berk Method, this workout style engages students in core exercises, dance, yoga, and light weight training during a variety of classes. Laura Baginski of Time Out Chicago notes that the Akemi barre class caused her to "walk out feeling taller, leaner," thanks to its combination of ballet barre exercises, Pilates, and free weights. Cardio dance-fusion classes combine elements from ballet, hip-hop, kickboxing, and yoga, adding in cardiovascular exercises to burn fat and light resistance training to sculpt frames until they achieve the angular glisten of a Roman statue. An hour of the arms, abs and booty session firms appendages, six-packs, and seats. With classes held throughout the day, six days a week, Akemi's calendar accommodates students with all types of schedules.