The 30th annual A River Thru History – The Des Plaines Valley Rendezvous, is returning to Columbia Woods Forest Preserve in Willow Springs, Saturday, September 9, and Sunday, September 10.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Public parking is at the UPS facility. Enter lot off Willow Springs Road at 79th Street.
The Rendezvous celebrates the early history of our area when explorers and voyageurs paddled the area waterways, and trappers and hunters lived near the river systems. In a beautiful wooded setting on the banks of the Des Plaines River, the event recreates what it was like when hunters and trappers came together with the voyageurs each fall to trade for supplies, socialize, and compete in camp contests.
Don’t miss the Voyageur Landing on Saturday at 1 p.m. Watch camp contests, like a skillet toss and historical fashion show. A colonial fife and drum corps marches through camp at various times to keep order. There will be children’s games, storytelling, and a trading post where kids can learn to barter with a fur trading company. Throw a tomahawk! Learn frontier skills from hunters, trappers, and voyageurs. Take a ride in a Voyageur canoe down the river! Meet Chicago’s first resident, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. Hear Father Jacques Marquette read from his early journals written while exploring Illinois country in 1673. Don’t miss Big Run Wolf Ranch on Sunday.
Brought to you by the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor Civic Center Authority, the Forest Preserves of Cook County, and the Heritage Corridor Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more information, visit the event’s website: www.ariverthruhistory.com