The Waukegan Historical Society and the Waukegan Park District are partnering to host the 29th Annual Oakwood Cemetery Walk at Oakwood Cemetery. The Oakwood Cemetery Walk is a “living history” event, showcasing the rich history of Waukegan using costumed actors to portray local historic figures with connections to the cemetery and city. This year’s theme is “1925 Waukegan.”

Meet the artists of the special exhibit “Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: the Flora, Fauna and People of the Waukegan Shores” and hear their stories behind the artwork creation! Heeyoung Kim and participating artists will walk the audience through the exhibit in person.

The botanical art form requires precise control over everything involved: accurate scientific description of the species and the execution of the medium/media of watercolor, ink or pencil. When the group, Brushwood Botanical Artists, took on this shorebird project, the artists had to go through a little different process beyond plants. Come and hear about it at this public event!

The Waukegan Historical Society’s Tour of Homes is an annual fundraiser that began in 1969 and is a self-guided tour that allows participants to go through carefully curated homes at their own pace. Come join us for a delightful afternoon exploring some of the most charming homes in Waukegan. This year's tour includes three historic private residences, as well as the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie and the Haines House Museum in Bowen Park, where you can marvel at the rich history and unique architecture of our city.

Imagine stepping into a museum and there are no items to see. What would you put on display? Our junior curators, ages 8-12, will be able to select from a few objects and create their own mini exhibit for the public to view. Additionally, please bring something from home that you would want to put on display. This item can mean something to you, your family, or just be for fun. The junior curators will brainstorm ideas as a team with the help of the museum curator.

Join us for a family-centric event! Booking Reading of “From Marsh to Shore, Let Nature Roar.”

Jaxson Bailey is a Waukegan resident and senior at Waukegan High School. Over the summer, he participated in The Center for Conservation Leadership's Eco-Ambassador Internship. Through this process, he completed a capstone project - a children's book about the wildlife and habitats present at Illinois Beach State Park. Through a collaboration with CCL partner, Lyndsey Murphree, his words have come to life in the style of a coloring book.

Jaxson will lead a book reading and then we invite our guests to tour the exhibit “Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: the Flora, Fauna and People of the Waukegan Shores.”

Join Sharing Our Shore-Waukegan for a tour of the Piping Plover Special Exhibit followed by a presentation on The Endangered Great Lakes Piping Plover Population: History and Hope.

Forty years ago, Piping Plovers were close to extinction in the Great Lakes. Only 12-17 pairs were known to nest in Michigan and the population was listed as Endangered in 1985. By the summer of 2025, the number of pairs increased to 88 and plovers were nesting on all 5 Great Lakes and in 4 states and the province of Ontario. How did this change in numbers happen and is it possible for this population to recover to the point of delisting at 150 pairs? This presentation will provide an overview of the efforts to increase nesting numbers and the lessons learned along the way. The history of plovers in the Great Lakes is marked by many challenges but significant hope exists for the future of this still small and vulnerable group of birds.

Francesca J Cuthbert is a Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.  

A haunted tour on Halloween! Learn the haunted and strange stories of Waukegan's past on this guided tour. The tour starts outside of the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie. This tour covers two miles and lasts approximately 1.5 hours.

Want to know what the area was like before its current settlement? Come enjoy a lecture by Great Lakes Archaeologist, Dan Melone, as he discusses the peoples of pre-Waukegan and Lake County, and what is left behind. More specifically, Dan will present his prehistoric and historic findings throughout the local area and region in general.

Dan Melone is an archaeologist who over the past 20 years has traveled the Chicagoland area, finding and documenting unknown prehistoric and historic sites. He has visited many of the documented sites to monitor them, recording any looting or vandalism that may have occurred. Dan is the Director of The Great Lakes Archaeological Research and Archival Institute. He and Robinson descendent Verlyn Spreeman, are the Robinson Family Historians, working closely with Chief Alexander Robinson’s family, a branch of Menominee. Chief Robinson and Billy Caldwell worked together in Chicago during the 1830s.