Extend summer by doing something special Labor Day weekend

Take advantage of that extra day off work for a last-minute vacation.

Take advantage of that extra day off work for a last-minute vacation.

Fit in a Door County vacation to end the summer
Fit in a Door County vacation to end the summer

Door County, a Wisconsin peninsula separating Green Bay from Lake Michigan, is about 3 ½ hours north of Chicago. This is a place to just kick back, hike and bike the state parks and visit art galleries.

However, for a special treat, try to snag a ticket to “Grand Eloquence,” the peninsula’s last classical chamber concert of the summer season, Sept. 2 at 3 p.m. and plan to return home late Monday afternoon.

The concert is a repeat of one that sold out early in the series that is held in a fabulous, Gatsby-style, 35,000 square foot Ellison Bay estate.  The program is Gustav Mahler’s Quartet Movement in A minor for Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano.

A dressy casual  (no shorts or flip flops) event, catered by Alexander’s of Door County, the concert benefits United Way of Door County and Midsummer’s Music Festival. Tickets are $150. For more information call 920-854-7088 and visit Midsummer Music.

Or, for summer’s waning days, plan trips to the northern suburbs of Chicago.

Check out butterflies or stroll the paths at the Chicago Botanic Garden
Check out butterflies or stroll the paths at the Chicago Botanic Garden

Visit the Chicago Botanic Garden. A butterfly is sure to land on your shoulder at “Butterflies and Blooms” in the garden’s net-enclosure. But the happening ends Sept. 2.

Fit in a visit to Long Grove. A historic village, settled in the mid-1800s, the town is home to such tasty shops as Long Grove Confectionery. However, it also has stores that carry wares from Italy, Ireland and other countries. Labor Day weekend features “Long Grove Around the World” to celebrate those shops.

Cap the weekend off with a picnic on the lawn and  concert at Ravinia Festival.

You can still picnic under the trees at Ravinia or get a dinner music package on Labor Day Weekend
You can still picnic under the trees at Ravinia or get a dinner music package on Labor Day Weekend

At Ravinia, hear violinist Johnny Gandelsman  play selections by Bach, Stravinsky, Glass and Biber Sept. 1 or pianist David Fung play Ravel, Scarlatti, Rachmaninoff Beethoven Sept. 2. Both concerts are 6 p.m. in Bennett Gordon Hall. Dinner packages are available. For tickets and more information visit Ravinia.

Photos (C) Jodie Jacobs