The average person may first associate Glenview with The Glen, nee Glenview Naval Air Station.
However, the folks in charge of The Grove, aka Kennicott Grove, 1421 Milwaukee Ave., aim to change that with their first Grove Craft Beer and Wine Festival on July 17.
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Featuring 70 craft beers and wines from 35 breweries and makers, the fest runs from 6:30 to 10 p.m., although VIP tickets allow entry at 5:30 p.m.
Proceeds will help the non-profit Grove Heritage Association maintain the 143-acre site and hopefully acquire more land, said Kris Van Voorhis, program supervisor for The Grove National Historical Landmark.
“All money raised from events filter back to The Grove, and land acquisition has been a huge thing over the last five years or so,” Van Voorhis said.
If the event is successful, the festival could become an annual event, Van Voorhis said.
The Grove is the homestead of one of the north suburbs’ first settlers, Dr. John Kennicott, who arrived with his family in 1836 from New Orleans.
The family lived in a log cabin until the house was built in 1856. Kennicott House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dr. Kennicott died there in 1863.
His son, Robert, was a naturalist who helped identify new plant species for the Smithsonian Institution and co-founded the Chicago Academy of Sciences.
Kennicott Grove was listed on the National Register on Aug. 13, 1973, and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in January 1976.
The Grove Craft Beer and Wine Festival is a new way to raise awareness of The Grove and its significance, Van Voorhis said.
“They were just looking for something different, and someone came up with this because it’s a very trendy thing. It’s something new for us and will attract a whole new demographic that might never come to the Grove, might never know about us here,” she said.
Jon Davis is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.