There was no need to stay up until midnight this New Year’s Eve to join in the revelry and fun.
The Kohl Children’s Museum in Glenview hosted their annual New Year’s Eve Bash Dec. 31. The event is now in its 17th year and organizers say it is the longest-running and most successful family event at the museum.
The event offered offered two celebration times on Sunday, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Both sold out and more than 1,000 people in total attended, based on the number of tickets sold.
“Why should the grown-ups have all the fun,” said Sheridan Turner, the museum’s president and CEO. “The annual New Year’s Eve event is one of our favorite high-energy events of the whole year.”
The festivities included a dance party, an acoustic guitar and rhythm instrument toddler jam, do-it-yourself hat making, family photos and a giant Times Square-style confetti drop.
While the confetti drop and dance party were staged in the east wing of the museum, attendees were also free to explore all 16 indoor exhibits currently on display.
The idea for the event started in 2001, initially based on providing an opportunity for kids and their grandparents to celebrate New Year’s Eve together, Turner said.
“We saw the need to provide a celebration for those who didn’t want to say up until midnight,” Turner said.
Alex Pataky of Glenview attended this year’s bash with his family and said they come every year.
“I still have confetti in the camera bag I brought to take photos of the kids last year,” Pataky said.
Looking toward 2018, Turner said the museum has plans to expand their programming by scheduling their first ever “pop-up” museum, which will be held in February at Urban Edge, an artist’s space in downtown Waukegan.
“We are thrilled to begin reaching out to members of the community who may not have the proximity or the budget to visit our Glenview location,” Turner said. “This will be a focus for us in 2018.”
Gina Grillo is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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