Spring Bloom Festival is Saturday at Silver Lake Park

The Highland Tree Commission and the Parks and Recreation Department will hold their annual Spring Bloom Festival from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 23 at Silver Lake Park in Highland.

There will be activities for children, walking tours of the arboretum, watershed cairns, gardening information, a plant sale and an art exhibit.

At 1 p.m., the Wild Bird Sanctuary will have a demonstration called, “Learn about Reptales,” where you can see live reptiles up close.

“The kids will love it,” said Highland City Councilwoman Peg Bellm, one of the event’s organizers.

There will be also be musical performances by the Highland Community Chorus and Highland High School Madrigal Singers. Local students will also read their Arbor Day poems.

From 10 a.m. to noon, Relevant Pregnancy Options Center will hold a “Stroller Strut.”

“Any parent who has a child in a stroller, or a toddler, is invited to come out there and ‘strut’ ” Bellm said.

A tree-planting ceremony for Arbor Day will also be held. You can pre-order a memorial tribute tree to be planted that day for $125. For more information, call (618) 651-1386

Food and drinks also be available, and there will be hourly attendance prizes.

Other participating organizations include the Highland Civic Woman’s Club, Highland Arts Council, Highland Community Garden, Highland Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Illinois Society of Sons of the American Revolution, as well as Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 5:57 AM with the headline "Spring Bloom Festival is Saturday at Silver Lake Park."