From mid-October to the first week of December, most of Glenview's seasonal calendar happens in three places. A dairy farm came close to being sold for houses in 1997, a homestead was first settled in 1836, and a piece of tallgrass prairie outlasted a naval air station. Each was kept by a different decision made at a different time. Together they decide where a Glenview fall happens, and in what order.
The Farm That Almost Became a Subdivision
Historic Wagner Farm has a calendar today because of a vote taken almost three decades ago. The Wagner family farmed the land from the early 1900s until 1997. They raised livestock and ran a dairy and diversified farm. By the late 1900s it was one of the last working farms left on Chicago's North Shore. In 1997, residential developers could have bought the property. In 1998, Glenview voters approved the Farm and Field referendum, which allowed the Park District to buy it. That is the Park District's own account on its history of Historic Wagner Farm.
That purchase is why the next two weeks look the way they do. The Glenview Farmers Market runs on the farm grounds from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday through October 24. Vendors bring produce, meats, eggs, cheeses, donuts, honey and bottled craft cocktails, all sourced within 200 miles of Glenview. LINK cardholders get a $1-for-$1 match, up to $25 per market. Free parking is available at Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church and in the farm's own lots.
The day after the last market, on Sunday, October 25, the farm hosts A Family Halloween at Historic Wagner Farm from 3 to 6 p.m. It has a haunted wagon ride and pumpkin games. Admission is free because the Friends of Historic Wagner Farm cover the cost.
On Sunday, November 1, the farm becomes a dinner venue for the Harvest Supper, held from 6 to 8 p.m. for guests 21 and older at $85 per person. Chef Paula cooks a multi-course dinner from local produce and from proteins grown and raised on the farm. Listed dishes include Moroccan lamb meatballs, red wine braised brisket and apple strudel, and beer and wine are included. This year the evening adds a wagon-ride tour of the farm.
The working-farm side continues alongside the events. Cattle, horses and chickens live there year-round. Hogs and lambs are usually seasonal, and the programs include milking demonstrations and the Glenview Clovers 4-H. The Centennial Farm Exhibit opened on February 13, 2026, with tractors, historical artifacts and displays on the Wagner family and early settlers. The farm's 2025 master plan budgeted capital funds to renovate the milking parlor so dairy demonstrations can continue. The Park District states that the equipment upgrade does not authorize milk bottling, pasteurization or retail milk sales.
The Prairie the Air Station Left Behind
The farm was kept by a single referendum. Kent Fuller Air Station Prairie came through a slower process. Naval Air Station Glenview closed in September 1995, and the land was transferred to the Village for redevelopment. The Village of Glenview's A Plan for Nature in Glenview case study records that threatened or endangered plant species and a state-threatened bird species had been found on the base. Through the redevelopment, that area became the core of the 32-acre preserve. The same timeline lists the LEED Platinum Evelyn Pease Tyner Interpretive Center opening on the prairie in 2007. The site was renamed for Kent Fuller in 2010 to honor his conservation work.
Today the Park District describes the site as a tallgrass prairie remnant with walking paths and more than 160 plant species. Its fall programming is aimed at adults and runs into November, after the farm's busiest weeks are over:
- Sip, Paint & Platter, Thursday, November 5, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., $55 for residents and $65 for nonresidents. Instructors from Tipsy Paint guide guests through painting an acacia wood charcuterie board, with wine.
- America Recycles Day, Saturday, November 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A free, all-ages event with family activities, crafts and tips on recycling at home and work.
The same Saturday afternoon, the Park District's Pumpkin Smash and Bash runs from 1 to 2 p.m. at Flick Park. Families bring carved Halloween pumpkins, smash them into compost for spring planting, and roll them down the sled hill. Uncarved pumpkins are not accepted, candles and glow sticks have to be removed first, and the event depends on the weather. The Village's nature plan dates the farmers market's Green Table to 2009. It is still part of the Saturday market at Wagner Farm, offering tips on sustainability and recycling.
The Grove Has Been Kept the Longest
The Grove's protection is the oldest of the three. Dr. John Kennicott settled there in 1836. His son Robert became an early naturalist and explorer and founded the Chicago Academy of Sciences. The site was listed on the National Register in 1973 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The family's 1856 house is a restored Gothic Revival building, and the Interpretive Center keeps live birds, turtles, snakes and fish. A trail from the center leads to a log cabin and a Native American village with a bark longhouse. The Park District's Grove page lists free weekend docent tours of the Kennicott House and the historic buildings.
The site also has a second historic house. According to the Park District's Redfield Estate history, the house began as "Windy Pines," built in 1929 for Bertha Redfield and her second husband, Paul Petersen, and designed by George G. Elmslie. Louise and Donald Culross Peattie moved in in 1932. Donald Peattie's 1938 book A Prairie Grove drew on their life there.
The Grove's calendar uses both houses and the land around them:
- Hayrides at The Grove, Friday, October 23, 6 to 8 p.m., $16 for residents and $18 for nonresidents. The wagon runs from prairie to forest and finishes with refreshments, marshmallows and popcorn over a campfire.
- Grove Heritage Association Holiday Market, November 12 to 15 inside the Redfield Estate, $5. More than 20 artisans sell handmade jewelry, personalized ornaments, home décor and gourmet food, and a light display runs outside on the grounds. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Folk Fest, The Grove's October festival with costumed interpreters and pork and bean stew, took place on October 4.
When the Calendar Moves Indoors
The outdoor events taper off as the season moves on. The farmers market ends on October 24, the last hayride is October 23, and the Holiday Market moves into the rooms of a 1929 house. By late November, almost everything happens in buildings.
The indoor events start earlier for families with young children. The Halloween SKELEbration is Friday, October 16, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Park Center. It costs $20 per child ages 2 to 12, payable at the door, and anyone 13 or older gets in free. Food trucks are outside for the first time this year. One week later, on October 23, the Glenview Community Ice Center holds Frozen Frights, a Halloween cosmic skate with a costume contest. It runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and costs $10 per skater. Skate rental is $4, or free for anyone in costume.
On Tuesday, October 27, Kohl Children's Museum opens The Roots of Kindness, a new permanent exhibit included with admission. Its play-based activities cover gratitude, respect, emotions, culture and cooperation. The museum calls it part of a three-venue collaboration with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum and the Korean Cultural Center of Chicago, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. Patch reported that the museum built the exhibit with input from character-development and early-childhood specialists Arthur Schwartz, Angela Searcy and Peter Smagorinsky.
Two Park District events lead into Thanksgiving:
- Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot at Park Center, Saturday, November 21, 9 to 11 a.m., $10 per adult and child pair, for children ages 8 to 13. Each pair takes ten free throws, and the highest combined total wins a turkey from Harrison's Poultry Farm. Registration closes November 17, and schedules and arrival times will be sent by that date.
- Turkey Skate at the Community Ice Center, with public skate, youth open hockey and ice bumper cars on Wednesday, November 25. Public skate runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for $10, or free with a Season Public Skate Pass. Skate rental is free if you bring a non-perishable food donation.
The season closes on Saturday, December 5, with the Park District's fifth annual Festival of Trees at Park Center. It includes Santa, the Grinch, carolers and children's activities, and the decorated trees stay on display through December.
The Season by Date
- Fri, Oct 16: Halloween SKELEbration, Park Center
- Sat, Oct 17 and Oct 24: Farmers Market, Historic Wagner Farm; Oct 24 is the last market of the year
- Fri, Oct 23: Hayrides at The Grove; Frozen Frights, Community Ice Center
- Sun, Oct 25: A Family Halloween at Historic Wagner Farm
- Tue, Oct 27: The Roots of Kindness opens, Kohl Children's Museum
- Sun, Nov 1: Harvest Supper, Historic Wagner Farm
- Thu, Nov 5: Sip, Paint & Platter, Fuller Air Station Prairie
- Sat, Nov 7: America Recycles Day, Fuller Air Station Prairie; Pumpkin Smash and Bash, Flick Park
- Nov 12 to 15: Grove Heritage Association Holiday Market, Redfield Estate
- Sat, Nov 21: Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot, Park Center
- Wed, Nov 25: Turkey Skate, Community Ice Center
- Sat, Dec 5: Festival of Trees, Park Center
At TGI Realty, we've worked in this area long enough to see that a home's address decides which of these places is a short walk or drive away, whether that's Wagner Farm on a Saturday morning or The Grove on a hayride night. If you'd like to know how your Glenview home is valued this season, get your free home valuation and talk with us directly.
