Celebration Planned At Isle A La Cache To Showcase New Exhibit

Romeoville IL

22 July, 2021

12:41 PM

Description

ROMEOVILLE, IL — The Forest Preserve District of Will County will showcase improvements at Isle a la Cache preserve in Romeoville at an Island Showcase on July 30. The celebration will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on July 30, and will showcase a new Native American lifeways exhibit and a new large-capacity picnic shelter, the preserve said. The celebration will also include a Food Truck Friday program, so guests can purchase snacks and meals while checking out the preserve, the district said. Exhibits will be open from 4-7 p.m. and food truck fare will be available for purchase until 8 p.m. Available food trucks are: Rogue Curbside Kitchen, Grumpy Gaucho, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Metal Monkey Brewing. "This is the culmination of work that makes the Island a completely different place," said Tina Riley, the site's facility supervisor, regarding the recent enhancements to the preserve. The new lifeways exhibit brings the 18th-century fur trade era to life and is a continuation of the indoor exhibits at Isle a la Cache Museum, according to the preserve. As visitors walk east of the museum, they will encounter a new welcome sign that explains more about the site, including how to pronounce Isle a la Cache (Eel ah la CAHSH). The sign also lists all the activities that the preserve and museum offer, the preserve said. "And it sets the tone for what they will be able to see and do as they tour the preserve," Riley said in a release. There is also a new interpretive trail from the welcome area continues east to a boardwalk that crosses a creek and leads to the first stop, which features a deck for group program demonstrations. "It's also a wonderful place for bird-watching," Riley said. You can head east and south and find another new trail spur, and visit the second stop, which explores the three-sisters agricultural history named for the plants (squash, beans and corn) that Native Americans often paired together due to their symbiotic nature, according to the preserve. The third stop features interpretive panels that focus on "Living on the Land" and how the Potawatomi survived through the seasons growing crops, harvesting wild rice, nuts and berries and how they made maple sugar, a valuable trade item, the preserve said. The fourth stop, "Longhouse Living," includes a replica Potawatomi longhouse. As part of the lifeways exhibit improvements, the longhouse has been upgraded to include an interior display that features a multipurpose structure made of maple harvested from fallen trees, according to the preserve. "During the day it served as a workspace, at night it could be converted into a bunk," Riley said. "Everything in a longhouse was multi-purpose. I like to think of it as the original tiny house." Outside, the longhouse now has a cooking area and replica log bench seating, which serves as another gathering area. "This is another area where we can teach from and perform cooking demonstrations," Riley said. "And we can show how they would have tanned or prepared animals they would have hunted." The lifeways exhibit was made possible by a Public Museum Capital Grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the preserve said. "The improvements have expanded the Forest Preserve's resources for Native American programming, which was the No. 1 goal," Riley said in a release. "As with all projects, we also wanted to make things more attractive and beautiful and this project certainly enhances the campus. All of the improvements and new trail connections give people more circuits to walk when they visit Isle a la Cache." In addition to the new lifeways exhibit, the preserve also has a new 150-capacity picnic shelter which sits above a branch of the Des Plaines River that borders the island on the west side. The Village of Romeoville contributed $50,000 toward the shelter project, the preserve said. The shelter is open for rentals and because of its large size, it could be used for family reunions, weddings, birthday bashes and other gatherings.