18th Century child's play

PRAIRIE DU ROCHER - Be a kid again - or stay that way - at the annual Kids' Day scheduled for Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fort de Chartres State Historic Site near Prairie du Rocher, Illinois.  The event is free and open to the public.

 

            This year's event features an old French tradition - the two children who find the bean in the cake serve as King and Queen of Kids' Day.  They will be crowned at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and be escorted in a parade by the French Marines.    

 

            Kids' Day has become a favorite event at the old French fort, as children of all ages try games and activities from more than 200 years ago.  Kids can write with a quill pen, churn butter, watch kettle corn being made, attend a puppet show with Pappy the Storyteller, make their own kites, or make and use their own jump rope.  Children can play period yard games such as Boule (French lawn bowling), sack race, hoop and stick, archery, or get their faces painted.  Kids win Bonus Bucks at these activities which can be spent at Trader Jed's Auction at 3 p.m. or at the trading post throughout the day.

 

A museum scavenger hunt and the confounding and confusing Labyrinth maze will keep youngsters entertained, as will Hugh Gilbert - The Snakeman and his Pets.  Each visiting family will receive a tree seedling that can be taken home and planted.

Kids' Day is sponsored by the Fort de Chartres Volunteer Association and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

 

            A reconstruction of a mid-1700s French fort along the Mississippi River, Fort de Chartres State Historic Site is located four miles west of Prairie du Rocher on Illinois Highway 155.  The site, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is open for free public tours.