Tour Great Lakes Museum, Listen to Budding Musicians, Take in a Gilbert & Sullivan Play

The weekend is upon us and you have no idea what you're going to do. Patch is coming to the rescue.

We've got the best bets for your done-with-work-outta-here time. Check out our picks for the activities to hit and new places to explore this weekend.

• Where/When: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at Activator Academy Music School, 400 Hastings Road, Lake Forest.

• Why Go?:  A group of Lake Forest High School freshmen, called GEM, have written and recorded their own CD of music at Lake Forest’s Side Door Studios.

• Price: free

• Where/When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 10-12, 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 - all at Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest.

• Why Go?: The Lake Forest College Departments of Music and Theater present The Pirates of Penzance, a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan. The production, directed by Shifra Werch, is a collaborative event performed by students and community members. The Pirates of Penzance first premiered in New York in 1879 and remains one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most beloved operettas. Featuring a band of softhearted pirates and a bevy of beautiful maidens, the show is a delightful masterpiece of parody and satire for the whole family.  

• Pricing: Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for adults in groups of 10 or more, $7 for students, and free for Lake Forest College students, staff, and faculty. You can also purchase VIP Opening Night reserved seats in the first five center rows with a post-show reception with cast members for $40 each. 

• Where/When: 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Great Lakes Naval Museum, 610 Farragut Ave., North Chicago.

• Why Go?:   will note the 100th anniversary of Great Lakes Naval Base in the military facility's museum on Saturday, Nov. 12, a day after Veterans Day. The program begins at 10 a.m. and includes both a lecture and a docent-led tour of the museum's sparkling exhibits tracing the history of the U.S. Navy and the base. Guests should meet directly at the Great Lakes Naval Museum.

• Price: The program is free for members of the Historical Society and $15 for non-members. Space is limited and reservations can be made by calling the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society at (847) 234-5253.

Grayslake Farmer's Fall/Winter Market

• Where/When: 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Center Street, downtown Grayslake.

• Why Go?: Eat local, eat fresh at the Grayslake Fall/Winter Farmer's Market. The market offers wine, fresh baked goods, appetizers, gourmet cheeses, organic meats, floral arrangements and even homemade candles in addition to local produce. A Farmers Market Cookbook which provides local recipes and is an ideal gift for food lovers is also available for purchase.

• Pricing: Free.

•  Where/When: 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at BeWell Fitness, 1753 Northwind Blvd., Libertyville

• Why Go?: BeWell Fitness is hosting a charity workout for the Hope Food Pantry. Thanksgiving is weeks away and it is a time that we give thanks and reflect on how fortunate we are to have what we have in our lives. There are people without jobs, homes and food for their kids. You can help! If you can make it this Saturday, great! Your entry to the workout is a donation. If you can't, you can still send a donation and help that way.

• Pricing: Donation.