Community Education Travel Day Trips

Reservations for upcoming day trips open on Monday, October 28, 2024 

Our extremely popular day trips are a great way to visit exciting local sites and events with your friends or family while staying within your budget.

Travel is an essential part of lifelong learning, join us today to explore the sights and sounds of the greater Chicagoland area and expand your horizons!

Day trips often sell out in just a few days after opening, so don’t delay! Reserve your space now.

Reservations for upcoming 2025 day trips open Monday, October 28, 2024. 

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT WAITLISTS: Trips marked as ‘Waitlist’ are currently full, but may have additional spaces or departures added based upon demand. There is no charge to place your name on a waitlist and can be easily done by emailing cetravel@d214.org or calling 847-718-7709. If space opens up you will then be contacted by our staff.

“Miracle on 34th Street” at the Fireside Theatre
Friday November 22, 2024

Kick off the holiday season at the Fireside Theatre in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, to see a timeless classic! Based on the beloved Christmas movie, “Miracle On 34th Street” is a big brassy Broadway musical. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade needs a new Santa. Enter Kris Kringle – a sweet and jolly old man who claims that he is the real Santa Claus. Enjoy lunch in the theater’s lovely restaurant before enjoying the matinee performance in the theatre. You’ll also have time to shop before the show in the popular gift shops. $156

Milwaukee’s Spirit of Christmas Past & Carnival of Lights
December 6, 2024

Take a step back to the days of Christmas past in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  A local guide will lead a narrated tour featuring some of the area’s iconic holiday sights. Visit the historic and spiritual St. Josaphat Basilica, completed in 1901. At the Mitchell Park Conservatory, a trio of  beehive-shaped glass domes are bedecked with hundreds of colorful poinsettias, snow white mums and brightly decorated pines for the annual Holiday Floral Show. Christmas at the Pabst Mansion is a true experience of Christmases past! Built in 1892 by beer baron Frederick Pabst, the mansion is elegantly decorated for the holidays. Lunch is a great holiday meal at the Steakout Supper Club in Greendale . Stop in Caledonia, Wisconsin, to see the drive-through “Carnival of Lights”--billed as the biggest and brightest light show in the Midwest. $149

Illumination & White Fence Farm
Tuesday December 3, 2024

After a late afternoon departure, it's off to dinner at the landmark White Fence Farm Restaurant and its proclaimed "World's Greatest Chicken.” Beautifully decorated for the holidays, the restaurant has served travelers on historic U.S. Route 66 since 1926. The famous chicken is pressure cooked thoroughly before being flash fried for only three minutes and delivered immediately to your table, along with the restaurant’s famous sides. A special holiday treat follows at Morton Arboretum’s “Illumination: Tree Lights at the Arboretum."  Illumination is a spectacular holiday lights display using amazing new technology. Walk along a paved path to see the trees glowing with dazzling LED lights. $131
(Illumination requires walking along a relatively level outdoor pathway about ¾ to 1 mile in length.)

Sanfilippo Mansion Christmas Concert
Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Celebrate the holidays at Place de la Musique, the spectacular Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington Hills. Begin with an elegant catered holiday meal in the Estate’s Carousel Building. Dine next to the “Eden Palais'' carousel, the only complete European salon carousel in the world. The spectacular 89-foot wide and 42-foot tall-carved façade has life-size carved horses, giant art glass butterflies and an 89-key gavioli band organ. Following lunch, visit the Sanfilippo residence for a 90-minute Wurlitzer Theatre holiday organ concert performed by one of the finest theater organists in the world. The afternoon concludes with a self-guided exploration of the mansion where docents will explain and demonstrate some of the world’s greatest collections of restored antique music machines. $150