News Briefs: Racers take on Lake Michigan; Wilmette Art Fair is this weekend; West Nile found in Northfield

On the vessel of their choosing, nearly 60 racers took off from the Park Avenue Boating Beach in Highland Park on Saturday, July 26.

The site is home to the North Shore Yacht Club, which was hosting the sixth annual Beach 2 Beach Paddle Race that included participants from all over the Midwest in various races (5K, 10K, 15K and 1-mile).

The paddleboard and kayak races were part of the Midwest Paddle League Series and scored in accordance with the World Paddle Association rules, according to the yacht club, a nonprofit founded in 1933 and headquartered in Highland Park.

Wilmette Art Fair on Saturday-Sunday

The Wilmette Art Fair returns for its second year on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 2-3, when approximately 100 juried artists will showcase everything from paintings and ceramics to photography and jewelry.

The event will also include live music, on-site painting classes, selfie stations, and activities for children, such as Kids Art Stops, where artists invite children to stop at their booth to learn more about the art-making process.

For more information, visit the event webpage.

West Nile-positive mosquitoes in Northfield

For the first time this season, mosquitoes caught in Northfield tested positive for West Nile virus, according to a new release from the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District on Friday, July 18.

The mosquito batch was collected on July 16 and tested the next day, July 17, at the organization’s Northfield facility.

According to its surveillance dashboard, the abatement district has trapped West Nile-positive mosquitoes in Wilmette, Winnetka, Skokie, Glenview and several other communities near Northfield.

The risk of human infection remains low, according to the NSMAD, but the organization still recommends that residents practice personal protection measures, such as:

• Using an EPA registered insect repellent,
• Wearing loose fitting clothing, and
• Avoiding peak mosquito feeding times during the hours around dawn and dusk.

Property owners are also encouraged to eliminate from their properties any items that can hold water, “particularly smaller items that may be easily overlooked.”

West Nile virus is a disease transmitted through mosquito bites that causes fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea or rash, according to the CDC. Although it can be asymptomatic, about 1 in every 150 people affected develop a serious illness, which in some cases can be fatal.

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