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Free Fun Activities to do Around Belmont Cragin and Portage Park 

By: Alexandra Brown


The weather is officially starting to warm up, as spring comes in full swing. Belmont Cragin and Portage Park have lots of fun activities to do to make the most of spring.


Kick off the warmer months by taking a stroll through the iconic Portage Park right along Irving Park Road. Portage Park is home to paved bike paths, courts for tennis and basketball, free drawing and painting class on Wednesdays and many other activities. 


Additionally, there is an indoor ADA accessible pool that you can take a swim in. Open Monday-Saturday, Portage park offers an array of open swim and class times.


Head over to Portage Grounds Coffee & Tea right across the street for refreshments and to support a local business that has been a part of the community for over a decade.


Sneak peek at what Riis Park will look like soon as the weather continues to warm up. Photo Credit: Alexandra Brown


Take a walk through the arboretum-like paths in Riis Park to experience beauty and serenity. You may come across a duck pond that you can walk over on a bridge. Take advantage of the shaded grass field to soak in the nice weather or have a picnic with friends.


Riis Park houses courts for sports ranging from basketball, tennis, track, and more. You can stop at one of the food carts to grab a bite to eat like elote or mango with tajin. There is free parking off on the southside of Wrightwood Avenue.


Chicago Public Library’s West Belmont and Portage Cragin branches are great places to not only get ahead for finals in, but also a hub for free opportunities.


In addition to checking out books, you can use a Chicago Public Library card to stream TV shows and movies, go to museums, get access to a language learning app, and reserve music practice rooms all for free.


Belmont Cragin and Portage Park are prominent neighborhoods for Wright College students. They are cultural hubs in Chicago with lots of free activities to engage members of their communities as warmer weather rolls in.


Comments

Alexis Sandoval

Staff Photographer
AlexisSandovalwtn@gmail.com

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Alexis is a Mexican-American artist that is in her second year of College and is encouraged to learn and get out of her comfort zone. 

 

Before she started college, she knew she was interested in Psychology and, when the time came, she made sure to make that her major. Once she is done with Community College, she will transfer to a 4-year-university to Social Work. Personal hobbies are writing, drawing, photography, and reading. Outside of those topics, she is fascinated by animals, philosophy, biology, and science. She hopes to travel in the future to Mexico and Iceland. 

Daria Nowak
DariaNowakwtn@gmail.com

Daria is a second year at Wright College. They are Polish. Majoring in Psychology, most likely transferring over to Dominican University or UIC and planning to be a psychiatrist. Daria enjoys playing video games, creating art, hanging out with friends, and trying out new foods. They wish to travel the world some day.

Santiago Ramirez

Santiagoramirezwtn@gmail.com

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Santiago is a first year student whose major is mixed media and arts. Santiago joined the newspaper because he wants to become a sports broadcaster and he sees that one way to help him achieve his goal is being a part of the news here as he wants to share the news. Some of Santiago’s hobbies are hanging out with friends and playing sports or watching sports and playing video games with friends.

Fall 2025 Staff Members

Meredith Baumgartner

Staff Reporter

 

Meredith is a second-year student

with an undecided major but is interested in Psychology. She likes staying home but also likes hanging out with friends. Her favorite holiday is Halloween and loves watching horror movies. Meredith dreams of traveling the world, trying all types of diverse cultures.

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