Wilmette Public Library
Sun: 12:00pm-5:00pm
Mon: 9:00am-9:00pm
Tue: 9:00am-9:00pm
Wed: 9:00am-9:00pm
Thu: 9:00am-9:00pm
Fri: 9:00am-6:00pm
Sat: 9:00am-5:00pm
Armchair Travels
Colombia: A New Day
Thursday, December 03
1:00pm - 2:30pm
Wilmette Public Library
AuditoriumJoin us for a journey through Colombia with presenters Barbara Sudgen and Ron Vargason. Explore its beauty, history, culture, including El Dorado, Botero, García Márquez, and Pablo Escobar.
Colombia is no longer the land of drug lords and violence. It has transformed itself into a mecca for tourism, with over 6 million visitors each year coming to experience the natural beauty of its mountains and seashores, wide ranging biodiversity, historic colonial cities, and innovative neighborhoods. You’ll hear the stories of El Dorodo (the gold of the indigenous people that the Spanish sought so vigorously,) and of the Afro-Colombians, brought in chains during Colombia’s earliest years. Get acquainted with favorite sons, artist and sculpture Fernando Botero and Nobel prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez as well as the black sheep of the family, powerful drug lord Pablo Escobar. Photos from 2026.
Armchair Travels is generously funded with a gift from the Rutherford Family Trust.
Wilmette Public Library
Hours
About the branch
From the south: Go north on Green Bay Road. Turn left on Wilmette Ave. Turn right on Park Ave. Library is located on the corner of Wilmette Ave. and Park Ave. Parking lot is on the north side of the building.
From the north: Go south on Green Bay Road. Turn right on Wilmette Ave. Turn right on Park Ave. Library is located on the corner of Wilmette Ave. and Park Ave. Parking lot is on the north side of the building.
From I-94 (Edens Expressway):from the South - exit at Lake Ave. East. Go east on Lake Ave. a little over 2 miles. Turn right on Park Ave. • from the North - exit at Rt. 41/Skokie Blvd. Turn left (east) on Lake Ave. Go east on Lake Ave. a little over 2 miles. Turn right on Park Ave.
Mass transit options include CTA, Metra, and Pace.