Despite the rainy weather, family and members of the Max Schewitz Foundation along with staff from the Wildlife Discovery Center welcomed residents and animal lovers alike to Maxtravaganza 2008 July 19 at the Wildlife Discovery Center, 1401 Middlefork Drive in Lake Forest.

Members of the Chicago Herpetological Society along with various volunteers contributed to the event which featured up-close and personal encounters with alligators, turtles, snakes and other wildlife. Kids also enjoyed sno cones, games and crafts inside the center during the event, held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All proceeds went to the Max Schewitz Foundation, a nonprofit, grant-making charitable foundation started by Max’s family and friends after he died from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia at age 20 in 2005. For more information on Maxtravaganza, click here.