Local Legends 2026
Celebrating The Voices That Shape Us
For 17 years, Local Legends has been one of the History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff’s most anticipated traditions. Each year, the event honors a remarkable individual whose work has left a lasting mark, and part of what makes it special is that you never quite know who it will be. Across nearly two decades, Local Legends has celebrated an ever-surprising range of voices, and the annual reveal has become a moment our community looks forward to together.
More than a celebration, Local Legends sustains the work of the History Center throughout the year, supporting the preservation, programs, and stewardship of our community’s history for generations to come.
This Year’s Honoree: Rebecca Makkai
We are especially proud to honor an author with deep roots in our own community. Rebecca Makkai grew up in Lake Bluff, and has gone on to become one of the most acclaimed novelists of her generation. Her 2018 novel The Great Believers, set during the AIDS epidemic in 1980s Chicago, was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and won the ALA Carnegie Medal, the Stonewall Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. The New York Times named it one of the ten best books of 2018, and later included it among the best books of the twenty-first century.
Her 2023 novel, I Have Some Questions For You, was a New York Times bestseller. She is also the author of the novels The Borrower and The Hundred-Year House and the story collection Music for Wartime, and is a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow. Now based in the Chicago area, she remains closely tied to the region that shaped her, which makes her a fitting choice to celebrate as this year’s Local Legend.
This year’s event
This year’s celebration takes place Saturday, November 14, 2026, at the History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, and will see Rebecca be interviewed by WGN Morning News Anchor, Larry Potash. The setting is an intimate interview that encourages the sharing of little-known stories, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and insights missing from standard biographies.
Patron sponsors of all levels are invited to a special cocktail event the day before, on Friday, November 13, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm to be held at the Armour Estate on the Lake Forest Academy Grounds.
New this year, sponsors at the $2,500 level and above are invited to an intimate author luncheon and book talk with Rebecca Makkai at the History Center on Friday, November 13, at 12:00pm. We’re introducing this gathering for the first time in 2026, and we hope it becomes a lasting part of the Local Legends tradition. Details about both events will be sent to each patron sponsor.