Local Legends Annual Event
Local Legends
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 on our region and beyond. 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.
Why It Matters
Local Legends is more than an evening of celebration. It is one of the ways the History Center connects our community to the people and stories that have shaped Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. Each honoree offers a living link between our region’s past and its present, and each event invites neighbors, families, and lifelong residents to gather around that shared history.
The evening also does quiet, essential work. Proceeds from Local Legends sustain the History Center throughout the year, supporting the preservation of our collections, the programs that bring local history to schools and families, and the stewardship that keeps our community’s story accessible for generations to come.
This year’s Local Legend is Rebecca Makkai, the Lake Bluff-raised author of The Great Believers and one of the most acclaimed novelists of her generation.
Become a Sponsor
Local Legends depends on the generosity of its sponsors. Sponsorship is not simply a contribution to a single evening; it is an investment in the History Center’s year-round mission and a visible statement of your commitment to the community’s cultural life.
Sponsors receive recognition throughout the event and its promotion, along with exclusive access to patron-only gatherings that bring you closer to each year’s honoree. Above all, sponsorship ensures that the work of preserving and sharing our local history continues, uninterrupted, for the families who will call this community home long after us.
To become a sponsor or learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to Lisa Frey at lfrey@lflbhistory.org or click here.
This Year’s Patron Sponsors
Manuscript Level Sponsors
Prue and Francis Beidler
Amee and Stephen Christ
James Stirling
Bookbinder Level Sponsors
Ellie Borders
Mary and Charles Brennan, III
James Phelps
Pamela and David Waud
Meredith Wright
Fountain Pen Level Sponsors
Maddie Dugan
Anne Helms
Fred Jackson
Debbie and Mark Saran