The Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced on Friday the drawing dates for the waterfowl blinds at state sites.

The drawings are the great social event of the summer for Illinois outdoors. Some of the bigger Downstate draws bring crowds of thousands.

The blind draws for the Chicago area and other far northern sites are on Saturday, July 29. Most Downstate and Illinois sites are drawn on Sunday, July 30. The two-year draws for Mississippi blinds are either on July 16 or Aug. 5.

I noticed one tweak this year: “Registrants are no longer required to possess a valid Illinois Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card from the Illinois State Police to participate in blind drawings.”

I like to visit different sites each summer. If you have a suggestion for a site I should visit this year, please let me know. Email BowmanOutside@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).

Click here for etails from the IDNR.