By William S. Bike
AUDITORIUM THEATRE NEWS
Mexican-American singer Angela Aguilar will perform at the Auditorium Theatre on Friday, June 2, at 8 p.m. The theatre is at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr. Log on to https://auditoriumtheatre.org/ for tickets or information.
YALE FELLOW
Adriana Lopez of Back of the Yards College Preparatory High School was selected as a Yale National Fellow and will participate in seminars to build her leadership and curriculum development skills. She was one of only 44 public school teachers chosen nationwide. For more information, contact the Chicago Public Schools at (773) 553-1620.
SENIOR EXERCISES
Bosley Park,3044 S. Bonfield St., hosts a walking club on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and chair exercises from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Both are for seniors aged 60 and older and are free. Call (312) 747-9225.
KIDS GET VIP TREATMENT
The Chicago Bulls partnered with Reform Alliance to provide a VIP experience for children and families affected by the criminal justice system. More than 20 children attended the Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks game on April 4 and received a special shopping spree at the Madhouse Team Store at the United Center, gave high-fives to Bulls players as they entered the court from the team tunnel, and enjoyed the game from suites alongside other special guests. Reform Alliance works to create pathways to work and well being for people experiencing the impact of the criminal justice system. For the Bulls, log on to www.nba.com/bulls. For Reform Alliance, log on to www.reformalliance.com.
TEEN JOBS
The Chicago Park District has jobs available for teenagers aged 16 and older. Log on to www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/teen-jobs.
COFFEE WITH A COP
The 12th Chicago Police District Community Policing Program offers Coffee With A Cop, an opportunity to talk with police, at Artopolis Bakery Café and Agora, 306 S. Halsted St., at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 16, and Tuesday, July 11.
ART CONTEST
The Chinese American Service League Anti-Hate Action Centeris holding an Anti-Hate Art Contest for high school students through Friday, June 2. Entrants must participate in a training session before entering. For information, contact [email protected] CASL is at 2141 S. Tan Ct.
DONATIONS SOUGHT
Tom Tresser of CivicLab has written a manuscript, Nobody Sent Us: How We Derailed Chicago’s Bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, on the work he and other activists did to stop that project. He is seeking donations to publish the book. To find out how to donate, email Tresser at [email protected]
CONWAY CHIEF OF STAFF
Thirty-fourth Ward Alderman-Elect Bill Conway announced Dan Luna will serve as chief of staff. Luna previously worked in the 47th Ward with the Chicago Department of Transportation and served as an aide and chief of staff to former Alderman Eugene Schulter from 1999 to 2011. From 2011 through 2023, Luna was chief of staff to 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman, who is retiring.
SHRED EVENT
Commissioner John Daley and Alderwoman Nicole Lee will hold a document shred event on Sunday, May 7, from 9 a.m. to noon at 34th Street and Shields Avenue.
KOREAN AMERICAN ART
Korean American artists are displaying their art inside the offices of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas through Wednesday, May 10, at the Cook County Building, 118 N. Clark St., Room 112. More than 40 artworks by 28 artists are on display. The exhibition is sponsored by the Keumisil Cultural Society. For information, call (312) 603-6202.
DE LA SALLE NEWS
De La Salle Institute and Southside Occupational Academy celebrated their recent Special Olympics Unified Basketball State Championship. The team is composed of students from both De La Salle and Southside Occupational Academy.
De La Salle is at 3434 S. Michigan Ave. Call (312) 842-7355 or log on to dls.org. Southside Occupational Academy is at 7342 S. Hoyne Ave. Call (773) 535-9100 or log on to www.southsideacademycps.org/.
ADOPT A LANDMARK
Through its Adopt-A-Landmark Fund, the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development has $7 million available to be distributed as grants for qualifying projects related to preserving landmarks. For information, visit Chicago.gov/aal.
NEW CHAIR
The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center announced Patrick McGee’s appointment as the museum’s new board of trustees chair. McGee is vice president and relationship manager for PNC Commercial Banking in Chicago. The museum is at 740 E. 56th Pl. Call (773) 947-0600.
HAPPY 125TH
The Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., celebrates its 125th anniversary this year with two new public exhibits, a self-guided walking tour of significant sites, and special programming. New historic exhibits Art Alone Endures and Staging Ground and self-guided walking tours of the Fine Arts Building are free and open to the public during regular building hours, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to9 p.m. Second Fridaysopen studios are free to attend on the second Friday of every month from 5 to 9 p.m., and include gallery openings, special performances, and artistic demonstrations. For more information visit fineartsbuilding.com.
SUCCESSFUL BOOK DRIVE
Goddard School, a local early childcare provider for children ages six weeks to six years, concluded its book drive by collecting 1,446 books to distribute to underserved children throughout the Chicago area through Bernie’s Book Bank. The school is at 2007 S. Indiana Ave. Call (312) 626-5959.
TWO WORLD’S FAIRS
Glessner House,1800 S. Prairie Avenue, will hold its annual gala on Tuesday, May 23, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Celebrating Chicago’s Two World’s Fairs will commemorate the 130th anniversary of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the 90th anniversary of the Century of Progress in 1933. The gala will take place at Crown Hall, 3360 S. State St., on the Illinois Tech campus and will honor preservation architect T. Gunny Harboe with the John and Frances Glessner Award. Tickets are $275 per person. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit glessnerhouse.org or call (312) 326-1480.
WEST SIDE STORY
Lyric Opera of Chicago,20 N. Wacker Dr., will present West Side Story from Friday, June 2, through Sunday, June 25. For tickets or more information, log on to www.lyricopera.org.
PRESCHOOL SHADOW DAYS
St. Gabriel Preschool will host shadow days on the Wednesdays of May 10, 17, and 24 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Call (773) 268-6636 or email [email protected] The school is at 4500 S. Wallace St.
OUR LADY OF THE HOLY FAMILY NEWS
Our Lady of the Holy Family,1334 W. Flournoy St., holds Sunday Masses at 9 a.m. in English and 11:30 a.m. in Spanish, as well as a Saturday evening Anticipatory Mass at 5 p.m. in English.
Mass is held at 6 p.m. in the church on Mondays followed by the Holy Rosary at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday Masses are at 8 a.m. in the chapel at 1335 W. Harrison St. On Friday, Mass is held in the church at 6 p.m., followed by Adoration and Confessions.
OLHF offers a Friday Food Pantry for area residents facing food shortages. Contact the parish office or just come to the pantry, located behind the church at 1334 W. Flournoy St., from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays.
There will be a Mother’s Day concert dedicated to the Blessed Mother Mary on Sunday, May 14, at 3 p.m., followed by a blessing of mothers and reception. For information contact Catherine Foreman at [email protected]
Call (312) 243-7400, email [email protected], or log on to www.olhfchi.org. The two Sunday Masses are available on YouTube and accessible through the parish website.
SHRINE NEWS
The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii will host a children’s May crowning Sunday, May 7, at the at the a.m. Mass. Children of all ages may participate. For information, email [email protected] or call (312) 421-3757, ext. 310. The shrine is at 1224 W. Lexington St.
NAVY PIER NEWS
Guests to Navy Pier and Chicago Children’s Museum can enjoy fun-filled days of activities for families and children (ages ten and under) on Thursday, May 25, and two additional days of activities in September and October. Admission to Chicago Children’s Museum is free, in addition to the Pier’s workshops, programming, activities, and other resources stationed throughout the Pier. This event is made possible by support from the Pritzker Foundation. Times and dates are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Thursdays of May 25, Sept. 28, and Oct. 26.
The Lakefront Loop 5K to be held Saturday, May 6, entirely on Navy Pier, encircling the Pier’s iconic North and South Docks and using the Northwestern Medicine Wellness Way. Check-in begins at 8 a.m., with advance registration required. A Kids Dash will take place at 8:45 a.m., with the official 5K starting at 9:15 a.m. Registration includes participation fee, t-shirt, complimentary donuts and beer at the finish line, and a free ticket to ride the Centennial Wheel, valid through the end of summer 2023. To register, visit www.navypier.org/events/the-lake-front-loop-5k/.
OBSERVANCES AND HOLIDAYS
May observances and holidays include: Cinco de Mayo, Friday, May 5; National Nurses Day, Saturday, May 6; Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 14; Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20; Pentecost, Sunday, May 28; and Memorial Day, Monday, May 29.
CLEFT CONNECT
Operation Smile’s Cleft Connect is an outlet for children ages 13 through 18 who were born with cleft conditions to build friendships, share their perspectives, hear from guest speakers, and engage in conversation and reflection. For more information, log on to https://studentprograms.operationsmile.org/cleft-connect-chat/.
SAINT IGNATIUS NEWS
The Saint Ignatius College Prep Bella Voce Choir and Chamber Orchestra performed during Cardinal Blase Cupich’s Easter Sunday Mass. The school is at 1076 W. Roosevelt Rd. Call (312) 421-5900 or log on to www.ignatius.org.
TUTORS NEEDED
Volunteer tutors are needed to instruct limited English proficient adult learners for 90 minutes per week at the Aquinas Literacy Center, 1751 W. 35th St. All instruction is one on one and training is provided. Tutoring can be in person, online over Zoom, or a hybrid of both. Knowledge of a second language is not required; all instruction is in English. Contact Sabrina Poulin, volunteer coordinator, at (773) 927-0512 or email her at [email protected]
VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT
The Bridgeport Alliance community groupis seeking volunteers for projects such as community development, first aid, skill sharing, and restorative justice. Email [email protected]
CHICAGO HOPE NEWS
Chicago Hope Academy,2189 W. Bowler St., and Hillsdale College have joined with the Foundation for the Restoration of America to support the foundation’s mission to educate young Americans on the nation’s founding principles. The foundation will award $100,000 in scholarships for the 2023 school year to eligible Chicago Hope students who have completed Hillsdale’s Constitution 101 and Introduction to the Constitution online courses. For information, log on to online.hillsdale.edu/partner/ffroa or call Chicago Hope at (312) 491-1600.
WALK & ROLL
The University of Illinois Chicago Student Veterans Affairs 3k Walk & Roll, featuring a walk, kickball, and veteran information, will be held Saturday, May 13, from 9 a.m. to noon at the UIC Outdoor Field Complex, 900 W 14th Pl. Log on to go.uic.edu/svawalkroll.
WESTINGHOUSE REUNION
The Westinghouse High School Class of 1973 50th year reunion will be held Friday, June 23, at the Four Points by Sheridan at O’Hare, 10249 W. Irving Park Rd., Schiller Park, IL. Reception will be at 6 p.m., and dinner at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $100 per person. There also will be a picnic on Saturday, June 24, at 9 a.m. For information on how to sign up, call Freda Madison at (773) 516-3782, Kevin Madison at (773) 983-2373, Susan Anderson-Lucas at (630) 740-6935, or Carol Ward at (312) 545-1972.
ROCKETRY CHALLENGE
A student team from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School is among 100 national finalists in the American Rocketry Challenge. The students will compete against other teams at the National Finals, taking place on May 20 just outside Washington, DC. In addition to competing for the title of national champion and an all-expense paid trip to the International Rocketry Challenge at the Paris Air Show in June, teams will compete for $100,000 in prizes. The top 25 teams automatically receive invitations to NASA’s Student Launch workshop. The school is at 211 S. Laflin St. Log on to https://wyoung.org/.
YR MEDIA IN PILSEN
YR Media, a non-profit production company and network of young journalists, artists, and media professionals has opened its Midwestlearning and multimedia production hub for historically underrepresented content creators ages 14 through 24. Located at 1100 W. Cermak Rd in Pilsen, and complete with a fully functioning newsroom and recording studios, the new hub location includes state-of-the-art equipment and will provide learning stipends, paid career pathways, and support resources that include mental health counseling, academic advice, and healthful meals. For more information, log on to www.yrmedia.org.
VETS’ EXEMPTIONS
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office provides property tax exemptions for veterans with disabilities and returning veterans. Log on to cookcountyassessor.com or call (312) 443-7550.
SUMMERTIME IN THE PARKS
Register for summer programs and events at the Chicago Park District. Online registration is open now, and in-person registration begins Saturday, May 6. The programs run from Monday, June 26, to Sunday, Aug. 20. Slog on to www.ChicagoParkDistrict.com or call (3121) 742-7529.
LEGAL AID
Cook County officials and partners run Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt, a county-wide initiative to help residents resolve eviction, foreclosure, debt, and tax deed issues. Services are provided pro bono for Cook County residents without legal representation and are offered to tenants facing eviction, landlords dealing with an eviction, debtors being sued for unpaid debts, creditors wishing to sue based on unpaid debts, and residents who have defaulted on property tax payments or mortgage foreclosure payments. Learn more by visiting www.cookcountylegalaid.org/.