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Crowd Pleasers for May 17, 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:22:45 -0500

Here is a look at some crowd pleasers. Events include Gaelic Park Players hosting the 20th annual Acting Irish International Theatre Festival in Oak Forest, Grande Prairie Singers' concert in Park Forest, and Suburban Youth Symphony Orchestra’s concert in Orland Park.

Donley’s Wild West Town a return to yesteryear

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:21:55 -0500

Go West, young Chicagoans. Go West. Direct your parents to load up the family car and head on Interstate 90 past Barrington, past Elgin and through Hampshire. Go west to Union, Ill., the small-town (population: 579) home of Donley’s Wild West Town, a museum and low-key amusement park geared for ages 3-11. The attraction opens for the season on May 18. “Real small kids get swallowed up in big theme parks,” said Randy Donley, one of the four-member Donley family running the park. “They come here dressed as cowboys and cowgirls.” Donley’s Wild West Town is an easy day trip, …

Star power — Adler tech revolutionizes sky show

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:11:04 -0500

As a pulsing nebula races toward the watchful audience, a hand shoots up to touch it. More hands follow suit, straining skywards. For the kids taking in the Adler’s newest show, “Cosmic Wonder,” outer space is just out of reach. It’s an illusion created by the latest technology: The Crab Nebula or stars in Orion seem to graze heads, when in fact they’re projected on a dome nearly 40 feet above the audience. As the image gets larger, it appears closer and flatter — “or like the objects are dropping on top of you,” said Mark SubbaRao, Adler astronomer and …

Remembering Herbie: Golf outing to benefit late firefighter’s foundation

Thu, 16 May 2013 02:13:53 -0500

How popular was late Chicago Fire Department Capt. Herbie Johnson? If one were to use golf as a gauge, consider golf outings usually take place on a single course. And then you have the first Herbie Johnson Golf Classic. The fundraiser, scheduled for June 7, will be held at five golf courses: Balmoral Woods, Lincoln Oaks and the Lincolnshire Country Club in Crete; Coyote Run in Flossmoor; and University Park Golf Course in the village of the same name. The plan is to have 128 golfers on each course — for a grand total of 640 — to raise funds …

Rail fest chugs into Homewood Sunday

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:29:09 -0500

The 10th annual Homewood Railroad Heritage Day will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 19 at the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District Auditorium, 2020 Chestnut Road, Homewood.

What’s Going On for May 16, 2013

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:51:00 -0500

Here’s a look at what’s going on in the Southland. News includes Homewood, Palos Hills, Palos Park, University Park and Tinley Park.

Midlothian school kids catch some rays at new Shedd exhibit

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:46:42 -0500

One touch, and 8-year-old Sandy Brindl was sold. “I’m definitely coming back here and I’m going to tell everyone I know about these animals,” she said, clasping her hands. “They are the most gentle animals in the sea.” She was referring to the graceful cownose stingrays that she and her third-grade classmates from St. Christopher School in Midlothian were able to pet Tuesday during a sneak preview of the Shedd Aquarium’s new exhibit, Stingray Touch, which opens Friday. Sandy’s friend, Loren Caldwell, of Posen, said, “It’s so awesome. Every time they come up to you, they think we’re friends.” The …

Vickroy: Get closer view of eagles’ new offspring

Sat, 04 May 2013 06:16:11 -0500

It’s not exactly a bird’s-eye view, but the public can now get even closer to a rare eagles’ nest in Palos Township. Cook County Forest Preserve officials have cleared a path north along the eastern banks of Tampier Slough, enabling bird watchers to get within 250 yards of the cottonwood tree that holds the giant eagles’ nest that was first discovered more than a year ago. “This is a closer and safer spot for people to watch for the birds, yet it’s far enough to keep the birds safe, too,” said Jim Phillips, fisheries biologist for the district. “We don’t …

Free bird walk in Mokena spotlights nature preserve

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:12:58 -0500

Mokena’s Crystal Creek subdivision is home to much more than people. Tucked away in this residential neighborhood between 187th and 191st streets, east of Wolf Road, is a 45-acre restored prairie and wetland area that many meadowlarks, shovelers, blue-winged teals and other species also call home. Jon Mendelson, a professor emeritus at Governors State University, was happy to see such a variety of waterfowl hanging around the edges of the marshes. “The fact that there is a colony of meadowlarks here is a good sign” of a healthy, functioning ecosystem, he said. It is a unique spot in Mokena’s landscape, …

‘Drawing’ exhibit celebrates the influence of Chicago architect

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:20:41 -0500

Even without his secret weapon, the Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin probably would have won an international competition to design Canberra, the Australian capital city, in 1912. Griffin’s scheme had in spades what those of his far-more-famous main competitors, Eliel Saarinen and Alfred Agache, did not: drama, clarity, harmony with the existing landscape and a geometric plan with distinct districts linked along axial lines. But Griffin also had another huge advantage. His design for Canberra was visualized in a series of intricately decorated, richly colored and often vast renderings on fine linen by his wife, the great draftswoman and muralist …

Beverly home tour tickets on sale

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:00:44 -0500

The Beverly Area Planning Association’s 43rd annual Beverly Hills/Morgan Park Home Tour will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 19. Four homes and a church will be open to visitors at the Chicago area’s oldest annual tour of homes. All tours leave from the Beverly Area Planning Association, 1987 W. 111th St., Chicago, a new starting location this year. Tickets are $30 at the door or $25 in advance at (773) 233-3100 or www.bapa.org. A tour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. of the new Beverly planning offices is included in the ticket price. Participants can choose to self-guide …

Farmers markets ready to go

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:00:43 -0500

There’s more in store for shoppers this spring at local farmers markets as market managers promise more vendors, special events and parking. Frankfort will have at least six new vendors and an additional parking lot by the time its market is in full swing, market manager Merrill Marxman said. The spring market will operate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays, April 28 through June 2, and the summer market from June 9 through Oct. 27 at Breidert Green, Oak and Kansas streets. “Frankfort is my premier market,” Marxman said. “The community is really behind it, and it’s in a …

‘Dinosaurs Alive!’ exhibit returns to Brookfield Zoo

Mon, 13 May 2013 06:10:17 -0500

Lions and tigers and ... dinosaurs? The unexpected sight of the seemingly living and breathing prehistoric animals might catch Brookfield Zoo visitors by surprise, but no worries. These 24 creatures are animatronic replicas of the extinct reptiles — all part of the zoo’s “Dinosaurs Alive!” exhibit, which runs to Oct. 27. Understanding dinosaurs, how they lived and the science behind them “can help us learn about how we can deal with the changes” in the current world, said Andre Copeland, interpretive programs manager at Brookfield Zoo. “A lot of them are not that different from modern day animals,” Copeland said. …

Registration open for Wade’s ‘Elite’ basketball camp

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:12:43 -0500

NEW LENOX — Registration is open for the annual Dwyane Wade Elite Camp for kids ages 8 to 18 who want to improve their basketball skills. The camp is scheduled for July 25 and 26 at Lincoln-Way Central High School, 1801 E. Lincoln Highway, New Lenox. Wade, an NBA star with the Miami Heat and a graduate of Richards High School in Oak Lawn, will be among those instructing campers, according to a camp flyer. Wade is sitting out Heat games with a right knee injury but is expected back for the playoffs, which begin later this month. The Heat …

Reunions for March 28, 2013

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 06:08:05 -0500

Here is a look at reunions connected to the Southland. News includes Indianhead Division Association and St. Leo Grammar School.

On deck: Cancer Support Center Walk of Hope

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 06:10:35 -0500

The Cancer Support Center’s Walk of Hope and 5K Fun Run, sponsored by Cancer Treatment Centers of America and Vantage Oncology, will be held May 19 at Commissioner’s Park, 22108 S. 80th Ave., Frankfort. The Walk of Hope raises funds and awareness to provide free programs for individuals and families affected by cancer. The pledge goal is $100 per walker. The top fundraiser at the event will receive a free iPad. The Cancer Support Center provides comprehensive resources through the generosity of individuals and organizations to help people improve their quality of life during the cancer experience. All programs are …