Marist Band booked for parade performance in Hawaii
The Marist High School Band will march in the 2025 National Vietnam Veterans Day Parade in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Founded by Frank Manna in 1963 with the goal of bringing “honor, glory, and fame” to Marist High School, the band tours every year and has performed at various college bowl games, festivals, parades and other events, including the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, California and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland. The band also has appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, performed at Chicago White Sox Opening Day and plays at Disney World every four years. The band director is Andrew Creagh and is assisted by Patrick Keelan.
In Hawaii, the band will march in the National Vietnam Veterans Day Parade, perform at the opening ceremony with other bands from all over the world, and perform on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri in Pearl Harbor. The band will also be touring and traveling Honolulu and experiencing traditional Hawaiian cultural events throughout the week-long trip.
Career Fair attracts over 60 potential educators in Oak Lawn area
Community High School District 218 and six of its partner elementary districts hosted an Educator Career Fair last week that drew more than 60 candidates.
District 218, like many others, will lose many teachers, social workers, counselors and other professionals to retirement in the next several years, district officials said in a news release. The inaugural employment fair proved effective.
Other recruitment measures include offering the new Teaching Methods course, which offers dual credit with the University of St. Francis. Students who successfully complete this course may enroll in a teaching internship, which allows them to spend a semester working in a classroom at another local school district. Successful completion also offers college credit.
District 218 schools also offer Educators Rising, a club for students curious about careers in education that offer a variety of experiences.
Roadwork season officially begins in Southland
The Illinois Department of Transportation is kicking off the 2024 roadwork season in the Southland with projects that could cause delays on Interstate 57 and along 127th Street.
Resurfacing work along Interstate 57 from 159th Street in Markham to Steger Road in Richton Park, passing through Oak Forest, Country Club Hills and Matteson, was set to begin March 1.
The project is expected to bring overnight and various weekend lane and partial ramp closures on both sides of I-57. The closures will take place from approximately 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays, from 9 p.m. Fridays to 11 a.m. Saturdays and from 8 p.m. Saturdays to 11 a.m. Sundays. At least one lane in each direction will remain open.
The $26.3 million project, which consists of resurfacing the 9.5-mile stretch of I-57 and ramps, is anticipated to be completed in November. It’s part of a wider ongoing project to improve I-57 between Halsted Street and Interstate 294 as well as between Steger Road and County Line Road. Once the last project is finished, most of I-57 will have been upgraded from Halsted Street to County Line Road.
Another project involves repairs to the bridge carrying 127th Street over the Metra’s Rock Island District Line, in Blue Island, and is scheduled to begin March 4.
To complete the work, 127th Street will be reduced from two to one lane in both directions between Irving and Winchester avenues. Motorists also should expect various lane shifts on both sides of 127th Street approaching the bridge, IDOT officials said in a news release.
The project, which consists of joint replacement, pier repairs and resealing the bridge deck, is anticipated to be completed later this summer.
With both projects, the public can expect delays, IDOT said.
Evergreen Park YA lit fest set for March 16
The Ever-Read YA Literary Festival will bring acclaimed and diverse authors to Evergreen Park on March 16 to ignite a love of reading, organizers said.
The first 150 students, ages 12-18, to register online for the event will receive a free book coupon and festival tote.
The Ever-Read YA Literary Festival offers literature lovers of all ages the opportunity to meet award-winning authors, sharpen their writing and drawing skills at author-led workshops, and take home a book signed by the author of their choice. This inaugural community-wide event hosted by Evergreen Park Public Library and Evergreen Park Community High School is planned from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 16 at Evergreen Park Community High School, 9901 S. Kedzie Ave. It’s free and open to everyone.
The festival features 10 authors from genres including memoir, young adult fantasy, middle-grade fantasy, modern romance, historical fiction, and comics. There are three author-led writing workshops: The Big Story Machine: How to Get Started with author James Klise, Drawing Heroes and Villains with artist and author Brian “BMAN” Babenererde, and Fantasy World-Building with author Myah Bawadi.
“While the festival is open to readers of all ages, the opportunity for students to meet authors, attend thought-provoking panel discussions, and write their stories in workshops will be academically and personally powerful,” said EPCHS media specialist Tina Ward.
More information is at evergreenparklibrary.org.
Special needs egg hunt set at Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn
Registration for the March 24 Spring Egg Hunt for children with special needs at the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn is now open. The event is free but registration is required because spaces are limited.
Two sessions of the popular event are planned, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and from 12:30 to 2 p.m. The museum, 5100 Museum Dr., will be closed all day for the event.
This egg hunt is for children who cannot participate in community egg hunts due to their disability, museum officials said in a release.
“Our goal is to remove as many barriers as we can,” they said. “For example, we provide beeper eggs for children who are vision impaired. Children are encouraged to go at their own pace and we’ll have volunteers here to assist. Everything is indoors so weather is not an issue.”
More information is at 708-423-6709 or www.cmoaklawn.org.
VFW sets blood drive for March 23 in Oak Lawn
The Johnson-Phelps VFW, 9514 S. 52nd., Ave., Oak Lawn, will host a Blood Drive from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 23. Donors will be entered for a chance to win one of four $5,000 gift cards and a coupon for a free pint of Culver’s frozen custard.
Appointments and information are with Vitalant at 877-258-4825 or vitalant.org using group code ORDVOR30. Walk-ins are also welcome.
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