Mai Fest set for this weekend in Blue Island
The Blue Island Arts Alliance presents Mai Fest 2025 from noon to 5 p.m. May 10, with 100 artisans and craft vendors lining Olde Western Avenue from Canal Street south to 134th Street. The roadway will be closed to cars, but restaurants and pubs will be open.
This is the fourth year for Mai Fest, which honors the German heritage of Blue Island. A Mai Fest “gruppengarten,” or group garden, will be set up around a “mai pole” at Broadway Street and Old Western Avenue.
Live music, children’s activities, booths for special interest groups and community organizations, as well as tables and seating will be at the gruppengarten.
Parking will be available in the city lot at 2131 Fulton St., and shuttles will run between that lot and the fest. Parking, shuttles and admission are free, although a donation of $5 per person is suggested.
Special Olympian at OLCHS wins gold in basketball
Oak Lawn Community High School student Megan McLaughlin won the gold medal at the state basketball championship for Special Olympics – her first year playing for the Junior Jordans coached by Tod Mallo.
Players competed in three skills categories during the contest, which took place in Normal. For dribbling, players were timed on how fast they could dribble twice up and down the court. For passing, judges counted how many times players landed in the box. For shooting, contestants shot from six spots with two chances from each spot.
McLaughlin credited her years of playing basketball at the Oak Lawn Pavilion and her PE classes at school for her success, according to a news release.
Eisenhower’s Antos wins third CMA Award
For the third time, Eisenhower High School music teacher Justin Antos has received the Country Music Association Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence Award.
Antos also won this award in 2022 and 2024. He’s one of three teachers in Illinois to win this year.
The award recognizes music educators who demonstrate teaching excellence, create positive learning environments, and make a lasting impact in their communities.
“I am so very humbled to have received this award, but I am even more grateful to be working in this community with these students,” Antos said. “Eisenhower has become my home away from home, and there is no place where I’d rather teach music.”
Eisenhower administrators surprised Antos with the award on Tuesday.
Antos will receive a $5,000 award, split evenly between personal use and his classroom or program. He’s also invited to participate in a year of professional development and engagement with CMA’s broader network, including special access to CMA Fest and the CMA Awards.
The 2025 class will be celebrated at a red-carpet gala on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
Moraine art fair contest seeks entries
Artists are invited to compete in a juried community art exhibition from May 30 to July 31 at the Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery in the Fine & Performing Arts Center at Moraine Valley Community College, 9000 W. College Parkway, Palos Hills.
The juror, Nikkole huss, is an interdisciplinary artist, professor of art, art department program lead, director of the Ferguson Art Gallery and curator of the art collection at Concordia University Chicago. She earned an associate’s degree from Moraine Valley as a DeCaprio Scholar, among her other degrees. A reception is planned for 1 to 5 p.m. May 31 with awards given at 2 p.m.
Artists must be at least 18 years old and live within a 50-mile radius of the college. Work must be original and not have been submitted in the last five years. It must be created after 2019, and no more than two pieces may be submitted.
Artwork, which must be ready to hang, will be accepted May 20 to 22 at the gallery. Two-dimensional work should be no bigger than 48 inches by 48 inches; three-dimensional pieces should weigh less than 100 pounds. A $15 entry fee is needed for each piece. Information is at www.morainevalley.edu/fpac/art-gallery/.
Mimosas & Melodies event celebrates love, life
Governors State University presents Mimosas & Melodies at 4 p.m. May 11 at The Center, 1 University Drive, University Park.
The performance highlights a blend of musical theater, art song and opera, bringing together four opera singers for a program that celebrates motherhood, family, love and all that life offers. A personalized charcuterie board and mimosa are included with tickets, and an on-stage bar will be available.
Tickets cost $50 for stage cabaret seating. Call 708-235-2222, visit CenterTickets.net or visit the box office. Parking is free, and discounts are available for adults 65 and older, students, children and groups of more than 10.
Flossmoor derby hopes to hook fishing fans
Young anglers 3 to 12 years old are invited to participate in the Frankfort Fishing Derby the morning of May 17 at Prairie Park in downtown Frankfort,
The catch-and release event features different times for different ages. Youths 3 to 7 years old check in at 7:30 a.m. and fish from 8 to 8:45 a.m. Youths 8 to 12 years old check in at 8:30 a.m. and fish from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m.
The fee, $10 for residents and $15 for nonresidents, pays for a T-shirt, drink, snack, bait and a fishing hook; participants must bring their own fishing pole. Register by May 15 online at www.frankfortil.org/news_detail_T5_R533.php or call 815-469-2177.
Orland Park church hosts rummage sale
A rummage sale is planned for 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 9 and 8 a.m. to noon May 10 at Orland Park Christian Reformed Church, 7500 Sycamore Drive, Orland Park.
The sale is sponsored by the church’s orphan ministry, and all money raised will help orphans in the community and around the world. Information is at 708-532-4900.
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