Preschool fair offers plenty of options

If you are thinking about sending your 3- or 4-year-old to preschool for the first time, you might want to check out the Preschool and Day Care Fair from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Palatine library, 700 N. North Court, Palatine.

Many preschool options are offered in Palatine, including the Palatine Park District, the Salt Creek Park District, the Buehler YMCA, Fremd High School, Palatine High School, Palatine Township Elementary School District 15, Harper College, several private schools, day care centers and many churches .

Representatives from local preschool and day care organizations will be available at the library's fair to talk with parents about their programs and facilities. No registration is required.

I remember agonizing over when to send my oldest child, Beth, to preschool years ago. Her birthday is Sept. 1 -- right on the cut-off date for school. Should I send her when she was 3 or hold her back and wait a year? (We ultimately decided to send her, and she seems to be doing just fine now as a high school freshman.)

Auditions: Vex Theatre Company will have auditions for "Lady Windermere's Fan," by Oscar Wilde, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday at the Palatine Public Library, 700 N. North Court, Palatine. They are seeking six women and seven men for the cast. The role of Mrs. Erlynne is cast. No appointment is necessary. Prepare a 1-minute monologue and be ready to cold read. Go to www.vextheatre.org for more information.

Bears Care: Midtown Athletic Club, Palatine, formerly Forest Grove Athletic Club, 1760 N. Hicks Road, recently presented a check for $21,176 to Bears Care. The money was raised in the fifth annual Midtown 5K Run and Walk in September.

Bears Care, the charitable beneficiary of the Chicago Bears, is committed to improving the quality of life for people in the Chicago area, especially disadvantaged children and their families.

Whole Foods Market in Palatine provided food and beverages on race day and also held a community support day in November under the direction of George Economos, director of marketing and community outreach, and Mike Farmer, store team leader, to benefit Bears Care.

Additional sponsors included Chicago Bears, Athletico, Bannockburn Travel Management, Cold Stone Creamery, Cubby Bear, The Daily Herald, Direct Fitness Solutions, The Edgge Media Group, INGEAR, Mobile Music Interactive Entertainment, 101.9 FM THE MIX, Richard Klein Photography, Steaz, SolidLine Media, UPS and US Bank.