Gail Borden Library hosts annual children's flea market
Monday, being a day to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy, is also a day off school.
The community room of the Gail Borden Library will host its annual children's flea market from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Forty-five entrepreneurial kids have reserved spaces to vend their wares.
There are no items over $4, so bargains are there for the taking. Items include games, toys, puzzles, sports equipment, and video games. There are a few baby and toddler items, and some crafts as well.
This is also a good opportunity for doting grandparents or relatives to get some toys to have on hand for little visitors. For details, call the Youth Help Desk at (847) 429-4685.
Also from the library comes word of a national award for excellence in public relations. There will be more to come on this, but our library recently received the John Cotton Dana 2008 award for the "Space: Dare to Dream" program. The award will be given in June in Anaheim.
Award winners
On Friday, the Boys and Girls Club will hold its eighth annual Distinguished Citizen's Dinner at the Marriot in Hoffman Estates. Festivities begin at 6 p.m., with dinner and the four awards given out, followed by dancing. About 350 guests are expected.
• The Marisol Martinez Youth of the Year Award is sponsored by the Breakfast Rotary Club, whose members select the winner. This year the award goes to Citlalit Cantor. Cici, as she is known by her many friends, is a freshman at Elgin High School. In middle school she played soccer, belonged to the Torch Club, and was a tutor at the Boys and Girls Club. At the club now she is part of the Keystone club, which has done service projects such as rebuilding Clara Howard Park and a cemetery cleanup. Mario and Theresa Martinez, parents of the late Marisol Martinez, will be present and give the award to Cici.
• The Corporate Citizen Award, sponsored by ShalesMcNutt Construction, will go to General Mills Co. in West Chicago. In the last five years, the company has given $600,000 to local charities, and shared $4,575,684 nationally through the Boxtops for Education program on their products. In the last two years they have given 350,000 pounds of goods to local pantries.
• The Marie Yearman Volunteer of the Year award is sponsored by Comcast. This year's award will be given to the "Birthday Lady," Becky Vento. Each month she gives a birthday party for all at the club, with a gift for every child whose birthday is that month. She funds it all personally.
• Lamp Inc. sponsors the Distinguished Citizen of the Year award -- this year going to Al and Jeanine Kirkland. They have been involved in a large number of events and organizations for years in Elgin, always generously.
For a reservation or details, call Alan Brostoff at (847) 608-5017, ext. 3.
Get a Clue
On Friday at the Boulder Ridge Country Club, the Elgin Children's Chorus is sponsoring an evening with Tim Clue, a regular guest on the Steve Cochran show on WGN radio. Tim's presentation, sponsored by Kellenberger Electric, features a variety of persona. His training was at Second City and he has written a play, "Leaving Iowa," which after running in Rockford, played at the Royal George.
Gourmet dining will be followed by the special appearance of the Elgin Children's Choristers and Tim Clue's laugh-filled show. Since the chorus is going to the Loire Valley in France this summer, a variety of baskets on that theme will be offered in the silent auction. The live auction has an airfare-included week in Fort Meyers, Cubs tickets with parking, an installed home theater system, a golf package at Boulder Ridge Country Club and a slot as guest conductor at the Christmas Show of the Elgin Children's Chorus.
For details or a reservation, call the box office at Elgin Community College at (847) 622-0300.
Ceilidh
In Elgin's tapestry, the Scottish thread is one of the oldest and longest. On Saturday, the Elgin Scottish Society hosts its Robert Burns Supper and Ceilidh (proncounced Kay-lee) for the 104th year! A roast beef dinner is complemented by the traditional haggis.
Following on the very successful event last year, the Celtic folk band Exorna will furnish the music for the evening. Coming from downstate Normal, the band plays traditional Scotch/Irish music as well as rock fusion and reels. My sources tell me that everyone gets up to dance, and that last year, the fun lasted until midnight. For details about the band, go to www.exorna.com.
Scottish attire is encouraged but not required. A majority of the attendees wear tartans -- sashes or ties on up to a full kilt.
For details on the event, call Mike Murschel at burnsbanquet@murschel.net and for reservations call Liz Hadley at (847) 649-3020.
Image Award time
This is the last full week to get a nomination in for the Elgin Image Awards. All applications are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 28. The new format on the www.cityofelgin.org website makes it a snap to enter the deserving person or group. Look under Quick Links in the khaki square on the right hand side. Hard copies are available in city hall and at the Gail Borden Library.
The five categories are: individual professional; individual volunteer; project; organization or business; and citizenship. Now is your chance to recognize someone or some group you know of that made a difference in Elgin's image in 2007.