Arlington Heights' own 'Jack Black?'
Bill Manglaris was the cool guy teaching kids music way before the movie "School of Rock" hit theaters in 2003.
"I has this idea 30 years ago, long before Jack Black came along," said Bill who runs El Rey Music Center in Arlington Heights with his wife Sue.
On Sunday, Bill and Sue will take about 50 of their young musicians - mostly between the ages of 8 and 11 years old - to play a gig at the Blues Bar in Mount Prospect. The free show starts at 2:30 and runs until 8 p.m.
Don't expect Broadway tunes from this bunch.
The El Rey group will play Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride and Joy," along with Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, Pink Floyd and other rock and roll tunes.
About 250 kids take classes at El Rey, which is on Arlington Heights Road just south of Central Road. El Rey has been around for more than 60 years. Bill and Sue are the center's third owners.
The Blues Bar is located at 2 W. Busse Ave. in Mount Prospect.
Lucky Baby Oliver: Oliver Sala was born on Aug. 8, 2008, at eight minutes past midnight at Northwest Community Hospital. Oliver weighed 9 pounds, 10 ounces. The lucky parents are Rodd and Elizabeth Sala of Lake Barrington, who also have a 5-year-old son. When you look at the numbers, the chances of a baby being born :08/08/08/08 are slim. Northwest Community Hospital delivers about 3,000 babies each year - roughly nine per day.
Calling all alums: The Arlington Heights Woman's Club is celebrating its 75th anniversary and looking for some past members. The club was started in 1933 by a young woman who wished to carry out community philanthropic projects. The main objective of the club still holds true today: "Live each day, trying to accomplish something, not merely to exist."
Recipients of the group's funds over the years include Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Height Memorial Library, WINGS, breast cancer research, Habitat for Humanity, Misericordia and Shelter Inc. More than $200,000 has been donated to the hospital alone.
The reunion is planned for Sept. 28 at Rolling Green Country Club in Arlington Heights. For more information, call Claudia Starck at (847) 818-6050 by early September.
Secret gift announced next week: The Arlington Heights High School class of 1951 is donating a "generous art donation" to the library. The donation will be announced at 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 21 outside the Dunton conference room at the library. The public is invited to attend. Just let Maria Ramos know you're coming by calling (847) 506-2649 or e-mail mramos@ahml.info.
• Sheila Ahern covers Arlington Heights. She can be reached at (847) 427-4563 or via e-mail at sahern@dailyherald.com.