St. Charles jazz bands tune up for education foundation
It's traditionally one of the more popular events staged by St. Charles schools and this year's "An Evening of Jazz" appears headed in the same direction.
And the event's past successes as a fundraiser for The Greater St. Charles Education Foundation equates to more funding requests.
"It is so popular, we have 54 grant requests this year," said event organizer Nadia BlancDaley. "We have had 200 or more people at past events and hoping for the same this year."
In addition to the St. Charles East and North jazz bands performing during the event, starting at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Royal Fox Country Club, there will be dancing music after the dinner provided by deejay Chuck Robinson, who some 30 years ago was a teacher and wrestling coach at St. Charles High School.
"The East High jazz band will play during cocktails and silent auction and the North band will play during dinner, and we switch that around every year," BlancDaley said.
In addition to the food, music, auction items and dancing, attendees can also participate in a "gold for cash" exchange with The Goldmine owner, Jay Montgomery. For every $2 a person receives for out-of-style gold, Montgomery will donate $1 to the education foundation.
Ticket sales end tomorrow, so those interested should go online at stceducation.com or contact BlancDaley at (847) 488-0699.
A muddy slowdown: If you're out for a fast-food lunch, you don't want something else slowing you down. That's how patrons of the McDonald's on the east side of St. Charles felt last week when a semitrailer driver got the front wheels of his rig stuck in mud right near the restaurant entrance.
The truck was big enough to make it tough to get into the restaurant or its drive-through line during lunch hour.
Smoke-free recession?: Just a question: With money so tight these days, and a pack of cigarettes costing more than $4 a pack, are more smokers considering kicking the habit? Recent statistics from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids state that 3.5 million high school students and 43 million adults smoke cigarettes in this country. If they smoke a pack every few days, there's plenty of money to be saved or spent elsewhere.
Care for paintings: With the computer and digital graphics age seemingly dominating our vision of anything considered art, we are reminded that many remain interested in oil paintings - particularly those considered antiques.
Antiques dealer Stephen Reid will discuss antique oil paintings at 2 p.m. Sunday at Garfield Farm Museum. He'll talk about the construction and identification of antique paintings; provide a brief overview of American painters; and give pointers on the preservation and care of oil paintings.
Better yet, Reid, a member of the Chicago Suburban Antiques Dealers Association, has offered to examine any paintings people bring to the lecture.
Seating was limited for this event, so those who are interested might want to contact the museum at (630) 584-8485. There is a $6 donation for the lecture and refreshments are included. Garfield Farm Museum is located five miles west of Geneva on Garfield Road, off Route 38.