Northwest suburbs in 60 seconds
Holocaust remembrance
Congregation Beth Am will host a Yom HaShoah program, or Holocaust remembrance, at 7 p.m. today at the congregation, 225 N. McHenry Road, in Buffalo Grove. This is a communitywide service to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. For information, call (847) 459-1677 or visit congregation-betham.org.
Chefs' Fest returns Tuesday
Tickets are available now for Chefs' Fest 2009, the Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau's food and beverage sampling event, which runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 21 at Arlington Park, 220 W. Euclid Ave. in Arlington Heights. Tickets are $30 at the door; $25 in advance. Nearly 60 restaurants will participate and the event includes a silent auction plus live entertainment from the Kendall Kelly Lewis Quartet, the Arlingtones barbershop choir and Big Shot Piano Lounge of Arlington Heights. Lynfred Winery of Roselle will lead a "Wine 101" demonstration. Guests are asked to donate nonperishable food for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Parking is free. Order tickets online at ChefsFest.com or at (847) 490-1010. A simultaneous Hotel Showcase trade show will pair nearly 100 professional meeting planners with member hotel partners to attract new meeting and convention business to the region.
Parks employee remembered
The Des Plaines Park District and the Des Plaines Historical Society will celebrate the life of Richard Gravesmill with a special planting on Arbor Day. Gravesmill was the park district's superintendent of finance from 1981 to 2001 and a history center volunteer. He died last fall while on a trip to Salt Lake City to do research at the Mormon archives. Gravesmill was involved in the purchase and financing of Des Plaines' Golf Center and oversaw the finances for such projects as Mystic Waters Family Aquatic Center and Prairie Lakes Community Center. He also co-chaired the city's Fourth of July festivities, including the parade and fireworks. A tree will be planted in his honor at 9 a.m. Friday, April 24, at the Kinder House, 781 Pearson St.
CERT class set to begin
The Palatine Emergency Management Agency is offering free emergency preparedness training classes for the federal CERT program, or Community Emergency Response Team. The first of nine evening classes is Monday, May 4 at village hall, 200 E. Wood St. The sessions, which total about 20 hours, wrap up Wednesday, May 27. For details, go to palatine-ema.org.
BADC's Citizen of the Year
The Barrington Area Development Council will recognize the latest recipient of its Citizen of the Year Award at its annual dinner at 6 p.m. May 11 in the carousel building at the Sanfilippo estate in Barrington Hills. The council's annual dinner meeting brings together volunteers of local organizations, elected officials and community leaders in a tribute to community service and to honor the award recipient. This year, Carol and David Nelson will jointly present the keynote address, "A Community that turns Dreams into Reality: The Story of Hospice of Northeastern Illinois." Those interested in attending should RSVP by May 8 by calling (847) 382-4357 and then sending a check for $30 per person, payable to BADC, to BADC Annual Dinner, P.O. Box 72, Barrington IL 60011.