Suburbanites to celebrate 75 years of India's independence
Suburban Indian Americans will mark India's 75th Independence Day with a celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Peterson Park, 16652 N. Buffalo Grove Road in Lincolnshire.
The free event is being hosted by the Lake County Indians Association. It will include Indian classical, folk and patriotic-themed Bollywood musical and dance performances, food vendors, children's games, businesses showcasing their products and services, and a fashion show.
“We did this event last year with a huge turnout around almost 1,000 to 1,500 people,” said Rekha Vemuri of Buffalo Grove, the association's vice president. “We're expecting an even bigger crowd this time. We have quite a lineup of cultural events.”
Several local Indian organizations, including Chicago Tamil Sangam, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA, Chinmaya Mission, Tri-State Telugu Association, Maharashtra Mandal Chicago, and Bengali Association of Greater Chicago, are collaborating for this year's event.
Attendees will include U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Highland Park, state Sen. Adriane Johnson of Buffalo Grove, and Buffalo Grove Village President Beverly Sussman.
“Everybody can come and enjoy,” Vemuri said.
Alzheimer's study
A clinical trial aimed at preventing Alzheimer's disease is recruiting local participants as young as 55 in the Chicago area, with a focus on diversifying the pool of candidates in the study.
More than 260,000 adults age 65 and older in Illinois are projected to have Alzheimer's disease by 2025. Black older adults are almost twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's than white adults but are underrepresented in clinical trials.
The AHEAD Study is a four-year clinical trial evaluating a potential treatment to slow the earliest brain changes and help prevent symptoms.
Participants must commit for the entire four years, involving in-person and telephone visits with researchers every two to four weeks. They must have a study partner — either a close relative or friend — who will participate in one visit per year. They also will receive $50 per required visit.
To join the study, visit aheadstudy.org/pre-screener/.
Diversity in athletics
North Central College in Naperville has hired Brian Johnson as its first assistant athletic director for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Since 2020, Johnson has been the student-athlete enrichment coordinator at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. In that role he developed a system promoting a positive athletic experience while encouraging academic success and personal growth.
“The breadth of Brian's experience is just as far-reaching as his commitment to creating a vibrant and impactful college experience for all students,” North Central Athletic Director Jim Miller said.
Johnson, a 1995 graduate of North Central and member of the football and track and field teams, spent time with the college as a graduate assistant from 2013 to 2016. From 2016 to 2020, he was an academic adviser and admissions specialist at Harper College in Palatine.
“It's been a long journey to get back into collegiate athletics,” Johnson said. “This is a tremendous opportunity to give back to Cardinal athletics and college athletics in general at what is a pivotal time for both.”
Immigrant festival
The annual Festival of the Monarch Butterfly in celebration of immigrant communities will be held Friday in Glendale Heights.
This is the third year of the Latin festival organized by Wheaton-based Immigrant Solidarity DuPage. It debuted in 2018 as DuPage County's first Latino festival but was canceled the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We call it the Monarch festival because it celebrates migration,” said Cristobal Cavazos, general coordinator of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage.
The festival will run from 3 to 11 p.m. at Camera Park, 101 E. Fullerton Ave. It will celebrate local Latino arts, music and artisanship and also will highlight area nonprofits serving the community. There will be Mexican rock music, Indigenous dancing from the Michoacán area, and Mexican salsa and cumbia groups performing.
Muslim comedy
Comedian Preacher Moss' “Muslim Comedy Festival” will kick off the 59th annual Islamic Society of North America Convention, which will return Sept. 2-5 to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, in Rosemont.
The “halal,” or permissible, comedy festival will feature acts by noted Muslim comedians from across North America, including Marlin Hill, Omar Regan, Atheer Yacoub and Moses the Comedian. The show will begin at 9:30 p.m. Sept. 2. Ticket price is $20.
This year's convention theme is “Resilience, Hope, & Faith: With Hardship, Comes Ease.” The convention will feature a host of speakers, including prominent Islamic scholars and Muslim community leaders from across North America and the world.
It will include an expo/bazaar with hundreds of vendors, youth programs, entertainment, inspirational and interfaith sessions, a film festival, an art exhibit, a fashion show, a children's program, and a community service award presentation.
For more information, visit isna.net/convention/.
• Share stories, news and happenings from the suburban mosaic at mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com.