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Palatine is planning Oktoberfest celebration

I love hearing my dad recall his backpacking adventures through Europe after college, one of the highlights being a stop at Oktoberfest.

On road trips, we'd inevitably sing one of the traditional folk songs heard at the beer fest, "The Happy Wanderer," which I fondly refer to as the "Val-deri, Val-dera" song.

So I was thrilled to discover that, come September, a Bavarian-style oompah band may play the familiar tune on the streets of Palatine.

The Rotary Club of Palatine is hosting an Oktoberfest celebration from 4 to 11 p.m. Sept. 12 and noon to 11 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Fireman's Memorial at Brockway and Slade streets.

The event replaces the group's biggest fundraiser of the year, Party Over Palatine, which has outgrown an indoor venue.

Details are thin, but the Rotary Club's Liz Noe says the beer-centric festivities are no reason to keep the kids away. There will be plenty of kid-friendly entertainment, so get out the kazoos and practice your chicken dance.

Downtown Palatine will be bustling that weekend. Oktoberfest will coincide with An Art Affair Around the Square, put on by the Palatine/Inverness Arts Council.

For details, call (847) 217-1845.

Turn pennies into dollars: Congratulations to students and staff at Plum Grove Junior High School, which recently presented a $15,000 check to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The hefty sum was a school record for Plum Grove, where students put on a three-week drive as part of the society's "Pennies for Patients" fundraiser.

Another charitable venture: Palatine optometrist Dr. Robert Gerowitz collected 200 used eyeglasses in March for Save Your Vision Month. Volunteer Optometrist Services to Humanity will distribute the glasses to individuals in underdeveloped countries. The association's goal is to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020.

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