'ArtFusion' aims to shine light on St. Charles students

It's a little bit like the former three-week St. Charles Arts and Musical Festival condensed into one night. And it's in the perfect place to put the spotlight on St. Charles School District students excelling in the arts - regardless of which side of the Fox River they are from.

The Greater St. Charles Education Foundation created this new event in the hopes of celebrating the accomplishments of all St. Charles students in music, visual art, science, math, drama, industrial technology, speech and dance.

"ArtFusion" unfolds from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Arcada Theater, bringing the talents of local students to the historic downtown entertainment showcase.

"This is also for students who may not get the opportunity to perform in other school bands," foundation president Nadia BlancDaley said.

"It's going to be an event in which all disciplines of art meet in an event that will allow us to raise money for more grants and support."

BlancDaley is a staunch believer that arts and academics are closely tied.

"They go hand-in-hand," she said. "Students who are interested in the arts also do well in their schoolwork, and I think it is an important point to make."

The Arcada lobby will be filled with elementary student art displays and presentations, while the stage in the theater will feature numerous musical, dance and drama numbers from high school and middle school students.

"We are so thankful to Arcada owner Ron Onesti for donating the use of the theater," BlancDaley said. "He has been a big supporter of the foundation."

This is a good opportunity to support St. Charles youths and see the Arcada if you haven't been in it for some time. The program schedule is on the stceducation.com Web site, and tickets at $10 for adults and $3 for students will be available at the door.

A blow for Sage patrons: A lot of local people were pleased when chef Anders Jensen came back from Florida two years ago to be part of the new restaurant that replaced his former Erik and Me restaurant at 1 W. Illinois St. in St. Charles.

The Sage Bistro opened with a significant makeover and a massive wine collection to replace the Erik and Me salad bar.

But things changed over the past two years, mostly from the miserable economic conditions that restaurants are trying to cope with.

A sign on the restaurant last week said it was closed for remodeling, but sources tell me that owner Mike Frasier has been forced to permanently close the restaurant because of the poor economy.

Quite a contrast: Daily Herald photographers are terrific in finding photo opportunities in our area forest preserves, or those that illustrate our changing weather conditions.

We spotted one near the Fabyan Forest Preserve windmill during last weekend's snowy, wintry burst that a photographer would have loved. Two men in windshirts and shorts were jogging along the trail, with a backdrop of kids sledding down the nearby hill at the windmill.

It was a perfect illustration of the contrasts of early spring in the Tri-Cities area.