DuPage County briefs
Italian fest in Carol Stream:There will be a little bit of Italy in Carol Stream on Sunday, Jan. 17, and the park district hopes chefs from throughout DuPage County will bring their best marinara sauce to the event. As part of the first Viva Italian Festival, Carol Stream Park District is sponsoring a marinara sauce contest - the winner receives a $100 gift certificate to Bucca di Beppo Italian Restaurant in Lombard. The festival is from 4 to 7 p.m. at Simkus Recreation Center, 849 W. Lies Road. Contest entry is free; sauces are due by 5 p.m. Sunday. The festival also will include live music, Italian games and Italian language lessons. For information, visit csparks.org/Italia or call (630) 784-6100.Grant to help women:U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert was at Benedictine University in Lisle this week to announce a $250,000 Women's Entrepreneurial Education and Workforce Development grant that will provide scholarship funds for women who enroll in Benedictine's new master of science in leadership program. The program is designed to provide knowledge and skills that will help prepare women for leadership roles in today's society. For details, call (630) 829-6300.Pantry given unique truck:A Naperville food bank run by New Community Ministries soon will deliver perishable fruits and vegetables to needy Naperville-area families in a unique hybrid electric truck. The truck was donated by NetGain Technologies, LLC of Lockport, which engineered it as an experimental test vehicle. Fox Valley Electric Association donated the funds to upgrade the truck to transport perishable food. The donation will be commemorated at a ceremony at 2 p.m. today at Naperville city hall, 400 S. Eagle St.Heart Smart for schools:Schools or individuals interested in a Strong Heart Smart Heart Program that DuPage Medical Group cardiologists are presenting in schools may attend an interactive workshop from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday at Winfield Town Center, Room C, 2nd floor, 0S050 Winfield Road. The program, developed in partnership with Central DuPage Hospital, is designed to help students in grades three through six understand how the heart works, risk factors for heart disease and steps to maintaining heart health. For details, call (630) 456-7225.Chef chairs PADS event:Chef Amaury Rosado of Chef Amaury's in Aurora will serve as honorary chairman of DuPage PADS' 2010 fundraiser, "Taste of Hope: Chefs United to End Homelessness." Area chefs and restaurants partner with PADS to offer the late winter feast that will be held from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. March 4 at Abbington Banquets, 3S002 Route 53, Glen Ellyn. Tickets are $80 per person. For details, contact (630) 682-3846, ext. 242 or dupagepads.org.