North Shore Notes: Kraft Heinz celebration, annual laundry drive, 'impressive gardening' contest
What do Philadelphia Soft Cream Cheese, Jet-Puffed Marshmallows and Kraft Singles have in common?
They all were products of the Kraft Heinz Research & Development Center, 801 Waukegan Road, Glenview.
Sept. 15 is the 75th anniversary of the Glenview Innovation Center, which will be celebrated Friday by Kraft Heinz leadership, employees and their families at the facility.
The Innovation Center employs about 350 people, who are privy to a temporary museum at the facility highlighting Kraft Heinz's role in driving key food trends and innovations, and its current role as a leader in the future of food.
Just a little over a year ago in Glenview, Kraft Heinz reformulated its Capri Sun formula using monk fruit, reducing the amount of sugar in the drink by 40%.
On Friday, Kraft Heinz employees and families, including the company's North American president of research and development, Robert Scott, will enjoy a celebration that includes the famous Weinermobile, Kraft Heinz food, games featuring company brands, and a time capsule ceremony.
OLPH to hold its annual laundry drive
If it's September, it must be time for the laundry drive sponsored by Guild 35 of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Glenview.
The annual drive, co-chaired this year by Katie Santucci and Meghan Decker, runs through Sept. 30.
Detergent gained through the drive, and purchased by monetary donations, will benefit families through the OLPH parish center and the church's sharing parishes.
Guild 35 specifies three ways to donate: ship directly through the Amazon link bit.ly/LaundryDrive; write a check to Guild 35; or drop donations off in collection bins at the OLPH campus, 1123 Church St., Glenview.
Green thumbs unite
The Northbrook Farmers Market seeks contestants for its "impressive gardening" contest at the market on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Not limited to vegetables, entries may be flowers or even weeds, though poison ivy is forbidden. Items must have been grown in home gardens or yards, or in community gardens.
There will be a table at the market to display the entries, which must be submitted by 10 a.m. Sept. 20. The market is at the Meadow Plaza parking lot, Meadow Road and Cherry Lane.
Name and contact information are required along with the submission. Edible items will be donated to the Northbrook Township Food Pantry, with inedible items composted. A winner will win gift certificates for items at Culver's, Starbucks and Waterway Car Wash.
Film historians discuss classic at Weinger JCC
Film historians David Fantle and Tom Johnson, co-authors of a new book, "C'mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock," will be at a book talk and signing Oct. 16 at Bernard Weinger JCC, 300 Revere Drive, Northbrook.
Fantle, an adjunct professor in film at Marquette University and a former Wisconsin deputy tourism secretary, and Johnson, a reviewer who has earned a National Hearst Foundation award for news writing, have collaborated on interviews and texts with Hollywood's Golden Age stars for 40 years.
Their new book reports on stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly and the 1950 MGM musical "Summer Stock," Garland's final film for MGM. The movie, which also stars Jewish comic Phil Silvers, was produced by Joe Pasternak, a Hungarian immigrant whose films were known for their happy endings - in contrast to his experiences during the Holocaust.
The discussion by Fantle and Johnson, "Joe Pasternak, Summer Stock and his 'Happy Ending' Musicals," will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. Oct. 16 at Bernard Weinger JCC. It is free and open to the public.
Copies of their book will be available at Bernard Weinger and also at the Book Bin, 1151 Church St., Northbrook.
No enrollment fee this month at Techny Prairie Activity Center
The Northbrook Park District is offering a zero enrollment fee special in September for new members at Techny Prairie Activity Center, 180 Anets Drive.
Typically, enrollment fees range from $75 for adults ages 18 and older, and $45 for seniors and youth. Add-on memberships typically require a $35 enrollment fee, which also will be waived in September.
The facility, which opened in 2021, includes a 6,000-square-foot fitness floor with cardio, strength and functional fitness training equipment; modern group fitness studios; an indoor track and stretching area; and a multipurpose gymnasium for basketball, pickleball and volleyball.
Group fitness classes are included in membership and include cardio, interval training, dance fitness, low impact, yoga, mat Pilates, indoor cycling and more.
A new lineup of group classes is launching in September with new options such as Ignite, which will fire up motivation on the treadmill, and five new classes for seniors: Dance Fit, Move it and Tone it, Move it and Shake it, Tai Chi, and chair yoga. The latter will take place at the Northbrook Park District's Leisure Center to help provide more health and fitness opportunities to seniors in the community.
For more information, visit nbfitness.org, call (847) 897-6180 or email customerservice@nbparks.org.