Oak Lawn Community, Reavis play nine at Wrigley
History repeated itself during a recent Illinois High School Association game when the baseball team at Oak Lawn Community High School came back to win against Reavis High School.
The teams played on Wrigley Field in Chicago after the Chicago Cubs came back to win against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with Oak Lawn winning 10-7 in front of 2,000 Oak Lawn and Reavis fans.
Oak Lawn senior John Olejniczak made his season debut, throwing a 1-2-3 first inning, but because a different pitcher took the mound each inning, the team fell behind. Luckily, the Spartans rallied for victory, thanks to senior centerfielder Jack Dempsey who had a triple, four RBIs and a run; senior Eli Kupinski, who had a “flawless squeeze bunt” that led to a run; and senior first baseman Aiden Schopper, who had a triple and two RBIs.
“I thought the Cubs really created a memorable experience for the players, coaches, and fans from both sides,” Bill Gerny, head coach for Oak Lawn, shared via a news release. “It was nice to see all of the players and their families smiling and creating memories.”
Pollinators take center stage at woman’s club event
Pollinator Palooza, celebrating butterflies, bees, birds and other important pollinators that keep the ecosystem thriving, takes place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 2 at McCord Gallery & Cultural Center, 9602 W. Creek Road in Palos Park.
The event, offered by the Palos Park Woman’s Club, is a half-day program for anyone interested in gardening. University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator Nancy Kuhajda will provide practice insights about how to identify pollinators, and Nana Koziol, a Chicago Botanic Garden instructor, will demonstrate how to create a garden that attracts and sustains pollinators.
Participants also can visit vendors and exhibitors offering pollinator-friendly garden ideas, resources and products. Tickets cost $20 per person plus a small fee and are sold at https://bit.ly/4ao38ig or via [email protected] or 708-220-6627.
Area students perform with Andrea Bocelli
Two New Lenox students, Rocco Grecco and George Graefen, were among more than 85 Belmont University student musicians from the university’s orchestra and chorale who performed with word-famous tenor Andrew Bocelli earlier this year during his “Romanza – 30th Anniversary World Tour” in Nashville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala.
Bocelli invited students to join him at these concerts after they performed during “An Evening of Hope” at Belmont’s Fisher Center Arena in Nashville, which launched the Hope Transforms campaign for the university, which is in Nashville.
Lemont’s Honors Symphonic Band chosen for state fest
The Lemont High School Honors Symphonic Band will take to the stage next weekend at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign to perform in this year’s SuperState Concert Band Festival.
It’s just one band of six in Class IA chosen for this year’s event after submitting a tape this winter. The only other band from the area chosen in its class for this year’s event was Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights.
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This is the third straight year and seventh overall that the band, directed by Ben Clemons, has been chosen to perform in the festival, which is equivalent to the state championship for concert bands. The show streams at 9 a.m. May 9 at www.bands.illinois.edu.
Church rummage sales set in Palos Heights, Orland Park
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 7800 W. McCarthy Road in Palos Heights, hosts its annual rummage sale from 8 to 3 p.m. May 1 and 8 a.m. to noon May 2 in the Life Center at the back of the church.
Attendees will find clothes, holiday decor, kitchen items, home goods, dishes, furniture, sporting equipment, toys, children’s books, games, tools, clothing, yard equipment, linens and more. Saturday everything is 50% off. All proceeds benefit the youth mission trip to West Virginia this summer.
A rummage sale also is planned for 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 1 and 8 a.m. to noon May 2 at Orland Park Christian Reformed Church, 7500 Sycamore Drive in Orland Park.
The church’s orphan ministry sponsors the sale, and all proceeds will go toward helping orphans in the community and around the world.
Palooza in the Park planned in Chicago Heights
The Chicago Heights Park District will offer Cinco de Mayo – Palooza in the Park, from 1 to 3 p.m. May 2 at Jirtle Park, 26th and Union in Chicago Heights.
The free community event will feature vendors, food, jumpy houses, ponies, giveaways, fellowship and music for families in the community. Details are at 708-755-1351.
Will County Audubon highlights migrating birds
Enjoy a cup of coffee and treat before taking a half-mile hike to spot migrating warblers during Wake Up with Warblers – Birding and Bird-Friendly Coffee, set for 7 to 9 a.m. May 9 at Isle a la Cache Museum, 501 E. Romeo Road in Romeoville.
Greg DuBois, vice president and program director for the Will County Audubon Society, will present a talk on how coffee options can help protect migratory birds through the Smithsonian Bird Friendly certified coffee program. DuBois, who provided a photo essay from his 2024 bird photography tour in Cuba to the quarterly Illinois Audubon Magazine, leads birding tours at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
Attendees to this Forest Preserve District of Will County program should bring a coffee mug and binoculars. The program, open to anyone 16 or older, is free, but registration is required by 4 p.m. May 7. Sign up at ReconnectWithNature.org. Details are at 815-722-9301.
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