Category archive for ‘Arts & Recreation’ 
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You’re never too old to jump out of a perfectly good airplane
Imagine the most beautiful sunny day you could ever behold. A brilliant blue sky is overhead. The sun softly warms your skin while a light breeze plays with your hair. You close your eyes and let yourself melt into a sublime sense of peace.
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Blast from the past
When you live in Sun City and can’t always get back to your high school reunion, among the numerous activities that are already offered in the community, you can attend a “Blast from the Past Reunion.”
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Cinderella to take audiences for a spin
Forget the glass slipper, pumpkin carriage, and fairy godmother: the biggest standout of the Sun City Theater Company’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” may be below all the action. That’s because the stage of this musical boldly goes where no Sun City production has before: in 360 degrees.
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Making hearts and driving smiles
The Woodchucks are at it again. Community Projects leader Al La Pelusa in tandem with Wal-Mart truck driver Pete Palczynski are crafting smiles and hope into people’s lives through the Wal-Mart Heart program. The program has been around for about fifteen years, and the Woodchucks have been involved for about the past three years.
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Does your holiday table say WOW?
Have you been thinking about how you are going to set up and adorn your Easter Holiday table? Linda Cogdill’s (N.10A) business, Design One Interiors, Ltd., has been in the Sun City community for the last seven years, and can help you with all kinds of festive ideas. In 1999 Linda received her Associate Degree in Interior Design, and since then she enjoys exercising her creative side, utilizing different accessories to beautify the home, including what she calls “Over the Top Table Tops.”
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Lady liberty
On Friday, March 9, Jenny Riddle, a dramatic book reviewer, portrayed several characters from “Ladies of Liberty” by Cokie Roberts. Riddle has been successfully portraying great people from history for the past ten years. The dramatic book review is essentially a one-woman show.
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Thinking inside the box
Whoever takes home these boxes may have a hard time justifying their bid, as they must work to decipher the first puzzle that allows them just to get the boxes open.
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Bending, not breaking
“…seven, eight, nine…ten, eleven.” There were 11 links on the left side, therefore there must be 11 on the right as well. “I count it so that way it can be perfect, you know?” Gladys H. Martinez Vega, N.31, said, explaining her method.
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Annual “Groundhog Days” Festival Celebrates Cinematic Memories and Seasonal Prognosis
In Woodstock, Illinois, there is more behind the groundhog than merely his shadow. Although the town has annually celebrated its “Groundhog Days” event for the past two decades, this year means something more. To mark the 20th anniversary of filming the movie “Groundhog Day,” which took place in Woodstock, the week-long celebration, starting January 29, will be its biggest yet.
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Popular local music group Project 2 serenades Sun City
On January 10, Sun City had the pleasure of being serenaded by an amazing group of performers titled Project 2. This group is comprised of 15 Huntley High School students and was created by Dylan Ladd in 2007. The students sing and dance musical numbers from such grand performances as “The Jersey Boys,” “Mamma Mia,” and “Wicked.”
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Like father, like daughter
Artwork is a regular feature in Neighborhood 24 resident Bobbi Vinton’s home, but one wall in particular displays a collection that means more to Vinton than what an appraiser’s price tag might read because how does one appraise the work of his or her father?
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Move over Eleanor Rigby
Could I see a show of hands of all of you Beatle fans? School District 158 has a surprise for you!
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Sun City goes green
Get ready to mark your calendars for a night you’ll be talking about for years to come. On Monday, January 23, in Drendel Ballroom from 7-8:30 p.m. Sun City will host Dublin’s number one traditional Irish music group, The Irish House Party.
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Thinking outside the ‘book’
On its own, the word “scrap” hardly brings to mind anything of value or worth. We think “scrap paper,” “scrap metal,” “scrap wood,” or something you might give to a dog or write directions on. But when Sun City residents Holly Veach and Sharon McLaughlin think of the word scrap, they see a treasure; they see family, friends, and memories, and preservation of same. They see Scrapping on the Spot.
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A grand affair
Sun City resident Inge Sedey, Neighborhood 29, native of Germany’s Black Forest Region and piano instructor for 40 years, “can’t stop tickling those ivories.” She will participate for her seventh year at Elgin Community College Arts Center’s American Grands XVII Concert.
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Those creative elves did it again!
The Sun City Woodchucks spread Christmas Cheer and the spirit of the season to provide handcrafted toys to the children of Grafton Food Pantry clients.
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The broad side of a barn
In May 2011, the McHenry County Historical Society produced a Barn and Garden Quilt Map for the Northern Illinois Quilt Fest. Although the hardcopy maps that were available from the McHenry County Historical Museum are now gone, the first version of these maps are still accessible from the Historical Society’s website.
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Sun City, a patchwork of lifestyle
Remember the quilt that was in the Sew ‘N Sews room? It needed some repair, so one of the ladies in the group, Ellie Sudduth, took it home, cleaned and fixed it up, but with their newly expanded space where the computer club used to be, she felt a new quilt could be in order. The previous one was then donated elsewhere.
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Building tradition
On the day after Thanksgiving, you are probably either getting your house back in order, pulling out your Christmas decorations, or getting in on those early-bird specials in the stores. Not Linda and Frank Fenneman (N. 28).
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From flat to tablescapes
The holiday season is upon us, and with it the opportunity to create beautifully-designed and decorated spaces in our home.
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Railroad Club Sets 2011 Holiday Display
The Kishwaukee Valley-Eakin Creek Model Railroad Club of Sun City has announced the running dates for this year’s Holiday Display. Trains will run in the Prairie Lodge Social Lounge from Friday November 25 through Thursday December 29.
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Never letting someone go quilt-Liss
Remember Linus from the Charles Schultz comic “Charlie Brown”? Liss Kundich (N.21) surely does. He was the character who always carried around a blanket for security. Knowing how much a blanket can mean to a child, Project Linus was formed, and today, children in hospitals are the happy recipients of beautiful quilts. Liss was part of the Project Linus chapter in California before she moved to Illinois. She is now active in the Northbrook chapter. From the year 2002 until present day, they have made 6,500 quilts. Project Linus is a not-for-profit group.
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Strutting into Christmas
Kick off the holiday season the week after Thanksgiving with the Sun City Strutters and special guest performers the Prairie Voices in the second annual holiday season performance, Christmas Is Coming.
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A birdhouse call
Janice Strain, N.20, finds decorating and enhancing birdhouses very relaxing. Janice is retired and has been a resident of Sun City for five years now, after having lived in Algonquin for a short time. “I love my home in Sun City,” she proudly states.
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Enlisting your help
For the last three years, Sunflower Garden Club member Nancy Frank, N. 23, has helped honor our armed forces members at holiday time by coordinating a patriotic display of Sun City resident-supplied photos of currently enlisted family members.
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Mann-ing the Voyage
You may have run into Larry Mann at Prairie Lodge and seen him perform his duties as Director of Building Services, but if you stop in to Drendel Hall on November 12, you’ll see a whole different kind of performance from him.
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Hip to be square
In Neighborhood 29 resident Joe Nitti’s world, it’s hip to be square. It’s not only hip but artistic and decorative. After a successful 57-year career as an architectural draftsman, Netti (81) retired in 1993 from penciling lines and curves and shapes and applied his expertise to framing and matting.
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Taste the story
The temperature is dropping. The leaves are falling, and the nights are getting longer. Wouldn’t it be nice to curl up with a loved one and share a glass of amazing wine? But which wine should you imbibe? Well, to satisfy all of your wine-based questions, it behooves you to check out the Holiday Wine-Tasting Event being held 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Saturday, November 5 in Drendel Ballroom. Armanetti’s Fine Wine and Spirits will provide the wine for the event.
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Scarecrow Festival
There is a chill in the air. The leaves are starting to turn colors. The days are getting shorter. No doubt about it, fall has arrived. What better way to celebrate the fall season than with a befitting festival. Clear your calendars because on October 7 through 9 the Scarecrow Festival of St. Charles will be in full swing.
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Anything but the ordinary
Have you ever seen beautiful art painted on toilet paper? On October 16, at the Prairie Lodge, you’ll be able to see and purchase this fine piece of art along with 91 other exhibitors at this year’s art fair. It’s free and open to the public and begins at 10 a.m. and continues through 4 p.m.
