April 8,9,13,16: AU play

“Lend Me A Tenor,” a Tony Award-winning comedy, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 8-9 and April 13-16 in Perry Theatre in the Aurora Foundation Center at 1305 Kenilworth Place.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

Kelly Roush is the director. She will lead a public discussion of the production at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13.

John Curran of St. Charles, Associate Professor of Theatre, and students in his stagecraft class are building the set. They are working from a virtual scale model Curran created with computer software.

“Tenor" won three Tony Awards and four Drama Desk Awards. Set in September 1934, the production focuses on Saunders, the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company.

He is primed to welcome world-famous, Tito Morelli, Il Stupendo, the greatest tenor of his generation, to appear for one night only as Otello.

The star arrives late and, through a hilarious series of mishaps, is given a double dose of tranquilizers and passes out. His pulse is so low that Saunders and his assistant Max believe he’s dead.

In a frantic attempt to salvage the evening, Saunders persuades Max to get into Morelli's Otello costume and fool the audience into thinking he's Il Stupendo. Max succeeds admirably, but Morelli comes to and gets into his other costume ready to perform.

Now two Otellos are running around in costume and two women are running around in lingerie, each thinking she is with Il Stupendo. The madcap, screwball comedy was a sensation on Broadway and in London's West End.

April 30: Paramount Art Gallery

Paramount Arts Centre art gallery, 8 E. Galena Blvd., in Aurora will open an exhibit by Aurora University students with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, April 1. The exhibit will be free to the public through April 30. Some 22 students of Aurora University art professors Steve Lowery of Geneva and Michael Sawdey of Aurora will exhibit paintings, drawings and photography. Student artists represent Addison, Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, Midlothian, North Aurora, St. Charles, Sugar Grove and Yorkville.

April 30: Play it Safe at Copley

RUSH-COPLEY MEDICAL CENTER:
PLAY IT SAFE
Join Rush-Copley for Play it Safe – a family health, safety and fitness fair on Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Rush-Copley Healthplex. This free event will teach kids about health and safety in a fun and interactive way. Activities include finger printing, bike and water safety, “touch a truck” fire truck/ambulance, stranger danger education, fitness demos, safety seat check and much more! Drawings include a free Discovery Club birthday party, swim lessons and more! No registration is required. Event will proceed rain or shine. To learn more visit rushcopley.com or call 866-4COPLEY (1-866-426-7539).

April 7: WCC job fair

WAUBONSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
JOB/INTERNSHIP FAIR 2011
Thursday, April 7, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Sugar Grove Campus, Rt. 47 at Waubonsee Drive, Academic and Professional Center
FREE and Open to the Public
Info: (630) 466-7900, ext. 2368
For more information, directions and a list of participating employers, visitwww.waubonsee.edu/careerservices. This event is sponsored by Waubonsee.

April 8: Israeli Professor talk at AU

AURORA, Ill.—“Arab Palestinians in Israel” will be discussed by Israeli Professor Elie Rekhess at 9:15 a.m. on April 8 at Aurora University.

Rekhess, visiting chair in Middle East studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, will speak in the University Banquet Hall in Alumni Hall at 1410 Marseillaise Place.

In a free, public program, Rekhess will chronicle the evolvement of an Arab-Palestinian national minority in Israel.

The AU Wackerlin Center for Faith and Action is the program sponsor.

Born 1945 in Haifa, Israel, Rekhess is a scholar of the political history of the Arabs in Israel; Islamic resurgence in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza; and Palestinian affairs.

Additionally, he serves as senior research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel AvivUniversity, head of the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation there and a member of its Department of Middle Eastern History faculty.

Reservations are requested. Call (630) 844-6864 for more information.

June 11 & 12: Paddle Sports Festival

On June 11 and 12, the 3rd Annual Aurora Paddlesports Festival (www.aurorapaddlesportsfestival.org) is returning to Aurora's beautiful Phillips Park, and it is bigger and better than ever. But the big news this year is that for the first time, you can pre-register for FREE Paddling instruction by CERTIFIED PADDLE INSTRUCTORS! Whether you want to learn:

• Tandem Canoe
• Solo Canoe
• Free style canoe
• whitewater kayaking
• coastal kayaking
• kayak rolling
• basic canoe rescue
• basic strokes
• intro or intermediate levels, and more!

...APF is where you can learn for free by certified instructors, in Mastodon Lake which is only 3 to 4 feet deep. You can register online (FREE) and chose from two full days of classes from 9 am to 5 pm.

So whether you want to learn in order to paddle the Fox River in Aurora or your favorite lake, whether it is for exercise, competition, fun, rehab, or to promote recreation or an environmental agenda, this is where you can learn safely, expertly (and did I mention FREE!). you an also test paddle (FOR FREE!) a variety of canoes and kayaks thanks to our first ever TITLE SPONSOR, Paddle and Trail (and rumor has it, Paddle and Tail will be opening an Aurora Store selling and renting canoes, kayaks, land paddles, and Bicycles!) so if you ever had an inkling to learn this low impact,relaxing and yet strength building activity, this is the place to do it.

There will also be a free Kids Pond with lessons for children, face painting, Art in the Park, free live music, Festival food, A film and Photo Festival, the 2011 Illinois Paddlers Rendezvous, and a free shuttle bus from the Transportation Center, the Farmers market and Prisco Center all in Aurora. Aurora, IL!

March 17: AU art exhibit: Chris Pappan

AURORA, Ill.--Aurora University will host "History Re-Imagined: The Art of Chris Pappan: Ledger Drawings, Paintings and Installation” by the Chicago Native American artist from Thursday (March 17) to May 27.

The free public exhibit will be in the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures at Dunham Hall, 1400 Marseillaise Place.

Pappan will greet the public at an opening reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the museum.

A companion slide lecture, "In Two Worlds--Ledger Drawing of the Plains Indians," will be presented by Meg Bero of Batavia, Executive Director of the Schingoethe Center, at 6:30 p.m. March 23 at the museum.

Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Call (630) 844-7843, e-mail museum@aurora.edu or visit aurora.edu/museum for more information.

March 13: East Jazz band at Roundhouse

EA JAZZ BAND AT THE ROUNDHOUSE ON SUNDAY

(Aurora)- East Aurora High School’s Jazz Ensemble will perform a special weekend show onSunday, March 13, 2011 at America’s Historic Roundhouse in Aurora. The first set will begin at 2:00 p.m. and the second set will begin at 3:00 p.m.

The 23-piece big band will entertain with jazz tunes that are sure to have people in the crowd tapping their feet. The event is free and the restaurant will be open for those who want to enjoy music with a late lunch, early dinner, or a delicious snack.

America’s Historic Roundhouse is located at 205 N. Broadway in downtown Aurora.

March 12: Child Car Seat Check for Safety!

CHILD SEAT CAR CHECK THIS SATURDAY

Officers from the Aurora Police Department will be assisting the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Department of Human Services in making sure child restraint seats are properly installed in vehicles at an event this Saturday, Mar. 12.

Parents are encouraged to stop by the City of Aurora Maintenance Yard, 720 N. Broadway Av., from 9 a.m.-12 noon, to enlist the officers’ assistance in either installing child safety seats or making sure devices installed by someone else, are properly fitted.

Studies have shown that a high percentage of child safety seats are improperly installed putting children at risk of serious injury or death if they are in a vehicle that is involved in a crash.

Officials ask that parents bring their children and vehicle with them to assure the devices are properly fitted. Appointments are required by contacting Carmen Flores-Rance at 312-793-4662 or by e-mail at Carmen.Flores-Rance@illinois.gov.

April 2: Saint Louis Brass at AU

Saint Louis Brass performs the entire spectrum of great music for brass - from the works of today's composers to Baroque and Renaissance music transcribed for modern instruments. The quintet sees itself as a serious chamber music group but also recognizes the importance of education and entertainment in its programming. Saturday, April 2 at 7:30 in Crimi Auditorium at AU. FREE. Call 630-844-4924 for more info.

March: AU student exhibit

Batavia High artists’ work featured at Aurora University gallery

AURORA, Ill.– Aurora University will open an art exhibit by Batavia High School students on Thursday, March 3, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. and scholarship presentations at 6 p.m.

The public is invited to the reception and exhibit through March 31 in the AU Schingoethe Art Gallery at the Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures in Dunham Hall at 1400 Marseillaise Place.

Meg Bero, Executive Director of the Schingoethe Center, will present AU scholarships to the top four student artists. Awards are best in show, $1,500; first place, $1,000; second place, $750; and third place, $500. The scholarships are renewable annually to students who qualify.

Student artists will exhibit paintings, drawings, photography and other media.

Batavia art teachers are Jennifer Melendez, Andrea Schindlbeck and Dawn Zalkus.

Student artists are: Ian Bosak, Brendan McGee, Natalie Brooks, Naomi Viland, Katelyn Peercy, Bekah Gustin, Jenny Blatt, Jenna Guastella, Megan Pieterick, Ellyn Thesis, Gabby Domena, Braden Charles, Kelsey Riley, Diane Bernardoni, Kim Bartos, Bari Robinson, Brian Grebner, Marie Baldwin, Olivia Boyd, Eleana Daniel, Kelsey Fagan, Kendal McCabe, Amanda Hampe, Magueritte Mallory, Lexy Marks, Leslie Billings, Taylor Richardson, John Seagren, Kevin Kunz, Soobin Lee, Rachel Key, Ashlynn Handel, Sean Gamble, Callie Livengood, Tarin Butterfield, Kelly DalSanto, Ben Steskal.

The exhibit is free to the public. Hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Call (630) 844-7843 or visit www.aurora.edu/museum for more information.

March 10: Summer Bulbs in the Garden

Learn exciting ways to enjoy summer bulbs. Thursday, March 10 at 7 p.m. at Schaefer Greenhouses, 120 S. Lake St. in Montgomery. FREE. 630-896-1936 for more info.

This is part of Schaefer's monthly garden club on the second Thursday of the month.

March 19: Free maple fest

NORTH AURORA – Red Oak Nature Center will be offering an early, sweet taste of spring on Saturday, March 19, when the annual MapleFest takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Programs begin on the hour (last one at 1 p.m.) and will treat visitors to free demonstrations of how maple sap is turned into delicious maple syrup. Groups will venture into the woods to tap a maple tree, then witness the process of how sap is boiled and converted into syrup. Group taste-testings will follow.

“Early spring is the perfect time to collect maple sap because the days are getting warmer but the nights are still cold,” said Margaret Gazdacka, facility supervisor at Red Oak. “Visitors will get to witness this age-old practice of taking sap from a tree and turning it into the syrup you use on your pancakes.”

Admission is free and registration is not required. Maple-themed treats and hot beverages will be available for a small fee. Red Oak Nature Center is located on Route 25 in North Aurora, one mile north of Route 56. For more information, contact Red Oak at 630-897-1808 or visit the District’s website at www.foxvalleyparkdistrict.org.