Group show opens at RAC
Riverside Arts Center, 32 E. Quincy St., will mark the opening of a new exhibition, “Unseen Things Are Still Here” featuring the work of Alexandra Antoine, J.B. Daniel, Kate Ingold, Esau McGhee and Elsa Munoz, with an artists’ reception on Sunday, Feb. 27 from 3 to 6 p.m.
The group show will be displayed in the Freeark Gallery and outdoor Sculpture Garden through April 9. The exhibition features artwork containing “imagery and concepts that remain despite concealment or supposed absence” in a variety of media, from prints and collage to oil paintings, constructions and an installation.
Free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. proof of vaccination, masks and social distancing required.
Pop-tabs for Ronald McDonald House
Throughout the month of March, the Riverside Department of Parks and Recreation will have a Giving Tree outside its headquarters at 43 E. Quincy St., where you can drop off pop-tabs that will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The box will be out front from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The RMHC collects pop-tabs because they are clean, compact and easy to have the highest-grade aluminum in a can, giving pop-tabs the highest recycling value.
Blood drive at North Riverside Mall
North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, will host a blood drive on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the shopping center’s upper level center court. The blood drive is being hosted by Vitalant.
Registration and masks are required. For more info or to schedule a donation time, call 877-258-4825 or visit vitalant.org and use group code 373E. Visit online for eligibility requirements.
Radio Players celebrate Valentine’s Day
The Riverside Township Radio Players will recreate two more shows from Radio’s Golden Age on Friday, Feb. 25 with a focus on Valentine’s Day. The free performance starts at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Riverside Township Hall, 27 Riverside Road in Riverside.
The troupe will perform “Buying a Valentine” from the “Ozzie and Harriet Show” and “Two Dates for Valentine’s Day” from “The Great Gildersleeve.”
Masks required for all in attendance. For more info or to watch the performance later visit online.
Decoding Pre-Civil War Quilts
The Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library will host a virtual program on Pre-Civil War Quilts on Monday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.
In this Zoom program, educator Connie Martin reveals how enslaved Americans used hidden codes inside patterns of quilts to find freedom. View replica quilts and learn how they were used by Martin’s ancestors to discover escape routes through the Underground Railroad.
Register by calling 708-485-6917 or by visiting online.
And more
- AARP Tax Aid is back at Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road, and the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library, 3541 Park Ave., to provide free tax assistance for those 60 and older. Volunteers will be at the Riverside Public Library on Wednesdays through April 6 and at the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library on Fridays through April 8. You must register for appointments in person at the respective libraries.
- Riverside Arts Center, 32 E. Quincy St., presents “The Bigger the Fear and Despair …” a two-person show featuring the work of Mayumi Lake and Stacia Yeapanis in the FlexSpace Gallery through February. Proof of vaccine required. Hours are Thursday-Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m.
- North Riverside Public Library, 2400 Desplaines Ave., presents Crafterdarks: Embroidered Shamrock Pin (in person) on Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.; Club de Lectura (virtual or in person) on Feb. 25 at 10:30 a.m. discussing “Los Abismos” by Pilar Quintana; a Scrapbooking Drop-in on Feb. 26 from 1 to 3 p.m.; and Yoga and Meditation (in person) on Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Those in grades 6-12 can enjoy playing the Jackbox Game Fibbage 3 on Feb. 26 at 3 p.m.
Kids ages 4-up can participate in the programs Lapsit Storytime (Zoom only) on Feb. 24 at 10:30 a.m.; After School Art Escape (in person or Zoom) on Feb. 24 at 3:30 p.m.; ABCs and 123s (Zoom only) on Feb. 28 at 10:30 a.m.; and Story Safari (Zoom only) on March 2 at 10:30 a.m.
Register for programs at the North Riverside library’s online calendar events.
- Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library, 3541 Park Ave., invites you to Chair Yoga via Zoom on Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. and Name Change 101 (virtual) presented by the Transformative Law Project on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. Learn about legal name change in Illinois and Cook County specific for trans and gender non-conforming persons. Visit online to register for programs.
- Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road, hosts an After School DIY for teens on March 2 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Visit online.
- Through March 25, the Lyons Township High School South Campus Fieldhouse indoor track, 4900 S. Willow Springs Road in Western Springs, will be open to the public from 6 to 7 a.m. on days LTHS is in session. There is no admission charge or fee to use the track. Please bring an ID and be prepared to sign in.
- The Brookfield Elks Lodge, 9022 31st St., hosts bingo the second Sunday of every month. Doors open at 1 p.m. and games start at 2 p.m. with cash payouts.
