Highland Around Town — Feb. 23 edition

Noon Wednesday, Feb. 23, is the deadline to appear in next week’s “Around Town” listing. We must receive your event in writing with a contact phone number for questions. Due to the number of submissions, events may run only one time in print, will be edited and appear in the week before the event date.

Email: lifestyle@bnd.com. Mail to: Highland News Leader Around Town, Belleville News-Democrat, P.O. Box 427, Belleville, IL 62222-0427. Questions, call Jennifer Green at 618-239-2643.

Thursday, Feb. 24

▪ Highland Garden Club — 7 p.m. Korte Rec Center, 1 Nagel Drive, Highland. Jonathan Suaboda will speak about “Therapeutic Gardens.” Members may pick up their 2022 program booklets at 6:45 p.m. with the meeting beginning at 7 p.m. in Rooms 2-3. Visitors are always welcome.

▪ National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwestern Illinois (NAMI SWI) — 7-8:30 p.m. Online via Zoom. Virtual support meetings for family members and other caregivers of individuals with mental illness. Meetings are peer-led and rely on the knowledge and experiences of the group to help one another. Registration is required in order to receive the link to these meetings. For more information or to register, contact Pat Rudloff at silverlining6@charter.net.

Thursday, Feb. 24, through Saturday, Feb. 26

▪ Aviston American Legion Auxiliary annual Rummage Sale — 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, and Friday, Feb. 25; and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 26. Aviston American Legion, 601 S. Clinton St., Aviston. Annual rummage sale with bake sale Thursday and Friday, brown bag sale on Saturday. Quilt raffle winner drawn at noon Saturday. Register for attendance prizes. Great selection; something for everyone.

Friday, Feb. 25

▪ Highland Fish Fry — 4-7 p.m. VFW Post 5694, 1900 VFW Road, Highland. Fish, chicken, shrimp, sides. Carryout and limited indoor dining. Masks required for customers going through the serving line. No call-in orders. facebook.com/vfwpost5694

▪ Notes from Home: Peter Martin — 7 p.m. Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis. In lieu of touring during the COVID-19 pandemic, acclaimed jazz pianist Peter Martin found a new normal by performing a series of solo piano concerts live from his Open Studio headquarters. Martin is ecstatic to be returning to the impeccable acoustics of the historic Sheldon Concert Hall, where he has shared so many musical high points over the past 15-plus years, with wonderful audiences, guest artists and fellow collaborators. thesheldon.org

▪ Lift Every Voice: A Black History Month Celebration — 7:30 p.m. Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis. Come together with the SLSO and IN UNISON Chorus to celebrate music of African American and African traditions, and their influence on St. Louis and the world. This annual evening of reflective and soulful music is one to remember. slso.org

Friday, Feb. 25, & Saturday, Feb. 26

▪ Saint Andrew’s Winter Book Fair — 3-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25 (by reservation only) and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 26. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 406 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville. More than 20,000 books available. Cash/Check only. The Winter Book Fair will limit the number of patrons at any given time on Friday to 20-30 shoppers. Entrance from the back of the church, exit through the front door. For reservations: signupgenius.com/go/9040548afa92aa4fa7-february. 618-656-1294.

Saturday, Feb. 26

▪ ImpactLife Blood Drive — 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bradford National Bank Platelet Drive, 102 N. Duncan St., Marine. Appointments are required. 800-747-5401 or bloodcenterimpact.org.

▪ 2022 Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run Polar Plunge — Noon. Carlyle Lake Main Beach, 801 Lake Road, Carlyle. This winter, the metro-east community is invited to be bold and get cold by taking the Polar Plunge in Carlyle to support Special Olympics Illinois athletes. To register: bit.ly/CarlylePlunge. For information: Justin Dunning, at jdunning@soill.org or call 618-248-8558. More information is available at plungeillinois.com.

▪ St. Louis Classical Guitar Great Artist Series: Thomas Viloteau — 8 p.m. Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Road, St. Louis. French guitar phenomenon Thomas Viloteau is the winner of the Guitar Foundation of America and the Francisco Tárrega competitions, author of the best-selling technique book “In the Black Box,” only guitarist to ever win the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association, winner of the Northern Trust/Piper Enrichment Award which allowed him to commission Sergio Assad’s Suite Brasileira 3, and Artist in Residence for the APM show Performance Today. He holds a Doctoral degree from the Eastman School of Music and teaches at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. For tickets and info: stlouisclassicalguitar.org.

Monday, Feb. 28

▪ ImpactLife Blood Drive — 3-7 p.m. American Legion, 575 N. Main St., Breese. Appointments are required. 800-747-5401 or bloodcenterimpact.org.

▪ Bessie, Billie and Nina: Celebrating Women in Jazz — 7:30 p.m. Hettenhausen Center for the Arts, 400 N. Alton St., Lebanon. Backed by an all-female band, each star will celebrate the enduring legacies of iconic women and artists – Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone – with performances of their classic songs. thehett.com

Tuesday, March 1

▪ ImpactLife Blood Drive — 1-5 p.m. Deien Chevrolet, 555 N. Madison, Trenton. Appointments are required. 800-747-5401 or bloodcenterimpact.org.

▪ Parents of Addicted Loved Ones — 7-8:30 p.m. Online via Zoom. The PAL group provides education, support and hope to family members and loved ones of someone who has an addiction of substance use disorder. Free and open to all. For info or to join the Zoom meeting, contact Craig at 618-567-6095. palgroup.org

Thursday, March 3

▪ St. Clair County Genealogical Society — 7 p.m. Online via Zoom. Kevin Wood, Illinois Humanities Road Scholar, presents “From Obscurity to Greatness: Illinois and Lincoln, 1830-1861.” Appearing in period dress, Wood provides a first-person portrayal of Lincoln and describes how he and the state moved from obscurity to greatness. The meeting is open to the public, but space is limited. Reservation information is at stclair-ilgs.org/events or facebook.com/SCCGS.

Saturday, March 5

▪ Heartland Community Chorus presents ‘Shamrocks and Shenanigans’ — 5:30 p.m. Lindendale Park Ballroom, 2005 Parkhill Drive, Highland. A rollicking evening of food, fun and music featuring the Irish Aires. A “Fund the Need” appeal will go to funding the orchestra for the 2022 Christmas concert. Tickets are $30 and available from any chorus member or online at heartlandcommunitychorus.org. 618-409-0374.

Tuesday, March 8

New to You Accessory Sale — 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Highland, Ungacta Conference Center, 12866 Troxler Ave., Highland. A wide variety of gently used purses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hats and other items will be available at very reasonable prices. As a health care facility, surgical (non-cloth) masks must be worn per CDC guidelines, and social distancing will be observed. Net proceeds from sale are donated to the HSHS St. Joseph’s Foundation to further support health initiatives and purchase equipment for a variety of patient care departments in the hospital.

Illinois Sheriffs’ Association Scholarship

The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association announces that it will be awarding over $58,000.00 in college scholarships throughout the State of Illinois to students wishing to pursue higher education during the 2022-2023 academic year. The scholarships are to be applied to tuition, books, and fees only. The student must be enrolled full-time at a certified institution of higher learning within the State of Illinois.

Sheriff John D. Lakin, Madison County, will be awarding two scholarships in the amount of $500.

There will be no restriction on any applicant by reason of race, age, creed, color, sex or national origin. The only limitations are as follows:

• applicants must be a permanent Illinois resident

• scholarships must be utilized at institutions of higher learning within the State of Illinois

• students must be enrolled as a full-time student during the 2022-23 year (excluding summer session).

Applications are now available at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, 405 Randle Street, Edwardsville, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, or online at ilsheriff.org. Students must complete the application, answer the essay question, and return all documentation to the sheriff’s office in their permanent county of residence by Tuesday, March 15 (must be postmarked by this date). A directory of sheriffs offices is available on the Illinois Sheriffs Association website.

Highland balloon pro heading to International Balloon Build

Sue Chasteen, owner of It’s Party Time! in Highland, has been selected from hundreds of Balloon Professional applicants to help create the USA’s very first Big Balloon Build.

Sixty-five balloon artists from around the world are travelling to the City of Vincennes, Indiana in April 2022 to create a massive candy themed wonderland using 125,000 balloons, with giant ice cream cones, colossal cotton candy clouds and larger than life sweets to inspire the children in the community.

The Big Balloon Build that Chasteen is part of will be gifted to United Way of Knox County to help them raise awareness and funds for over thirty charities that they service in the community. So far, United Way has already raised over $60,000 for it’s charities from the upcoming activities associated with this build making a difference to the lives of the people of Knox County.

“Taking part in this charitable event allows me to meet like-minded people, where we will learn different techniques from each other during the build. We don’t just build balloons, we build relationships and connections between Balloon Professionals from around the world,” Chasteen said. “Assisting with this Build will be the biggest project (four days to build) for me in my 16 years of working with balloons, and knowing I helped make a difference for United Way of Knox County will make it all worthwhile.”

Mark Hill, Director of United Way of Knox County said, “I am so excited and grateful that Sue Chasteen from It’s Party Time! will be joining us to make an impact on our community.”

For more information about It’s Party Time! visit www.itspartytimeandrentals.com.

This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 9:45 AM.