River Forest resident Roz Varon and Glenn Kedzie were recently wed in a gala reception at Marshall Field’s, complete with an Eli’s cheesecake wedding cake and music by the Allan Kaye Orchestra. The couple honeymooned in Hawaii.
The bride is the traffic/transportation reporter for ABC 7 News This Morning, a Chicago morning show, and hosts weekend entertainment segments each Friday on the ABC station’s 4 p.m. newscast. Varon, who has one daughter, is also active in many charitable organizations, including United Cerebral Palsy, the Anti-Cruelty Society and Girls Scouts, where she has been a troop leader for the past three years. The groom is the president of Big Timber Landscape Company.
A ‘Dream’ performance
The Oak Park and River Forest Children’s Chorus appeared with the Joffrey Ballet for nine performances in October, including its season opener on Oct. 19, providing the choir and soloists for The Dream, choreographed by Frederick Ashton to a Mendelsohn score. The chorus will return to the Joffrey stage for the Chicago ballet company’s annual run of The Nutcracker, singing for four performances on Dec. 24, 27 and 28.
Afghanistan retrospective
Memories of Afghanistan by M.H. Anwar, edited and with an afterward by his son, Oak Park resident Keith Anwar, was among 30 books on display at the Illinois Press Association Book Fair at the Chicago Cultural Center on Nov. 19. The author, who recalls life in Afghanistan from his impoverished childhood through his attempts as a government official to reform his country, fled into exile in 1943, facing imprisonment for, in part, refusing to force his American-born wife to wear a head-to-toe veil.
She’s psyched
Anna Slanina, the daughter of Oak Park Elementary School District 97 teacher Joan Slanina and the late A. J. Slanina, received a degree in psychology from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. She is working as a research assistant in the psychology department and as a caregiver for adults with cerebral palsy.
Artisans on display
Oak Parkers Charmaine Anthony and Helen Lovell-Faron are among 21 Illinois artisans whose crafts will be for sale at the Illinois Artisans Shop December Art Spree in the atrium of the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago on Dec. 7, 8, and 9. Anthony will display sterling silver jewelry and Lovell-Faron will present ceramics.
In good ‘Company’
Two local students performed in the Baldwin-Wallace College production of Company earlier this month. Alyssa Weldon-Linne of River Forest, daughter of Michael and Madeleine Weldon-Linne, had the role of the hostess. A 2005 graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School, Alyssa is a freshman musical theater major. Katie Merrick of Oak Park, the daughter of Larry and Niki Merrick, sang in the ensemble. A 2004 OPRF graduate, Katie is a sophomore music theater major. and is a member of the B-W Singers.
Festival performers
Members of the Roosevelt Concert Band from Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest performed at the 2005 Chicagoland Band Festival at West Leyden High School in Northlake. They were selected after auditioning with hundreds of the best Chicago-area middle-school band students. Representing Roosevelt were Molly Campbell, Marita Farruggia, Christopher Farruggia, John Hazinski, Jing Yi Liu, Kate Liu, Pierce McClanahan, Jack O’Brien, Andrew Wang and Daniel Yerkes. Kate Liu (flute) and Pierce McClanahan (french horn) were also named “first chair,” with the highest audition scores of anyone on their instruments.
Pet of the Week: NOT IN YET
Pet of the week:
If you’re interested in adopting or any other animal, call Animal Control at 358-5679.
