Just wanted to pass this along for any local business owners who might be interested:

Sponsors are now being sought for the Village’s third annual celebration of green living — Earth Fest — scheduled for Sat., April 21, in the LEED® Gold-certified Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd. Sponsors not only receive special recognition in event promotional materials, they also help move the community toward the important goal of living sustainably. This year’s event will…

A couple of weeks ago, the Oak Park Library announced their upcoming singles mixer for folks in their 20s and 30s. It looks like they have a host of bevy of lovely ladies but…

Additional coverage:

OakPark.com

Oak Park…

Looking for something local to do for Valentine's Day? Here's what's happening in downtown Oak Park:

During the evening of Friday, February 10th Downtown Oak Park will showcase romantic iconic cameos such as Romeo and Juliet, Scheherazade, Shakespeare, Marilyn Monroe, Don Juan and Casanova, portrayed by professional actors from Oak Park Festival Theatre and Murder Mystery Players. Scheduled performances in stores and chance encounters on the street will set the mood…

The Oak Park Development Corporation is pleased to announce it is teaming up with the Senior Core of Retired Executives (SCORE) to offer free small business counseling/mentoring to existing area businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs beginning Tuesday, February 14, 2012.  Initially, sessions will be held on the first Tuesday of every month in the OPDC offices at 104 N. Oak Park Ave., Suite 203.

Counseling is provided by business professionals from SCORE, a nonprofit…

Too many “how we met” stories start the same way. Imagine your story starting as you lock eyes over Vonnegut or your hands brush, reaching for the last copy of Infinite Jest. Slide off your barstool before you become a cliché and come to the Oak Park Public Library to meet your literate match. genre X, is shaking up traditional speed dating with "Shaken and Stirred," an after-hours event starting at 8 pm on Saturday, February 11 at the Main Library, 834 Lake Street.

This free…

I received a press release from the village about a new cosmetics retailer coming to Oak Park. They'll be opening up inside of an existing store, Muse, on Marion Street. It sounds like some place I might want to check out. Here's a peek at the release:

1148 Cosmetics opens store inside…

The Village recently released the crime stats for last year and it turns out that things are looking pretty good in Oak Park with crime being down 8 percent compared to 2010. Here's the official statement:

Oak Park's overall 2011 crime rate was the lowest in the last 39 years, according to data compiled under the state's Uniform Crime Reporting Index and released this week.

Police investigated 1,757 crimes in 2011, down 8 percent from 2010…

Wikipedia blackout blues? Oak Park Public Library has answers! Ask a librarian or use online tools at oppl.org to do research or find articles. Chat service and online tools are available 24/7.

Learn more about SOPA/PIPA and how it would affect you: http://reut.rs/yiVnY1, http://cnnmon.ie/xfvtLZ, http://cnet.co/w59LDs.

Anyone know of any babysitters interested in working from 3-7pm Mon - Fri, except Wed would be 2-7pm in Oak Park?  Preferably someone that has a car and can drive 3 kids around to their activities and cook them dinner.

I just received an e-mail newsletter from Green Community Connections that mentioned there's going to be a farmers' market on Saturday at Unity Temple so I just wanted to pass along:

875 Lake Street

Oak Park, IL 60301

Saturday, January 14 9am - 1pm

 

Farmers & vendors at this week's market:

Read more about all of the farmers!

~ Dennanne Farm ~ Katherine Anne…

Hi everyone!

My husband David and I are training for the Christy Clinic marathon (I'm doing the half marathon) in April at U of I in Champaign, IL.

We've done previous events with Team in Training, the 2005 and 2006 Chicago Marathon.  The money we raise goes towards finding a cure for blood cancers, helping patients and families cope with cancer.  We've met so many great people who come out to train for events as well as cancer survivors who come out to cheer…

Actually, I should probably change the headline of this post to say "second soul food restaurant" opens on North Avenue.I'm not much of a soul food eater, but when I do need my collard greens fix satisfied, I usually to to Chicago's Home of Chicken and Waffles.

Still, I am interested in checking out this new place that has opened on North Avenue. It's called 6978 Soul Food. They don't have a website, but they do have…

When Legacy Sports Camp puts out a challenge to the kids that participate in its after school sports programs, they sure do answer. During Legacy Sports Camp 2^nd annual holiday food drive, kids from the Oak Park and River Forest programs hosted at Ascension Catholic School, Horace Mann…

Not only is the weather supposed to be great this weekend, but there are also some exciting food-related goings on for folks to enjoy while they're out and about.

First, Crumbs Bakery on Lake Street is officially open and they'll be giving away 1,000 oversized cupcakes starting at noon. The freebies will be available until 9:00 p.m. or when the cupcakes are all…

Drop in to the River Forest Public Library on Wednesday, January 11th at 7 PM, for a special Lyric Opera lecture. The lecture will focus on Verdi's Aida, and will be presented by the Lyric Opera of Chicago Education Department. The lecture will also feature a performance of the aria “Celeste Aida”, by…

Tuesday dinner can be pretty blah.

Scrap the box of mac-n-cheese and frozen pizza and dine-out at Autre Monde Cafe! Every Tuesday in January, Autre Monde will donate a portion of the evening's proceeds to West Suburban PADS.

West Suburban PADS is the only agency whose sole purpose is to end homelessness in Cook County's 20 near-west suburban communities.

Autre Monde Cafe has a European Wine Bar atmosphere featuring shared plates, farm to table sourcing and the flavors of…