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Christian Youth Theater, Oak Park, will present “Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” Feb. 16-19 at the Arts Center of Oak Park, 200 N. Oak Park Ave., in Oak Park.

Updated: March 17, 2012 8:03AM

CYT play ‘Narnia’
Feb. 16-19 in OP

Students ages 8 to 18 of Christian Youth Theater, Oak Park, will present “Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” at 9:30 and 11:45 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, 9:30, 11:45 a.m.; and 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17; and at 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 at the Arts Center of Oak Park, 200 N. Oak Park Ave., in Oak Park.

C. S. Lewis’ children’s classic story has been adapted for theater with original music and more adventure. This musical follows Lucy, her sister Susan and her brothers Peter and Edmund as they enter the magical kingdom of Narnia through the back of an old wardrobe. Come be a part of the adventure as the children help Aslan the Lion save Narnia from destruction by the evil White Witch.

The show runs about two hours with one intermission. Recommended for all ages.

Tickets are $9-$12 in advance; an additional $2 at the door. Call (847) 516-2298 or visit www.cytchicago.org. Group, child, senior and school discounts available.

Christian Youth Theater is a nonprofit, educational theater arts program for students 4-18 in the Aurora, Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kenosha (Wis.), Lake, McHenry, Milwaukee (Wis.), Oak Park, and Rockford Metro areas and has approximately 6,000 students per year. Each area offers summer camps and after school classes in dance, voice, drama and theatrical specialties, and performs three fully staged musical productions per year. CYT is nondiscriminatory and welcomes all children. CYT also offers an inclusion program which assists students with special needs to participate in classes and productions, as well as CYT@School, after school theater arts available to public or private schools.

Artist’s talk, tea
and dance Feb. 20
At 1:15 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, in the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association’s historic clubhouse at 178 Forest Ave., artist Lindsay Olson will present “Art, Law Enforcement and Transformation.” In 2008, Olson received permission from Chief Tanksley to begin a volunteer Artist-in-Residence program with the Oak Park Police Department. Using original artwork and slides, she will share her artistic journey from landscape painter to conceptual artist, showing how empathy can be the most important tool in an artist’s toolbox.

Suggested donation for the program is $10 and it will be followed by a tea.

The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association sponsors English Country Dances from 7:30 to 10 p.m. on the third Monday of every month. The Feb. 20 dance will feature live music played by the Cosmic Otters. No partner needed; all dances will be taught and called. Suggested donation is $10 for adults; $5 for those under 18 and over 65. Proceeds benefit the Association’s Scholarship Trust, which annually provides scholarships to graduating Oak Park-River Forest High School seniors.

At 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association presents “Signature Beethoven,” part of a concert series by the Avalon String Quartet performing the complete Beethoven String Quartet Cycle. The fiery Opus 18, No. 4 perfectly captures the tempestuous style Beethoven was searching for in his early years. The first of his “Late Period” quartets, Opus 127, is noble and expansive, with a heroic and uplifting conclusion. All series concerts are held at 3 p.m. Wednesdays at the clubhouse, 178 Forest Ave., in Oak Park.

Each concert has a designated local organization to which freewill donations may be made. This concert will benefit the Oak Park-River Forest Food Pantry.

For more information call (708) 386-2729 or go to www.19thcenturycharity.org.

Hiring: Zoo Feb. 23;
park district Feb. 29

Free job workshops are held from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Oak Park-River Forest High School, 201 N. Scoville Ave., in Oak Park, in Computer Lab Room 364. At these workshops you can learn how to find a job, what places are hiring, how to make a résumé, how to make a résumé look better and practice for interviews. Sponsored by Youth Services of Oak Park and River Forest townships. Bring a friend.

At the workshop to be held Thursday, Feb. 23, you can meet directly with the people who do the hiring at Brookfield Zoo. On Wednesday, Feb. 29, you can meet with the people who do the hiring at the Park District of Oak Park.

Be prepared. Organize your résumé. Detail your work history (include dates of tasks and what you accomplished, etc.). Include volunteer work. Have three references and contact information. Look professional.

For more information, call Roberta White, at Youth Services, (708) 445-2727p or e-mail rwhite@oakparktownship.org.

The Pleasant Home Foundation presents a series of three free lectures titled “Inside the Arts & Crafts Home,” at the main Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. This year the series is sponsored by the John Toomey Gallery of Oak Park.

The series begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, with speaker Monica Obniski, assistant curator of American Decorative Arts at the Art Institute of Chicago. Her lecture is titled “Collecting Arts & Crafts at the Art Institute of Chicago.”

The series continues at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 1, with guest lecturer Peter Morava, owner and glass artist, Morava Glass Studio, Oak Park, on “Restoring Arts & Crafts Stained Glass.”

The last lecture is by Richard Mohr, professor emeritus of philosophy and of the classics at the University of Illinois-Urbana, at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 8. His lecture is titled “Art Tiles in the Prairie School.”

The lecture series is presented free of cost, but donations to the foundation are always appreciated.

Pleasant Home, a National Historic Landmark, also known as the John Farson House, is located in the heart of Oak Park’s Historic District. The residence was designed in 1897 by Prairie School architect George W. Maher for investment banker and philanthropist John W. Farson. Pleasant Home Foundation is entrusted with preserving and restoring this architectural treasure.

Free doc follows
soldiers Feb. 26

There will be a free showing of the documentary film “Where Soldiers Come From” (91 min. 2011) at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 26, at the main Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. The film offers an intimate look at some of the young men who fight our wars and the families and town they come from. Returning to her hometown, director Heather Courtney gains extraordinary access, following these young men as they grow and change from teenagers stuck in their town to 23-year-old veterans facing the struggles of returning home.

From a snowy small town in northern Michigan to the mountains of Afghanistan and back, this film follows the four-year journey of childhood friends forever changed by a faraway war.

Following the showing there will be a brief presentation by Stephanie Dove, a case manager from Hines VA Hospital, a question and answer session and open discussion.

Light refreshments are served.

This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS’ award-winning film series.

See http://wheresoldierscomefrom.com or www.pbs.org/pov.

For more information, call (708) 524-1230 or see www.opctj-event.org.

Volunteer: Join
the Wright Team

The Frank Lloyd Wright: Preservation Trust is seeking volunteers to assist at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park; Wright’s Robie House, in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood; and The Rookery Building in Chicago’s Loop. Volunteer orientation sessions occur monthly at all three National Historic Landmarks.

Volunteers enjoy benefits such as invitations to exclusive excursions to art and architectural attractions; educational opportunities like architectural-based lectures; access to extensive online learning resources and knowledge bases; and discounts in the museums’ shops. Volunteers help keep the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright alive by leading tours of the world-class museums and its historic neighborhoods — while meeting new people and creating lasting friendships.

For more information about the Trust and volunteer opportunities visit GoWright.org, e-mail volunteer@gowright.org or call (708) 725-3817.

Seguin seeks older
adult volunteers

Do you want to make a difference in your community? Seguin Services is seeking adult volunteers, aged 55 or older, to volunteer with FIIVEChicago (Fostering Intergenerational Inclusive Volunteer Engagement in Chicago). It is a volunteer program in which young people with disabilities partner with older adult mentors to engage in service to their communities together. Seguin is seeking volunteers to attend training in February or March and commit to volunteering six hours per month for a period of nine months. The volunteers will mentor the young adults as they volunteer together at area soup kitchens, animal shelters, for environmental causes, with foster children, in nursing homes or hospitals, with homebound older adults and more.

For more information or to volunteer, call Casey Burke, of Seguin, at (708) 222-2288.