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the Mokena Messenger | July 14, 2016 | 17
Social snapshot
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From MokenaMessenger.com as of Friday,
July 8
1. Patriotic procession
2. Serving up family fun, Italian food
3. Police Reports: Man charged with credit card
fraud, aggravated assault
4. Music to make Mokena a brighter place to be
5. Block party collects many toy donations for
sick children
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From the Editor
The after-holiday festivities
AMANDA Jarzynski
amanda@mokenamessenger.com
This week seemed
fairly dry after the
festivities of the
Fourth of July parade,
celebration and fireworks. It
was amazing to see so many
people lining the streets to
watch the parade and then to
gather in Main Park for the
continued festivities.
It was such a dramatic
change this week, but I guess
the town just had to calm
down for a few days before
starting to pick back up. Like
I said last week, there are a
lot of fun events coming to
Mokena and next weekend
(Friday July 15-Sunday July
17) there are three big events
coming to town for some
summer fun.
The first is the third annual
Festa Italiana, Sunday, July
17 starting at 11 a.m., which
is to provide family fun,
food and traditional songs
and prayers to honor Our
Lady of Mount Carmel. The
event begins with a procession
to Front Street where an
onslaught of barbecues will
be manned to make a variety
of Italian cuisine.
There should be no threat
of rain, but just in case,
attendees will be able to eat
their food under a large tent
and enjoy the entertainment
provided. Children will
be visited by Jim Nesci’s
Cold-Blooded Creatures
and adults can enjoy a
drink or two.
There will be dancers and
opera singers plus much
more to make the afternoon
exciting.
Just before that event,
the Mokena Lions will be
finishing up their Firecracker
Dance Weekend. This event
starts on Friday, July 15, but
continues through Saturday,
July 16, with several activities
and events going on to
keep the energy up during
the summer.
Day 1 kicks off with performances
from All About
Music and Theatre’s junior,
intermediate, and senior
rock bands. There will also
be Hula-hoops, a Limbo
contest, a fairytale princess
appearance and fun fair-style
games for everyone.
The next day, the Lions are
hosting their Craft Fair in the
early afternoon and continuing
into the evening with their
Firecracker Dance which is to
feature headliners like Johnny
Russler with the Beach Bum
Band and Stereo Types.
While Festa Italiana is in
full swing, attendees may
want to drive over to Main
Park to check out the park district’s
Flea Market. They are
to run from 8 a.m.- 2p.m. and
they will be selling everything
from produce to new or used
clothes, tools and baubles.
Since it’s early in the
morning, it would be something
fun to do before heading
over to Festa Italiana
for some lunch. You never
know what you might find
at a flea market.
So that’s three events
right there are sure to be
fun for every member of the
family. So get out and enjoy
the warm summer weather
now that it has decided to be
consistent.
For more information on
any of these events, visit the
Village of Mokena’s website,
www.mokena.org.
The Mokena Community Park District shared
this photo on their Facebook page on July 6.
“Kenny the Clown visited Summer Camp
Tuesday and Wednesday, and all of the
campers got their own balloon sculpture of
their choice! Dogs, hearts, parrots, turtles,
bows and arrows, space guns, tigers, lions,
and even an ice cube!”
Like The Mokena Messenger: facebook.com/
mokenamessenger.com
“Starting 7/11, Mokena is feat. a
#TacoOfTheWeek special every Monday!”
@TribesAlehouse on July 5.
Follow The Mokena Messenger: @mokenamessenger
nfyn
From Page 16
former since she was a little
girl. While watching a PBS
drama series called “Broadway
or Bust,” Trippiedi
learned of opportunity to
earn to compete at the National
High School Music
Theatre Awards in New York
City.
It finally came during
her senior year in the role
of Eliza Doolittle in Sandburg’s
production of “My
Fair Lady” this past spring.
Knowing that she could not
miss out on her one shot,
Trippiedi approached the director
and told her about the
national awards ceremony.
Trippiedi was one of 24
students to compete in Chicago
for the two spots that
would represent Illinois at
the Jimmy Awards, and then
she was selected as one of
the three female finalists
who had to sing a song from
their respective shows at the
awards ceremony.
“When they announced
my name, I didn’t believe
it,” she said. “It happened so
fast, and then I was shuffled
off to sign all this paperwork
and do some press. Two
weeks later, I’m on my way
to New York.”
Reporting by Ryan Wallace,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit OPPrairie.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Softball a family affair for
Bottino
The first time Sidney Bottino
strapped on catcher’s
equipment as a 7-year-old,
she mixed up the shin guards
and ended up with her legs
stuck together.
She quickly got the hang
of the gear and now is headed
into her sophomore year
as a catcher for the Western
Illinois University softball
team.
But Bottino’s success and
love for the game can all be
traced back to that first time
she put on the gear, albeit
against her own wishes at
the time.
“There was no catcher on
the team, and I always wanted
to be a pitcher, but my
dad was one of my coaches,
and he said, ‘Well, there’s no
catchers, so we’re going to
put you at catcher and just
see how it goes,’” Bottino
said.
Bottino played in 16
games for the Leathernecks
this past season as a freshman.
Reporting by Max Lapthorne,
Assistant Editor. For more, visit
LockportLegend.com.
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