OP_092817

16 | September 28, 2017 | The orland park prairie News
opprairie.com
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Practical Magic opts for alternative
healing
There is something intriguing
about the way that Tara Lewis
talks about the act of healing.
She gravitates toward words
like “purpose” and “intention,”
as she walks around her newly
opened shop in downtown Tinley
Park and picks apart a few of her
favorite things.
Handmade candy-colored
soaps — which are divvied up
into bars, bath bombs and salts —
candles and jewelry are displayed
on small tables and short shelves
outlining the perimeter of her
store. A collection of crystals and
sage complete the mix.
These items, Lewis said, are
packed with herbs and oils, and
Business Briefs
Smith Crossing to host Wellness Fair
featuring Walk of Ages
Smith Crossing, a life plan community
at 10501 Emilie lane in Orland
Park, is inviting the public to attend
its Wellness Fair from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.,
Friday, Sept. 29.
Starting at 1 p.m., health fair attendees
will be encouraged to join Walk of
Ages and stroll 1 mile, or four times
around the pond located on the 32-acre
campus.
The event is planned in tandem with
Aegis Therapies, provider of occupational,
physical and speech therapies,
as well as wellness services for Smith
they are built with sincerity, an
aim to help people find comfort
or clarity.
“Everything is 100 percent natural,”
she said of the products inside
Practical Magic All Natural
Bath & Body Essentials, which
was birthed out of a simple anecdote.
“We call it ‘Practical Magic’
because it’s practical, and it
works like magic. It’s not cooked
with anything; you know what I
mean?”
For the past five years, Lewis
and her daughter, Taniyah Meyers,
have spent time perfecting
the recipes of their soap creations.
“Everything here we formulated
ourselves,” Lewis noted,
and said no more of the recipes,
except they are held “under lock
and key.”
But one thing is for certain.
Crossing. It coincides with the International
Council on Active Aging celebration
of Active Aging Week from
Sunday, Sept. 24, through Saturday,
Sept. 30.
For the Wellness Fair, Smith Crossing
Community Hall is to host a variety
of organizations. Capitol Nutrition
of Orland Park is slated to give away
vitamin samples and literature. Brannigan
Chiropractic of Orland Park is to
provide complimentary massages and
spinal alignment checks. Walgreens
will administer flu vaccines and blood
pressure checks.
Fair participants can take part in
The scents from the motherdaughter
duo’s bath supplies reveal
a blend of fruits, vegetables,
mints, milk, honey and more.
“This is the place where you
find what it is that you need to rejuvenate
your life and situation,”
Lewis said.
Reporting by F. Amanda
Tugade, Editor. For more, visit
TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Homer Glen craftsman continues
to make handmade pens
When many people think of a
pen, they likely think of a simple,
nondescript writing utensil.
When Homer Glen resident
Gene Benes thinks of a pen, he
thinks of it as a piece of art. The
Vendors wanted for Community Expo
Orland Park Area Chamber
of Commerce to host annual
event Oct. 14
Submitted by OPACC
The Orland Park Area Chamber of
Commerce has a few spots left for
vendors to exhibit at its annual Community
Expo, to be held from 9 a.m.-
1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at Sandburg
High School, 13300 S. LaGrange
Road.
This upcoming event is a way for
businesses and organizations to promote
their products or services to the
community. Last year, nearly 2,000
people from Orland Park and the surrounding
communities attended this
free event.
Planned entertainment at the Expo
includes musical performances by local
school children, a Culinary Corner
featuring food samples from area
restaurants and caterers, as well as the
Advocate Children’s Hospital Kids’
Fair Extraordinaire, which is to have
the following exhibits: syringe painting,
doctor dress-up, face painting,
Rainbow therapy dogs, Very Unsafe
House, candy or medicine, seatbelt
safety egg crasher, “feed our frog,”
and medical memory game.
For more information, or to download
a Community Expo registration
form, visit www.orlandparkchamber.
org or call (708) 349-2972.
brain games, meditation sessions, and
balance and strengthening classes at
various locations throughout Smith
Crossing. The Smith Crossing Wellness
Center, which features HUR exercise
equipment specially designed
for seniors, also is scheduled to be
open to visitors.
For more information about the
Wellness Fair and Walk of Ages, call
(708) 326-2300 and ask to speak with
Michael Clemens in the Smith Crossing
Wellness Center.
Compiled by Editor Bill Jones, bill@op
prairie.com.
craftsman has been making pens
in the basement workshop of his
home for years, turning his passion
into a business called Pens
by Gene, and attends 12-13 craft
shows a year to sell his products.
“All I’m doing is pens,” Benes
said. “I’ve sold 5,300 and given
a number away to different people.”
What makes that number more
impressive is the amount of time
Benes puts in each pen. Depending
on the materials and intricacy
involved, a pen can take anywhere
from 45-50 minutes to five
hours, spread over three days to
complete properly, he said.
He crafts everything from ballpoint
to rollerball to fountain
pens, with prices ranging from
$30-$150 — again dependent
upon materials. He uses wood,
resin, metal and other materials
to craft distinct pens.
The most recent event for him
was the 13th Annual Lakeview
East Festival of the Arts, held
earlier this month.
“Attendance was very good,”
he said of the Lakeview show.
“Sales were good.”
About to turn 74 next month,
the pen-maker said he maintains
a passion for making each individual
product, giving customers
something they will not see
somewhere else.
“My intention is to keep doing
it as long as I can physically do
it,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Reporting by Thomas Czaja, Editor.
For more, visit HomerHorizon.com.
Special Orland Park
ceremony to commemorate
Veterans Day Nov. 10
Deadline to add
names to wall before
ceremony is Oct. 6
Submitted by Village of
Orland Park
The Village of Orland
Park Veterans’ Commission
is slated mark the anniversary
of the end of the
Vietnam War with its annual
Veterans Day Ceremony beginning
at 11 a.m. Friday,
Nov. 10.
The ceremony is to be
held at the Village’s Veterans
Memorial, Ara Pace
~ Place of Peace, at 14700
S. Ravinia Ave., outside of
Village Hall.
It is during the Village’s
Memorial and Veterans Day
ceremonies that the names
of veterans who have been
added to Orland Park’s memorial
are announced. At
the ceremony, veterans and/
or their families stand as the
name is read out loud and
the audience applauds.
Adding a veteran’s name
to Orland Park’s memorial
is open to everyone. The
$250 cost includes engraving
and memorial maintenance.
Veterans whose
names are being added may
be living or deceased, and
they need not live in Orland
Park. The last day to add a
name for the Nov. 10 Veterans
Day Ceremony is Friday,
Oct. 6.
Forms are available on
the Village’s website at
http://il-orlandpark2.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/
View/28402.
Questions may be directed
to the Village’s Veterans’
Commission at (708) 403-
6115.