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24 | May 16, 2019 | the orland Park Prairie life & arts OPPrairie.com Senior Idol provides stage for longtime performer’s comeback story Mary Compton Freelance Reporter Jimmy “Vincent” Mattaliano, of Forest Park, believes in second chances. As a professional singer, Mattaliano enjoyed a long career. A horrible car crash ended the dream. But the evening of Thursday, May 9, changed all of that. That night, Mattaliano won Orland Township’s Senior American Idol competition. “I was working a lot, performing in the business,” Mattaliano said. “The car accident damaged my back so bad I couldn’t perform anymore.” Since then, he has had three back surgeries and in chronic pain. He was determined to get back to his love of music and performing. “I was loving music at 3 years old but didn’t get serious until my mid-teens,” he said. “At 15 years old, he was playing drums professionally.” His brothers and parents sang, as well. “I worked for a lot of Chicago nightclubs,” he said. “Once you get out, it’s very hard to get back in. This means a lot to me, I used to live onstage and performed for decades. For me to do this onstage means the world to me.” Mattaliano also performed in the Orland Township Senior American Idol last year but did not find the same success. “Obviously, I didn’t win, so I wanted to try again this year,” he said. “I’m very grateful to have won tonight.” According to Orland Township, the evening was modeled after the popular television show “American Idol.” The 12 Joe Ficaro and Fran Dufrenne, both of Tinley Park, dance as Senior American Idol contestants perform. contestants performed a song of their choice, hoping to move on to the next round. Contestants receiving the highest scores advanced to the next round. And scores were determined by a combination of points from a panel of local celebrity judges, audience vote and ballot box totals. Victor Giacobbe, of Tinley Park, was thrilled to be onstage. He took part as a contestant for three years. May 9 marked his fourth time performing in the Senior American Idol. His raspy rock voice got fans dancing in front of the stage. “I come here for fun,” Giacobbe said. “Most of all, I want my family to enjoy what I’m doing. It also goes for a good cause: the scholarships for the students. It’s a win-win situation.” His singing career began at a Christmas party 20 years ago. “It was on a bet that I would not go in front of To view more photos online, visit www. OPPrairie. com. everyone and sing,” he said. “Well, I got up and sang, and it was all up from there.” Three judges came to decide the senior with the best vocals. They were local radio personality Rich Renik, favorite local entertainer Peter Oprisko and opera singer and entertainer James Libera. Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady said he has not missed an Senior American Idol yet. “My mother was a great singer, and would sing around the house all the time,” O’Grady said. “Many of the songs I heard tonight, I heard my mother sing in our kitchen. This brings back a lot of fond memories, and it’s a great event for our community. The seniors are our greatest asset in Jimmy “Vincent” Mattaliano, of Forest Park, was the winner of Orland Township’s Senior American Idol event, held Thursday, May 9. Photos by Mary Compton/22nd Century Media Edward Swanson, of Orland Park, sings in a style he calls old crooner. our Township. Tonight’s event, which is raising funds for the Orland Township Scholarship Foundation.” Last week, Orland Township gave out 16 scholarships to students. “We only ask one thing for the recipients,” O’Grady said. “We ask they do a random act of kindness at an assisted living facility or stop by the food pantry to help someone that needs a leg up. It’s our greatest generation giving back to our youngest generation, which gives back to our greatest generation.” For information on Orland Township, visit or landtownship.org.
OPPrairie.com life & Arts the orland park prairie | May 16, 2019 | 25 D146 students showcase their artistic expression at Vogt Visual Arts Center Laurie Fanelli Freelance Reporter Every year, one of the most anticipated Vogt Visual Arts Center exhibits comes in the form of the Community Consolidated School District 146 collaborative showcase. Drawings, paintings, illustrations and more reveal the vast talent emanating from the young artists of Central Middle School, Fierke Education Center, Fulton Elementary School, Kruse Education Center and Memorial School. On May 8, artists — along with their family and friends — converged at the Tinley Park–Park District’s gallery to enjoy an evening of art and inspiration at the exhibit’s opening reception. Central Middle School art teacher Cindy DePinto-Dawud explained that approximately 100 pieces — roughly 20 from each school — were featured in this year’s exhibit. “This is an annual show we do with the Vogt Art Center and we don’t have a theme. It’s work collected throughout the year from the classrooms or original work that the students have created on their own outside of the classroom,” said DePinto-Dawud. Dan McLaughlin, the art teacher at Fulton School, explained that having an open theme allows each artist to explore their interests and imaginations. “I like this because it gives them the freedom to explore at home and go where their imagination takes them,” McLaughlin said. “It’s a lot of fun.” Kruse Education Center Kruse Education Center third-grader Rylinn West, of Orland Park, points out her piece inspired by “The Dot.” It is hanging at the Vogt Visual Arts Center in Tinley Park. Photos by Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media third-grader Rylinn West, of Orland Park, loves the book “The Dot,” so she used it as a source of inspiration in creating her colorful exhibit piece. “Mine is a giant rainbow dot with little purple squigglies on the outside,” Rylinn said, adding that the colors represent her personality. “I was inspired by the book ‘The Dot,’ so I made a dot picture. The book is cool, because at the end it shows all the different dots you can do.” Spherical wonder also was at the heart of Fulton School first-grader Rikki Saludar’s piece, and her creativity was ignited by a recent holiday tradition. To view more photos online, visit www. OPPrairie. com. “I did an Easter egg hunt, and it had a lot of colors, so I made this,” Rikki said, pointing to her abstract design. Rikki’s sister and Fulton fourth-grader Renee Saludar created a character depicting life, happiness and humor with her mixed media painting. “It’s a leaf plant, kind of, and it came to life to bring happiness because rainbows make me happy,” Renee said, noting the Jen Marx (left), Fierke Education Center art teacher, and Central Middle School art teacher Cindy DePinto-Dawud look at the artwork of D146’s students on display at the Vogt Visual Arts Center. Kruse Education Center second-grader Zoe Carranza, of Orland Park, takes a photo near her artwork. ROYGBIV background. Vogt Visual Arts Center Gallery Director Julie Dekker said she was impressed with the work of the budding artists of D146. “I actually didn’t know that the kids were allowed to do whatever they liked until Dan [McLaughlin] said so tonight, but I felt that way when I was putting the exhibit up, because it’s very diverse,” Dekker said. “There seemed to be a certain freedom in it. It looked to me like kids did pictures of their favorite things, because it’s really random. There’s one of avocados, and also unicorns are very popular these days. Unicorns and rainbows, which is very cool. There’s a lot of happy, happy pictures.” DePinto-Dawud explained that art can be more than a picture to be enjoyed. It also can be a career and a way to share ideas. “There are a lot of assets to being an artist,” DePinto-Dawud said. “One is you have a natural talent that not everybody has, and that should be displayed and showcased. Also, it can be used for advertisement and a purposeful career. You can also use art for social awareness — we teach that a little bit at the middle school level — and getting it exposed in the community.” The D146 exhibit will be on display through the end of May. It is located at 17420 S. 67th Court in Tinley Park. Hours vary. Call (708) 614-6503 before visiting.
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