NT_061319

northbrooktower.com news
the northbrook tower | June 13, 2019 | 3
Block party gives residents taste of summer
Neil Milbert
Freelance Reporter
By happy coincidence,
the 14th annual St. Norbert
Block Party on Saturday,
June 8, coincided with the
120th anniversary of the
founding of the parish.
That old small-town
newspaper cliché “… and a
good time was had by all”
applies here.
The party began at 3 p.m.
and continued until 11 p.m.
As always, there was music,
food and drinks and activities
galore for the kids.
Kathy McMahon, who
has served as the event’s
co-chairman, along with
Vince Daly, since its inception,
reminisced how it all
got started.
“A bunch of us girls
would go to Chicago every
year for the Sheffield Garden
Walk and the Old Town
Art Fair and we loved it so
much we thought we’d
bring something like it to
the suburbs and hold it in
Northbrook,” she recalled.
“It just took off.”
McMahon said this
was her last year as
co-chairman.
“But don’t say I’m retiring,”
she hastened to add.
“No one actually retires;
you just change your role.”
“We actually have 22
co-chairs,” McMahon continued,
citing the contributions
of her nearby colleagues
Kristine Hillman,
Kanda McMullen, Pam
Berg and the other volunteers
who serve as committee
chairmen. “Everybody
knows what to do and does
it.”
Berg was in charge of the
annual 5K race at 8 a.m.
that served as the Block
Party’s preface.
“We had about 215 runners
and more than 50 of
Northbrook resident Moorthy Selvaraj (left) and Randy Bobula compete in a Baggo
tournament Saturday, June 8, at the St. Norbert Block Party in Northbrook. Photos by
Susan Chou/22nd Century Media
them were under 14,” she
said. “This year for the first
time a wheelchair race was
part of it.
“We’re donating a portion
of the proceeds from
the race to TotalLink2
Community.”
TotalLink2 Community
had a tent at the Block Party
“We’ve been in existence
for about 10 years,
this is our first time here
and we’re thrilled to be
here,” said Janice Weinstein,
one of the founding
parents of the organization
that connects people with
disabilities to opportunities
in the community through
employment, social connections
and lifelong learning.”
Also making its debut
at the Block Party was
“In Spite of Yourselves,”
a band from Chicago’s
Edgebrook neighborhood.
“We thrilled to be here,”
said Pat Weber, the band’s
acoustic guitarist and harmonica
player, echoing
Weinstein’s words. “We
have a list of 15-16 songs
and we’re all over the map.
Our music probably spans
70 years. We do songs by
Patsy Cline, the Momas
and the Popas, Neil Diamond
and John Denver
for the older crowd; we do
some Irish songs; and we
do some of today’s music.
“One of the coolest
things happened when we
were playing at the Irish-
American Heritage Center
— a couple in their 70s
were sitting there lovin’ our
songs and a little 3-year-old
girl was dancing in front of
them.”
The other bands on
the main stage were Out
of Control and The Ron
Burgundy’s.
Playing on an adjacent
smaller stage were teenage
rock bands from the Northbrook
music school, Bach
to Rock.
“We do lessons and
classes — from early childhood
all the way through
to adults — and we have
rock bands,” said Doug
Barr, the school’s director.
“Last year we had one band
in our school and at this
Block Party. Now, we have
12 bands and five of them
are here.”
Also performing were
students from Northbrook’s
Championship Martial
Arts.
“We’re two minutes up
the road and we’re here
every year,” said Theodore
Creek, who has been a fulltime
instructor at Championship
Martial Arts for 17
years.
For athletes seeking
physical therapy advice for
injury rehabilitation, Athletico
had a tent staffed by
rehab specialists.
And for those interested
in finding ways and means
to exercise their brains,
there was the Mathnasium
total math learning center
tent.
There also were some
party animals on hand, a
goat and a couple of rabbits
who were joined in the
petting zoo by two white
ducks and a big turtle.
One of the kids doing
some serious petting was
5-year-old Jeffrey Ortman.
“I’m a lifelong St. Norbert’s
parishioner and a
member of the St. Norbert’s
School Board,” said
his mother, Kristin Ortman.
Mackenzie Casey, 3, and Madelyn Danielak, 2, both of
Northbrook, strum some notes on their inflatable guitar.
Sienna Wilson and Natalie Mahoney volunteer at the
lemonade stand.
“My husband, Andrew, and
I come here every year.
When we got married we
lived in the city and wanted
to stay in Chicago. We
never thought we’d wind
up in Northbrook. But then
our oldest child, Daniel,
who’s now 9, was on his
way; we bought our house
in 2009; and here we are in
Northbrook.”
Jamie Zimniok and her
husband, Karl, moved to
Northbrook from Evanston
last year, and they too
were making the St. Norbert
Block Party a family
affair. They brought along
their daughters, 1-monthold
Clara and 3-year-old
Charlotte.
“It’s a really nice community
event, seeing all the
kids having fun and bumping
into neighbors,” Jamie
said.
There were plenty of fun
things for kids to choose
from. Among them were a
trampoline, a rubber slide
that was about two stories
high, the Hungry Hippo
bungee grab, bumper cars
and a basketball hoop to
shoot at. If they took a
time out from these activities
they could have their
faces painted and their
caricatures drawn.
No one left the Block
Party hungry or thirsty. On
the menu were hamburgers,
cheeseburgers, veggie
burgers, hot dogs, watermelon,
corn-on-the-cob,
popcorn and ice cream. Included
on the beverage list
were bottled water, soda
pop, lemonade, beer, wine,
vodka and lemonade, vodka
and soda and margaritas.