🌱 Hines Marks Milestone + Jazz Thaw Returns + St. Patrick's Parade

Welcome to the weekend, Oak Park and River Forest. In today's Daily:

• A COVID-19 update as the state approaches three years since pandemic shut-downs began
• A new leader steps in at Forest Park Public Library
• Weekend events include a film festival, kids concert and "Mamma Mia!"

But first, today's weather: Rather cloudy and milder. High: 46 Low: 32.

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Here are the top 3 stories in Oak Park-River Forest today:

1. Oak Park remains in the low transmission category for COVID-19 as 41 people tested positive in the health department’s weekly summary. U.S. News & World report is calling this the “first winter of the pandemic without a large wave of coronavirus.” Health experts say higher levels of immunity kept hospitalization numbers lower for the past few months, though hundreds of Americans are still dying every day after contracting COVID-19. Two years ago, the virus caused more than 23,000 deaths in January alone. (VOP/U.S. News & World Report)

2. Vicki Rakowski is returning to her roots — the Dominican University graduate is the new executive director of Forest Park Public Library. She began her career in the village more than a decade ago. (Review)

3. Hines VA Hospital’s Fisher House is marking 13 years of helping families while patients receive treatment at Hines. For more than a decade, families of veterans have stayed in the 20-room guest house for free. (Daily Herald)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• One Earth Film Festival screens movies for kids at Oak Park Public Library. (10 a.m.)
• Bring broken items to Fox Park for the park district’s free monthly repair cafe. (10 a.m.)
• Learn to paint with ink at Dole Center. (10 a.m.)
• The Forest Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns. (1 p.m.)
• Little Miss Ann performs a concert for kids at River Forest Public Library. (2 p.m.)
• Oak Park and River Forest High School theater students present “Mamma Mia!” (7 p.m.)
• The Black Opry Revue performs at Dominican University. (7:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Jazz Thaw returns March 11 to downtown Oak Park. (DTOP)
• Brookfield Zoo will host a job fair this afternoon for seasonal positions. (Zoo)
• Forest Park officials will resurrect its Board of Health to strengthen mental health initiatives. (Review)

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Featured events:

• Black Opry Revue (March 4)
• 2nd Annual International Women’s Day Concert — A Tribute to Women in the Arts (March 5)
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You're all caught up for today. Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow!

— Georgi Presecky

About me: Georgi is a Chicago-based newsletter writer and partner content curator. She spent five years on the entertainment beat for FF2 Media covering film festivals across the U.S. Her feature articles have been recognized with awards from the Illinois Women's Press Association and National Federation of Press Women. As editor-in-chief of the Lewis University newspaper, she and her staff earned honors from the Associated Collegiate Press and American Scholastic Press Associations. She began working for Patch in 2019.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Oak Park-River Forest Patch newsletter? Contact me at georgi.presecky@patch.com.