🌱 Open Door Repertory To Close + COVID Facebook Group Shuts Down

Hello, Oak Park and River Forest! Let's get to the latest local news.

First, today's weather: Mostly cloudy and mild. High: 54 Low: 30.

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Here are the top 5 stories today in Oak Park-River Forest:

1. A popular Oak Park Facebook group focused on coronavirus updates has ended, according to the Chicago Tribune. After nearly two years and 4,500 members, “it got a little complicated and dicey and way too opinionated,” public health educator Ayesha Akhtar said. Group founder Josh Vanderberg was named a Villager of the Year for his efforts to share crucial COVID-19 updates with the group. (Paid source: Tribune)

2. Citing two years of pandemic challenges, Open Door Repertory will close this month after more than 70 productions over 23 years in Oak Park. “Its end is not just the loss of an Oak Park theater but closing the book on a piece of local performing arts history,” Wednesday Journal arts reporter Michelle Dybal writes. (Wednesday Journal)

3. The Carroll Center is officially one of only two Illinois facilities to earn net-zero verification by the New Buildings Institute. To get certified, the Park District of Oak Park had to prove the building generates as much energy as it uses. (Wednesday Journal)

4. The West Pool at OPRF High School will be closed indefinitely for “urgent structural repair,” the school said in a statement this week. The school’s swimming pools date back to the 1920s, which makes repairs “complicated.” (OPRFHS)

5. Oak Park and River Forest will celebrate Women’s History Month with a series of events and exhibits. An International Women’s Day concert will be held March 8 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, with other activities planned at Trinity High School, OPRF Museum and The Oak Park Regional Housing Center. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Toomey & Co. hosts a fine art and furniture auction. (10 a.m.)
• Outdoor Ash Wednesday services are offered at Ascension (4 p.m.) and St. Giles. (6 p.m.)
• Dominican University and Duke Professor Kate Bowler present “No Cure For Being Human.” (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Local businesses like The Cozy Corner and the Tennis and Fitness Centre are sharing mixed reactions to the updated COVID-19 mitigations. (CBS)
• Oak Park Township is offering a free “Rules of the Road” class for local seniors on March 9. (Patch)
• OPRF High School is helping students find summer jobs with “virtual job hunts” this month, featuring State Farm, Classic Cinemas and more local businesses. (OPRF)
• Registration is open for this Sunday’s KidsFest at Oak Park Conservatory. The event is free, but tickets are required and includes crafts, activities and a scavenger hunt. (Park District)
• Additional Ash Wednesday services will be held today at St. Catherine-St. Lucy, St. Edmund and Good Shepherd. (SCSL)

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Events:

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• International Women’s Day Concert Extravaganza (March 8)
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You're all caught up for today, OPRF! See you tomorrow for the Thursday edition.

— 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.