Central Street Neighbors Association

Lincolnwood Garden Club of Evanston is hosting the 63rd annual Garden Fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 19 and 20. Admission is free, but proceeds from sales will benefit the current beautification projects of the club. Stop by Independence Park on Central Street to take a look at plants and flowers that will grow well in your summer garden.
 
For more information, visit www.cityofevanston.org or call Evanston Ecology Center at 847-448-8256.
 
 

 
The former space of Casteel Coffee has now been transformed into a training ground for at-risk Evanston youth. Curt's Cafe, a homey coffee shop that provides a restaurant training program for youth ages 15 to 24, opened last Monday at 2922 Central Street.
 
The cafe is currently a full-time program for five Evanston youth who are currently working on their GEDs. The students work from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, spending six hours a day training in the cafe and one hour doing homework or research on cafe improvements.

Join your neighbors in cleaning up trash and pulling invasive garlic mustard weeds from Perkins Woods, the smallest forest preserve in Cook County, Saturday, May 5 from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
The garlic mustard weed competes against native grasses and wildflowers for light, water and space each spring. Since the first weed pull in 1989, Evanston residents have been able to keep the weeds under control and allow the wildflowers to blossom.

Shoppers on Central Street did not have to spend extra to support local organizations on Saturday during Spring Community Day, where 25 participating businesses donated 10 – 20 % of their sales to 11 organizations and nonprofits.
  

The Youth Job Center of Evanston is holding its annual gala "Destination: Union Station" this Saturday, April 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. The night will include a live auction, dinner, music and dancing in the Great Hall of Union Station. Tickets are available for $150 each and can be purchased at Youth Job Center's website, www.youthjobcenter.org. Youth Job Center has provided employment services to over 20,000 youth over the past 29 years in the Evanston and Chicago area.

The Evanston Public Library is hosting a used book sale this weekend. The sale will be open on the third floor of the Main Library from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and all books will be half-price from 12 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. By contributing a $5 admission fee, residents can get a sale preview from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday. All sales directly support the Main Library collection.
 
For more information, call 847-448-8600, visit the library at 1703 Orrington Avenue or visit their site at www.epl.org

It's not as if anyone needs an excuse to go shopping on Central Street, but on Saturday, April 21 you can feel extra good about it. April 21 is a Community Shopping Day sponsored by Central Street Neighbors Association and Central Street Business Association. A portion of proceeds from purchases made at participating businesses will be given to your choice of participating LOCAL charities and not-for-profit organizations:
 

Alderman Mark Tendam (6th) has set up a ward meeting for Tuesday, April 17, 7:00 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room of Three Crowns Park (2323 McDaniel). Top item on the agenda is an introduction of Karen Danczak Lyons, the newly-hired Director of the Evanston Public Library. There will also be a review of street, sidewalk and other construction work scheduled for this summer, and as usual an update on Evanston Police activities, altho this discussion promises to also talk about neighborhood watch groups.
 

State Representative Robyn Gabel (D.-Evanston) is hosting a "Town Hall Meeting" on Sunday, April 15 at the Fleetwood-Jourdain community center (1655 Foster St., Evanston) from 1-2:30pm and invites citizens to come and share "concerns and views on the pressing issues we face as a state." Rep. Gabel, appointed to the Illinois House in 2010 and elected in her own right that November, represents the 18th District which currently includes all of Evanston east of, roughly, Ewing Avenue.

The Evanston Environmental Association will present the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, a two-night screening of top short features with "green" themes at the Ecology Center, with half shown tonight, April 13, and half on May 11. The shorts are culled from the country's largest environmental film festival. Tonight's selections feature a dozen pieces on water and land; the May evening will highlight environmental challenges.