Wouldn't it be cool to have a Candy Chang "Confessions" installation in ________________?

"I'm scared I will hold myself back from the life I want," on the Confessions installation in London, at Hilton Bankside until June 5.

A post shared by Candy Chang (@candychangland) on May 28, 2017 at 11:29am PDT

FREE: This weekend's Skokie Backlot Bash / Freecycling / Evanston’s Parking Ticket Amnesty / Tuesday's Women’s EmPOWER lunch

On Friday I was on the radio again talking about low cost/no cost opportunities around Chicago's north side and North Shore with Daniel French on WCGO 1590 AM.

Here's some of what I talked about:

Happening annually in August since 2007, Skokie Backlot Bash -- some of it free, some of it requires funds -- includes live music, a carnival, a 5K Run, a children’s stage, an auto show and on Sunday, a pancake breakfast and farmer's market.

FREE movie in Skokie: The Public Enemy,
Skokie Public Library Sunday, noon.

Starring James Cagney Jean Harlow and Joan Blondell, this flick details the violent rise of two young hoodlums through the ranks of the Chicago underworld in the prohibition era. The famous and controversial grapefruit scene comes from this flick. Women's groups rose up in protest over such brutal abuse of a woman on-screen in the 30s.

FREECYCLING on Facebook: Friendly, with simple rules, Evanston IL Free Stuff is a closed Facebook group for folks in and around Evanston who offer free stuff, especially furniture, and those who want it.

There’s another one called Free Community Repurposing - Wilmette / Winnetka / Evanston. It is a public group, but you won’t be added unless you live in or around the Chicago North Shore area.

FREE in Evanston for women in leadership: On Tuesday, August 29, Malik Turley and others at Hip Circle Empowerment Center are hosting a brown-bag EmPOWER lunch for women who are primary decision-makers at work or in the community, in order to encourage connection and support.

AMNESTY for scofflaws in Evanston: Motorists with unpaid parking tickets issued in Evanston have until the end of September to pay up without being charged late fees. After that, those with a bunch of outstanding tickets risk being booted, if they come to Evanston. Why the amnesty? Follow the money.

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Got news about FREE STUFF to be found in and around Chicago's north side, North Shore and northern suburbs?  Tell me more about it via email.

We Pray For Children

Author Ilene Cooper read Ina J. Hughs' poem "We Pray for Children at the second annual Family Peace Fest for Hope and Harmony, in Morton Grove, Illinois, August 19, 2017.

We pray for children
who sneak popsicles before supper,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.

And we pray, for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes,"
who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who sleep with the cat and bury goldfish,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink,
who slurp their soup.

And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.

We pray for children
who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
and never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at
and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children
who want to be carried
and for those who must,
for those we never give up on
and for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother…
and for those who will grab the hand of anybody
kind enough to offer it.

We pray for children.

Amen

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Source: http://www.appleseeds.org/childpry.htm

Seen at Family Peace Fest for Hope and Harmony 2017

A sweet spirit hung in the air during the Morton Grove's second annual Family Peace Fest for Hope and Harmony, Saturday, August 19, behind the Morton Grove Civic Center and next to the MG Farmers Market.

Weather cooperated.

Neighbors created a (Side)Walk of Peace with chalk drawings.

We folded paper cranes, expressed our wishes on the peace mural, talked, listened, danced and prayed.

Author Ilene Cooper read a prayer by Ina J. Hughs.

Edwina Cowell taught us how to better connect with others.

Former strangers hugged.

Big THANKS to everyone and organization that sponsored and supported it. Organizer are already making plans for next year.

Bushra Amiwala posted some nice pictures up on Facebook, as did founder and chief organizer of the fest, Rev. Elizabeth Jones.

Karie Angell Luc covered the doings for the Morton Grove Champion/Pioneer Press/Chicago Tribune.

Joe Ruffner writes his wish on the traveling peace mural: Find the way out of
FEAR, IGNORANCE & HATE and remember wwe are all one.

St. Luke's pastor Rev. Elizabeth Jones (left) leads prayers.
Muslim Community Center's (and candidate for Cook Co. commissioner)
Bushra Amiwala addresses neighbors, too.

Downers Grove's St. Paul's UCC's pastor Rev. Kirk Moore (left).
Highland Park's Lakeside Congregation for Reform Judaism's Rabbi Isaac Serotta.

​Morton Grove's St. Martha's Fr. Dennis O'Neill talks
about giving up being right in the name of peace.

Spiritual Playdate's Edwina Cowill keynotes the peace fest
under the trees behind the Morton Grove Civic Center.

Edwina Cowell talks about how to better connect with a neighbor.

How are you today? Friends and neighbors looks each other in the eye and asks about the other's well-being,

Susan Van Dusen and her husband and Skokie mayor George Van Dusen were there.

Identity Performing Arts' ​Ginny Ching Yin Lo leads the Peace dancing.

Morton Grove Village Trustees Janine Witko and Connie Travis dance to "It's a Wonderful World".

Neighbor dance to "It's a Wonderful World".

Denise Powers and Vicki Powers dance it up...

...and then exchange contact information.

Fresh is best: Storage tips for produce

Eating well can mean many trips to the market for fresh fruits and
vegetables. These storage tips can save you time and money.

For more tips on how to eat healthy, check out
Health Hacks' Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Health Hacks is a healthy eating workshop series created by
Michelle Gillespie and myself. We aim to share with our neighbors
a few things that can help them eat better to feel better
and connect them with source for good food and information.