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Editor’s Pick: Combining Business and a Good Cause
August 16, 2010 • No comments
Calling the Hope Revolution into Service is a long name for an organization that does one thing: Gives to children and families in need. CHRS was founded in memory of Christopher Hagenau, whose goal it was to become a teacher. He died at age 18. The all-volunteer organization's focus is providing hope by showing those in need that people care. Working toward that focus, they have provided free bikes and new clothing to kids and sponsored a variety of activities that promote the social welfare of children in the community. August 18, from 4-6 p.m., CHRS will be highlighted during the Sarpy County American Business Women's Association Blow Out Event at Papio Fun Park, 210 East Lincoln Street, in Papillion. The free event combines networking with a chance to support CHRS and
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Pass The Ideas, Please
August 11, 2010 • No comments
In the wild, wild west of the world wide web there is no shortage of ideas. The Internet is the untamed wilderness of ideas, which can be a problem if, for example, you just want to find and develop the best ones on environmental issues facing a city. That’s where PassThePotatoes.com comes in. The new community crowdsourcing website by Environment Omaha—a partnership between the City of Omaha, the community and Omaha By Design—offers idea generation in a different setting: A virtual dinner table big enough for the entire city of Omaha. “A lot of issues get discussed at the family dinner table while people are passing the potatoes,” said Connie Spellman, director of Omaha by Design. “Environment Omaha is all about creating an environmental vision for the future of read more »
Editor’s Pick: Cox Music & Movies
August 9, 2010 • No comments
If I can give you but one piece of advice it is this: Never pass up a chance to see "Young Frankenstein" for free. That opportunity presents itself this Friday on the east lawn of the Holland Performing Arts Center as part of Cox Music and Movies series. Musician Chris Saub kicks things off with a concert at 7:45 p.m., followed by the screening of "Young Frankenstein" at 8:45. Attendees can pre-order picnic baskets at omahaperformingarts.org through Tuesday. A selection of a la carte items will also be available for purchase at the event.
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Good in the ’Hood
August 6, 2010 • No comments
This article originally appeared in our sister publications, The Reader and El Perico. Some great things are happening this Saturday in two of Omaha’s communities. So good that The Reader decided to cover both so that you might decide to make a day of it and check out the two occasions. We’re talking about North Downtown Day and Farnam Festival — both celebrations of communities on the rise. “It could be a cool thing where people come down and enjoy both events and see two cool neighborhoods in the same day,” said Brad Iwen, one of the event organizers for Farnam Festival and a photographer who opened his own studio, Iwen Exposures Photography, near 40th and Farnam last October. Iwen said the neighborhood surrounding 40th and Farnam had “kind of been falling
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Sweltering Weather Can’t Suppress National Night Out Crowds in Roanoke Park
August 4, 2010 • No comments
The steamiest of evenings couldn’t keep the crowds out of Roanoke Park last night for the Roanoke Neighborhood Association Annual Night Out and Ice Cream Social, an event coordinated to coincide with National Night Out gatherings all across the country. Like a pulsating colony of ants, kids swarmed over the park’s array of playground equipment as ice cream was scooped in a dripping-down-your-chin battle against time and temperature. “It’s probably our largest event of the year,” association secretary Suzanne Doupik said of attendance that swelled to almost 100 sweaty people. “It’s a great night to talk to old friends and to meet new ones, all wrapped around National Night Out and getting ready to send the kids back to school.” The Omaha Police and Fire
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Interfaith Intersections: Communicating Your Child’s Religious Needs at School
August 4, 2010 • No comments
The next school year is only a few weeks away (or less for some of you). An important consideration to starting the school year off on a good note is to have a plan for how you will communicate your child's religious and/or cultural needs with her teachers and school administrators. Appropriate subjects to communicate with your child's educator include: • Holidays for which a child might need to miss school or the observance of which might affect his or her performance or school work such as the fasting that Muslim students may do during Ramadan. (Click here to learn what Ramadan is and why Muslims fast during this time.) • Religious or cultural dietary requirements or restrictions. For example, Jewish students who keep kosher will not eat foods with pork
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No Place Like Home
August 3, 2010 • No comments
by Catherine Monahan Local foods are more popular than ever – and more accessible than you may think. In the great grocery shopping debate of this tomato versus that tomato, I have my process down pat. Redder? Check. Firmer? Slightly. And finally, I’ll glance at the label. The Nebraska tomato will almost always win out over, say, the California tomato. It has to do with freshness, with loyalty, and with a phenomenon sweeping our aisles – from sweet corn to salad dressing. The popularity of and consumer demand for local foods has been growing over the past few years, so much so that locally sourced foods, from produce to beer and wine, dominate the National Restaurant Association’s list of the Top 20 Food Trends for 2010. But popularity aside, what does “local”
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Countdown to a Successful School Year: Back-to-School Tips for Proactive Parents
August 3, 2010 • No comments
by Catherine Kraemer It happens every summer. Vacations get underway, the days get lazier, and then suddenly, when the new school year approaches, things go from fun to frenzied. But parents take heed – it doesn’t have to be that way. With a little proactive planning, parents can ready kids for a smooth transition from summertime to the school year. The right preparation touches on both the emotional and physical aspects of returning to the classroom – and the benefits will last throughout the year. In early August, parents can start preparing children of all ages for school by modifying sleep schedules. “This is the ideal time for parents to start that school-year sleep routine and to try and get back into that schedule,” says Sara Pattavina Moulton, a
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Editor’s Pick: The Wiz at The Rose
August 2, 2010 • No comments
Follow the yellow brick road to The Rose Theater Aug. 6-8, as The John Beasley Theater and Omaha School of Music present "The Wiz," a rock-gospel-soul version of the beloved classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Inspired by the book written by L. Frank Baum, "The Wiz" captures Dorothy’s adventures in the land of Oz as never before. Hailed “an urban reimagining” by the John Beasley Theater, this alternative-style show is an excellent opportunity to teach kids about creativity, or to take a step back in time to revisit an old classic in a new way. Show times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 6 and 7, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8. Tickets cost $27.50 each, or $25 for students or seniors. Adult tickets can be purchased online at www.johnbeasleytheater.or g, with an
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Editor’s Pick: “Deadly Medicine” Exhibit at SAC
August 2, 2010 • No comments
This is the last week to view a thought and emotion-provoking exhibit at The Strategic Air & Space Museum in Ashland. The display “Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race” will be on display through Aug. 9. The exhibit is organized and circulated by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and focuses on a lesser-known side of the Holocaust. “Deadly Medicine” illustrates how the Nazi regime aimed to change the genetic makeup of the population through measures called “racial hygiene” or “eugenics”. The exhibit displays a collection of photographs, documents, and historic film footage to offer a thought-provoking setting for this unusual topic. The New York Times touts it as something “that should be part of every citizen’s experience” and
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