12 Weeks of Christmas Continues!

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By Brittany Wiley 

BAPA Business Liaison 

BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle is ramping up for the last four drawings.  The December prize packages focus on wellness, music, golf and a fabulous private dinner prepared by Top Chef Joe Flamm. For just $20 per ticket, players have a chance to win a prize that’s worth $1500!  

Each package is composed of gift certificates, experiences and/or merchandise purchased at full retail price from small businesses and business owners in our community. Check out the weekly prizes and buy your raffle tickets at bapa.org. Ticket purchases for that week’s raffle close at 3 p.m. and drawings are at 5 p.m. on Fri., Dec. 4, 11 and 18, and Wed., Dec. 23.  

Look for BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle links in BAPA’s Facebook and Instagram posts, at bapa.org and via QR codes on posters and promotional materials distributed throughout the neighborhood.  

Week 9: Self Care  

Drawing: Dec. 4 

Stay healthy and centered as you enter holiday season with this amazing package from local wellness gurus.  Relax at Relaxation Station with a massage from Shan Van Robertson, a therapist certified in Swedish, deep tissue, tender/trigger point and hydro therapy, plus hot/cold stone, aromatherapy, reflexology and more.  Then put your hair in the skilled hands of Lisa Maureen Ahern, a stylist specializing in color techniques such as balayage and trending haircuts. 

Southtown Health Foods owner and health expert Katie Mahler Speh provides a private consultation to help you create a personal plan that will positively impact your health and wellbeing and guide you through vitamin and supplement choices.   

Elevate your state at Joplin Marley Studios with Meg’n Barba’s personal workshops and sessions focusing personal growth, self-empowerment, and elevating your life in conscious and creative ways.  Get 4 personal 1–on–1 guidance sessions or a 3-hour wellness workshop for you and 4 of your friends.   

Bring home a gift basket worth $400 curated by Turkey Chicago and Beverly Dry Goods and including McCabe Clay mug, teas, smudge sticks, incense, soap, healing balm, candle, flower cocktail kit and basket and more. 

Week 10: Vinyl Virtuoso 

Drawing: Dec. 11 

Beverly Records has been Chicago’s vinyl resource since 1967, specializing in rare and vintage finds.  Let the experts set you up with new equipment including an Audio Technica Direct-Drive professional turntable with USB output that connects directly to your computer, Edifier Powered Bookshelf Speakers with Bluetooth, Vinyl Styl record washer and vinyl care kit and professional carrying case, plus $600 in Beverly Records credit and help curating the ultimate music collection. 

Week 11: Four for Golf 

Drawing: Dec. 18  

Win golf and clubhouse gift certificates for your favorite foursome at Beverly Country Club and Ridge Country Club. 

 Beverly Country Club is a mainstay in the Chicagoland golf community. From its inception almost 100 years ago, Beverly was recognized as a championship course — it has been host to four Western Opens and is one of Golfweek’s Top 100 Classic Golf courses in the United States. 

Ridge Country Club is the only private 18-hole golf course located fully within the city of Chicago. Constructed in 1902 by designer H.J. Tweedie, the course sprawls across 105 acres of tree-lined fairways and is famous for its perfectly manicured and fast greens. In 2016, they installed the highly regarded Billy Bunker System to rebuild the sand traps and elevate competitive play.  

Week 12: Top Chef Private Dinner 

Drawing: Dec. 23  

Win 4 course private dinner for 6 prepared in your home by Top Chef Joe Flamm.  Elevate this experience with a tablescape by Oak & Bloom, including fresh florals and vintage place settings.  Leave the serving and cleanup to the professionals at Party Pros.  Sit back and enjoy a once in a lifetime experience! 

Joe Flamm, winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 15, blends classic dishes from his Italian heritage with bold and vibrant flavors from the Croatian coast. He will utilize a charcoal hearth and an abundance of seasonal ingredients to create a menu focusing on what he describes as “Adriatic drinking food”. 

Most recently, Flamm was Executive Chef of Chicago’s Michelin-starred Spiaggia and Café Spiaggia, cooking with James Beard award-winning Chef Tony Mantuano. He refined his culinary skills alongside Chicago’s best chefs, including Stephanie Izard at Girl and the Goat, Art Smith at Table Fifty-Two, and Bill Kim at bellyQ.  

Read more about Top Chef Joe Flamm on page ___.  

BAPA Takes Pledge to Save The Monarchs 

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By Cathriona Fey 
BAPA Community Outreach Liaison 

Over the last two decades, the eastern monarch butterfly has experienced a more than 80% decrease in population. This orange and black-winged species, the Illinois state insect, contributes to the pollination of plants throughout the Prairie State. The migratory and overwintering habitats needed to promote monarch breeding are disappearing, and the drastic drop in population has sparked urgent conservation efforts to save the monarchs. In response, BAPA has joined the Illinois Monarch Project, a state-wide initiative to conserve the breeding and feeding habitat of the monarch butterfly and other regional pollinators.  

Illinois lies directly along the migration flyway of eastern monarch butterfly populations migrating to the high-altitude forests of Central Mexico for the winter. Along the way, monarchs search for the ideal habitat with milkweed and other nectar plants to refuel and to lay eggs.  

Illinois has experienced an extreme loss of the prairie habitat due to changes in land-use practices, pesticide and herbicide use, and climate change, leaving migrating monarchs limited options for breeding and sustenance. To mitigate these changes, the Illinois Monarch Project set a goal of adding 150 million new milkweed stems and other nectar resources to the Illinois landscape by 2038. BAPA hopes to make the Beverly/Morgan Park community home to many of these new milkweed stems to support the monarchs and other pollinator species. 

Planning is underway for Save the Monarchs, a BAPA initiative that will bring residents, schools, businesses and churches together to conserve the monarch butterfly population while sustainably enhancing our community’s landscape. The goals of Save the Monarchs are to build awareness about the region’s declining monarch population and the importance of protecting the species; to create community spaces that welcome and protect the monarch butterfly and other pollinators; and to increase the monarch butterfly population here. BAPA believes the integration of various milkweed species and other native nectar plants will enhance our neighborhood’s landscape while welcoming more monarchs to our Village in the City. 

Winter is a great time to begin planning your butterfly habitat. Whether you create a simple window box of plants or allocate a portion of your yard to native plants, BAPA wants to hear about it and quantify our community’s efforts. Join BAPA’s Save the Monarchs Facebook group to receive program updates, tips and ideas, to ask local experts questions, and to share plans and pictures of your butterfly habitat.  

The Monarch Watch organization provides the following list of things to keep in mind as you create your own butterfly habitat: 

Size: A pollinator habitat can be easily integrated with an existing vegetable or flower garden. There is no minimum area requirement; small is okay.  

Exposure: Butterflies and butterfly plants need lots of sun, so locate pollinator gardens in an area that receives at least six hours of sun a day.  

Drainage and Soil: Milkweeds and nectar plants do best in relatively light (low-clay) soils with good drainage. Because most city soil is compacted and has too much clay or sand, amend your soil with compost before planting. 

Shelter: All monarch life stages need shelter from predators and the elements. To assure that the maximum number of monarchs survive in your habitat, plants should be relatively close together but not crowded, Follow the planting guides specific to each plant.  

Milkweed: To maximize the utilization of your habitat by monarchs, include a number of milkweed species.  

Nectar Plants: Butterflies and pollinators need nectar. Provide nectar plants that bloom sequentially or continuously throughout the monarch breeding season and the migration in the fall. Aim for a mix of annual, biennial and perennial plants that provide nectar.  

Management: Keep your habitat healthy by mulching, thinning, fertilizing, amending the soil, removing dead stalks, watering, eliminating insecticide use, removing invasive plant species, and incorporating additional features. 

Great examples of local monarch conservation efforts can already be locally at the Kellogg school garden to the Edna White Community Garden. A large elaborate garden isn’t necessary to make a difference. According to Kathy Figel, the Executive Director of the Edna White Garden, 1850 S. Monterey Ave., “It can be as simple as not using any sprays or chemicals on your lawn, planting many natives and choosing to wait to clean up leaves and stems which serve as a habitat for many insect species.”  

Figel and the Edna White Community Garden will serve as valuable resources as Save the Monarchs kicks-off. Local resources include plant experts at City Grange, 1818 W 99th St., and Steuber Florist, 2654 W. 111th St.  

To join and stay up to date with BAPA’s Save the Monarchs initiative, be sure to join the Facebook group or sign-up for BAPA’s e-newsletter at www.bapa.org. Let’s make 2021 the year of the butterfly! 

Seniors Learn New Ways to Connect with Tech Smart Seniors 3.0 

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Seniors can learn how to use more features on their smartphones and tablets thanks to Tech Smart Seniors 3.0, a series of free, live online classes organized by the19th Ward office and BAPA to help seniors better use technology so they can enjoy more fulfilling connections with family, friends and neighbors while staying safe at home.  

Now in its third year, the series will feature local experts Melody Camp and Claire DiCola for two concurrent training sessions, one for people with Apple devices and the other for people with Android devices.  

“We created these classes specifically for the needs of seniors,” said 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea. “Our trainers will make it fun and easy for participants to use more features on the phones and tablets. We want to help people to connect safely even as social distancing limits our in-person connections with families, friends and neighbors.” 

When registering for classes, participants will be asked to check a box indicating 

whether they use Apple products including iPhone, iPad and iPodTouch or one of many different brands of Android devices including Nokia, Motorola and Samsung. This approach makes it possible for instructors to be more specific about how to use the features on certain devices. 

“Smartphones and tablets have so many features, yet even experienced users only use a few instead of leveraging the power of what we hold in our hands,” said BAPA Executive Director Mary Jo Viero. “These classes can help participants use their devices more effectively.” 

Participants may choose as many of the following classes as they like: 

Connecting During 12 days Before Christmas, Thurs., Dec. 3, 10:30 a.m., covers how to set-up groups for emails and online group visits as well as how to take, save, share and print photos with a device, and how to look for and join Facebook groups. 

Getting to Know Alexa or Echo Dot, Thurs., Jan, 7, 10:30 a.m., helps seniors explore how to set-up and use voice-activated devices to enjoy music, prompt reminders, create a shopping list, order on Amazon, or ask any kind of question from finding  a quote from Shakespeare to getting a weather forecast. 

Downloading Apps to Make Life Easier, Thurs., Jan. 28, 10:30 a.m., enables participants to discover how to easily access 19th Ward, City of Chicago and BAPA resources as well as how to set up and manage telehealth visits. The class will also cover how to set-up and manage accounts with DoorDash, Grub Hub, InstaCart and Uber Eats for food delivery. 

Taking Safety and Security Measures, Thurs., Feb. 11, 10:30 a.m., covers how to stay safe online. Learn how to respond when someone offers to take your device to fix a problem; how to identify scam emails; how to delete and unsubscribe from unwanted emails; what to do if you make a mistake; and how to install Ring and other doorbells with security cameras.  

Each 30-minute class is followed by a 15-minute question and answer session. Prior to each class, participants can send questions for the trainer.  Class recordings, copies of instructions and helpful hints sheets that can be printed will be available at the 19th Ward and BAPA websites, making it easy for participants to review information, or for people not able to attend to review the presentation.  

Register for classes at www.the19thward.com or www.bapa.org; click on the Tech Smart Seniors 3.0 section and fill in the form. All registered participants will receive an email with a link. Joining the class just takes one click. For help registering or for more details, call 773-238-8766. 

Tech Smart Seniors 3.0 virtual classes are sponsored by State Sen. Bill Cunningham, State Rep. Fran Hurley, State Rep. Kelly Burke, State Rep. Justin Slaughter, Mercy Circle and Smith Village.  

12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle: November Surprises! 

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By Brittany Wiley 
BAPA Business Liaison 

BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle got off to a spectacular start with lots of people competing for creative collections of goods, services and meals from Beverly/Morgan Park businesses. For just $20 per ticket, people have a chance to win a prize that’s worth $1500! Each package has a theme to maximize the fun as well as the value.  

Here’s the November lineup: 

One Room Makeover 

Drawing:  November 6 

The Week #5 prize offers the chance to renew one with the help of a design dream team led by Robin Harmon of RMH Interiors. Harmon believes there’s nothing more important than “how we live.” Home should be a refuge and the most comfortable space we inhabit. A welcoming home reflects our mental state and helps keep us centered and focused on what really matters – especially important right now! With Harmon, you will be working with a client-focused professional committed to building long-term relationships that deliver beautiful interiors for functional living. 

Once you’ve conceptualized your design with Harmon, you’ll work with Jo Marie Frigo, owner of Fantasy Walls. Frigo specializes in color consultation, interior/exterior painting, decorative painting, Italian plasters, and detailed prep work and repair.  She will purchase all materials from Calumet Paint & Wallpaper. 

For the perfect finishing touches, shop for unique and vintage décor from Beverly Hills Marketplace and Root Consignment. 

Horse Thief Hollow at Home 

Drawing:  November 13 

Enjoy a memorable – and delicious — evening at your house for dinner for six, custom-created by Neil Byers of Horse Thief Hollow Brewing Co. The  evening includes a menu of food and wine pairings thoughtfully crafted by Byers and his Chef de Cuisine, Jon Tarcak. 

The evening includes a hands-on pasta making class with Chef Tarcak, who has a passion for pasta that he inherited from his Italian grandmother. Tarcak grew up eating her homemade pasta at family meals and learned the craft at her hands. He sees pasta as a canvas for a wide range of culinary influences, not just Italian. Horse Thief Hollow patrons have enjoyed his delectable pasta in dishes such as Mexican-inspired Street Corn Cappellacci and Smoked Trout and Potato Pierogi.  

Your three--course dinner will be paired with seasonal cocktails, barrel–aged Horse Thief Hollow craft beer and premium wine from Wren Hop Vineyards.  Byers is an avid outdoorsman who loves hunting, fishing and gardening. Your dinner will feature ingredients harvested from Byer’s garden or foraged by him, as well as beef from Angus cattle raised in collaboration with Chicago School for Agricultural Sciences for Horse Thief Hollow. 

Your memorable evening will be commemorated with a handmade pasta board by RPW Creations. 

 

Backyard Makeover by City Grange 

Drawing: November 20 

Create a new backyard escape with the help of a landscape designer from City Grange, where their mission is to remove every barrier to your gardening success. That’s true in their shops and true in their landscape design process. Designers plan for longevity in the design, installation and plant selection used to create your garden oasis. City Grange provides “the good plants” – native, pollinator friendly, organic, edible and beautiful. 

Kickstart your new 2021 garden with a “Plan & Plants” kit: The City Grange design team will discuss your needs, develop a plan and provide a palette of perennials and shrubs to get your garden going. (Labor is not included.) 

Spend the winter learning more about gardening and plants with “A Year in Flowers” and “The Big Book of Flower Gardening” from Bookie’s. 

 

Take 5 for Health & Fitness 

Drawing: November 27 

Win five-class packages from five local fitness centers: Barre it All, Blazin’ Cycle, F45, Live & Believe and Treadfit. Outfit yourself for your workouts with $400 worth of shoes and apparel from Running Excels, and jumpstart a healthy renewal with a five-day cleanse from local favorite cold pressed juicery, Bani’s Beets. 

Once you’ve tried all the classes, pick your favorite and get $500 toward a class pack or personal training! 

Barre It All Fitness combines High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with a variety of strength exercises for a smart, effective way to work out. Their experts in HIIT, cardio drills, strength, barre, and yoga give clients everything their bodies need which minimizes the chance of injury. 

Blazin Cycle sessions feature mixed-intensity, music-based cardio workouts. They don’t light candles or and we don’t promise an out-of-body experience. What they do promise is training that moves clients forward together, as instructor and member, and as a class. 

At F45, the F stands for functional training: a mix of circuit and High–Intensity Interval Training style workouts geared toward everyday movement. 45 minutes is the total amount of time for sweat-dripping, heart-pumping fun! 

Live and Believe Nutrition (The LAB), is a place to enjoy a variety of fitness classes and nutritional support, and also to live and believe. Their MindFit workouts are designed to challenge mind and body. Their philosophy: You can have the perfect routine, but until you are willing to shift your mindset, your results will stay the same. They don’t just work their bodies, they strengthen their minds to achieve more. 

Treadfit is a rapidly growing fitness brand that provides small group customized workouts from certified trainers. Each class will improve clients’ overall fitness levels using interval training on the treadmill, coupled with full-body strength training.  At Treadfit, no class is ever the same! 

Ready for the Raffle? 

Here’s how it works: Through the week leading up to Christmas, BAPA will offer a new prize package that’s composed of gift certificates, experiences and/or merchandise purchased at full retail price from small businesses and business owners in our community. Check out the weekly prizes and buy your raffle tickets at bapa.org. Ticket purchases for that week’s raffle close at 3 p.m. on Fridays. The prize drawings are at 5 p.m., and ticket sales for the new week begin immediately following. There is no ticket limit. The final prize winner will be drawn on Wed., Dec. 23.  

Support Local Businesses and BAPA 

The 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle has inspired creative collaboration among businesses as business owners. At a time when businesses have been so hard-hit by the pandemic, BAPA is investing $18,000 in our local economy and promoting the meals, goods and services available right here in our community. BAPA hopes to raise enough money from the raffle to cover expenses; additional funds will go toward restoring the organization’s budget deficit created by loss of special event income due to the pandemic.  

Details and Tickets 

Look for BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle links in BAPA’s Facebook and Instagram posts, at bapa.org and via QR codes on posters and promotional materials distributed throughout the neighborhood.  

 

Bringing Out the Best In Our Neighborhood 

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By Maureen Reilly 
BAPA Board President 

Beverly/Morgan Park neighbors, the last time I wrote to you our community, city, and country were at the doorstep of the coronavirus pandemic. I used the word “unprecedented” to describe both the fearsome challenges of COVID-19 and the remarkable response to the crisis from our community’s people, businesses and organizations. 

BAPA’s quick and nimble response to the crisis is a testament to the small yet mighty staff. Facing dire financial shortfalls as one special event after another was cancelled, BAPA invested whatever funding was available into meaningful programs that helped to lift our neighbors’ spirits and make their lives safer. BAPA developed creative initiatives to support local businesses as they scrambled to find new ways to serve their customers.  

BAPA brings out the best in our neighborhood. I am so proud to support its work, and I wholeheartedly thank all of our neighborhood residents and businesses who have made donations to BAPA this year. I know that, for many, it hasn’t been easy.  

As the end of 2020 approaches, it’s clear that we’re not out of the woods with this pandemic. Although BAPA has been able to recoup some lost revenue with the Beverly/Morgan Park Garden Walk and the 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle, there’s still way to go to cover the budget shortfall.   

If you are in a position to help, here are a few ways you can support BAPA: 

Use the BAPA membership envelope inserted in this issue of The Villager to make a donation using a check or credit card. Donations in any amount are sincerely appreciated.  

Go to bapa.org and select Support BAPA to make a secure donation online. If you would like to make your donation in a series of smaller, more manageable gifts, call the office at 773-233-3100 to discuss that option.  

Participate in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle by choosing the weekly packages you’d like to win and buying raffle tickets for just $20 each.   

Host a BAPA Block Challenge by inviting your neighbors to chip in on a joint donation.  

Gifts to BAPA – large and small – go right back into the neighborhood through initiatives that support our local businesses, unify our neighbors, beautify our public spaces, strengthen community safety efforts, showcase our outstanding homes and assist our schools and parks.  

Thank you again to the families and businesses who have already given generously and, in advance, to those who will answer this appeal. BAPA is still here because of you.  

 

 

BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas raffle got off to a great start!

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BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas raffle got off to a great start! The people having the best time are, of course, the winners! Holly Donovan and Brendan Murphy are the first two.  

Holly Donovan won a private party for 24 on the Open Outcry Brewing Company rooftop in the Week #1 raffle.  

Donovan has lived in the community for 20 years working as a photographer and as a “plant hugger” at  City Grange, which is where she first heard about BAPA’s raffle. Holly and a few of her coworkers all bought promising that if anyone won, they would enjoy a nice evening out together.  

Donovan on buying more raffle — she particularly has her eye on week five’s room makeover, and week six’s Horsethief Hollow at Home. She also appreciates BAPA’s efforts in supporting the local businesses, by buying the prizes from them and by drawing attention to them so even if people don’t  win the raffle, they’ll remember  to shop at the businesses later. 

Brendan Murphy won a $1300 road bike from Beverly Bike &Ski in the Week #2 drawing. Murphy and his family have lived in the community for eight years. “We love the neighborhood, love the neighbors, and love supporting local business,” he said. “Beverly Bike and Ski is a great business to have here in the community . . .  I’ve been using them since I moved into the neighborhood to fix up/tune up my old road bike.” 

Murphy was picking up donuts at Beverly Bakery (another of his favorite local stops) when he saw the 12 Weeks of Christmas postcard on the counter.  He went to bapa.org while he was drinking his coffee. “That’s when I saw the current raffle was for a road bike at Beverly Bike and Ski.  I figured I could use a new road bike and if I didn’t win at least it was for a great cause, glad I got to fulfill both of the intended goals.”  

 

 

Win-Win!  12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle Supports Local Businesses 

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Win-Win! 

12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle Supports Local Businesses 

Your $20 investment could win a prize valued at $1500. That alone is a great deal. But when you add in that your $20 is also supporting dozens of neighborhood businesses and raising funds to keep our community strong, AND offering a new prize every week through Dec. 23, BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle is a spectacular win-win!   

Here’s how it works: 

Every week for 12 weeks, BAPA will offer a new prize package that’s composed of gift certificates, experiences and/or merchandise purchased at full retail price from small businesses and business owners in our community. 

Beginning Sat., Oct. 3, everyone is welcome to check out the fabulous packages at bapa.org, and start buying $20 raffle tickets for the prizes to be awarded in the current week. There is no ticket limit.  

The prize for Week #1 is a private rooftop party for 24 at Open Outcry Brewing Company which features a special menu, beer pairing and live music. The drawing for Week #1 will be held Fri., Oct. 9.  

Ticket purchases close at 5 p.m. on Fridays for each week’s raffle. Winners will be chosen at random, and the fun begins all over again for the next week’s competition. The first drawing will be held Oct. 9 and the final prize winner’s name will be drawn on Wed., Dec. 23.  

“We wanted to create excitement for our small business community and keep it going through the holiday shopping season,” said BAPA Business Liaison Brittany Wiley.  Wiley and BAPA Executive Director Mary Jo Viero started with a simple raffle concept and shaped it into a 12–week campaign that will benefit our small businesses and inspire friendly competition for high–value prize packages among area residents. 

12 Packages/12 Themes 

“Each package has a theme to maximize the fun as well as the value,” Wiley said. Themes range from an Inner Wellness package with services from Relaxation Station and merchandise from Southtown Health Foods; to a four-course private dinner prepared by Top Chef Joe Flamm including a table scape from Oak & Bloom and wait service by the Party Pros.  

The 12 Weeks of Christmas raffle packages promote inspired collaboration among businesses as business owners worked with Wiley and Viero to come up with a variety of ideas that will really appeal to area residents who are buying raffle tickets.  

“It was so much fun to meet with business owners and share our idea, then see the excitement build as the packages were developed,” Wiley said. “We think there will be a lot of demand for raffle tickets; $20 for a chance to win a $1,500 value is a great deal!”  

Other packages are built around golf at Beverly Country Club, unique dining experience at Horse Thief Hollow, Taste of Beverly treasure trove of gift certificates from  local restaurants, a room makeover led by RMH Interior Design, Vinyl Virtuoso featuring everything for the audiophile from Beverly Records and Bookies, Bike Beverly including a bike and accessories from Beverly Bike and Ski, Family in Focus – outfit the family at Belle Up and Sprout and Berry then pose for that family portrait you always wanted, have it framed at Heritage Gallery then get it printed on custom holiday cards from AlphaGraphics.  

Supporting Local Businesses 

“At a time when businesses have been so hard-hit by the pandemic, BAPA is investing $18,000 in our local economy and promoting the amazing goods and services available right here in our community,” Viero said.  

“The raffle tickets are affordable so people can really enjoy competing for the packages they would like to win.” Wiley said. People can buy as many tickets as they wish and try their luck for all 12 of the packages. 

BAPA hopes to raise enough money from the raffle to cover expenses; additional funds will go toward restoring the organization’s budget deficit created by loss of special event income due to the pandemic.  

Details and Tickets 

Look for BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle links in BAPA’s Facebook and Instagram posts, at bapa.org and via QR codes on posters and promotional materials distributed throughout the neighborhood.  

 

 

BAPA Update 

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New Neighbors Meet and Greet 

If you’re new to Beverly/Morgan Park and interested in learning more about the community and meeting other news neighbors in an outdoor, socially distant setting, you’re invited to BAPA’s new neighbor meet and greet on Fri., Aug. 14. Look for an invitation in the mail or contact BAPA, 773-233-3100 or bapa@bapa.org to share your information.  

 Reach Out and Help a School Family 

The 2020-21 school year is quickly approaching as schools consider a return to the classroom, hybrid options or remote learning. After all that we’ve been through as a community and the continued run of COVID-19, our school families need support, and with your help, BAPA would like to arrange it. If you are a retired educator who would like to contribute to our community by tutoring area students,  contact Tina Jenkins Bell, BAPA School Liaison, tbell@bapa.org. 

 

BAPA Porch Concerts Continue 

BAPA’s popular Friday Night Live series of live streamed porch concerts is continuing!  Neighbors who have a porch or yard large enough to accommodate the musicians and some socially distancing neighbors, and musicians interested in performing are invited to contact BAPA, bapa@bapa.org or 773-233-3100, for more information. Friday Night Live has been a real hit, with thousands of people viewing on Facebook. Concerts can still be accessed, in case you missed any of them!   

 

Take a Ride 

Enjoy one of the many splendid safe biking routes on BAPA’s new Bike Beverly online map. The routes offer several options that are family-friendly, avoid busy streets whenever possible, and feature stop signs and traffic lights. Find the maps at www.bapa.org.   

 

Take it Slow Out There 

It’s the summer of COVID and it seems like everyone is outside walking, running, skating and biking. For the safety of our neighbors, drivers need to slow down! BAPA’s Slow Down for our neighbors’ sake lawn signs are popping around the community, and now available to people who would like one for their yard or corner. Email bapa@bapa.org. A donation of $15 will help cover costs.  

 

Weeding Wednesdays 

BAPA and the 19th Ward are partnering neighborhood volunteers to beautify public areas throughout the community. Volunteers meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays. Bring gardening gloves. For locations, email BAPA Executive Director Mary Jo Viero, mjviero@bapa.org. 

 

Volunteer Opportunities for Teens 

Local teens interested in helping their neighbors and earning community service hours are welcome to join other teens already volunteering through BAPA’s Teen Service Corps. Contact Tina Bell tbell@bapa.org for meeting dates and more information.  

 

Get the Job Done 

BAPA’s expanded, updated and easier-to-use online BAPA Trades Referral List is now available at www.bapa.org. Look for the BAPA Verified badge for companies that are BAPA business members and have supplied current letters of recommendation from local customers. Is your business interested in getting on BAPA’s list? Contact BAPA Business Liaison Brittany Wiley, bwiley@bapa.org.   

  

Musicians Jazz Up Friday Night Porch Concert  

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By Kristin Boza 

Dakarai Barclay only moved to Beverly/Morgan Park a few months ago but the young musician already has many local fans.  

Barclay brought his musical talents to BAPA’s Friday Night Live Porch Concert series in July with his equally talented friends, performing together as the Dakarai Barclay Quartet. They were a big hit with the small, socially distant, audience that gathered in the large yard of the Longwood Drive home where they performed, as well as the large audience of neighbors who watched the live streamed concert on Facebook.  

A 2013 graduate of Whitney Young Magnet High School and a 2017 graduate from Morehouse College as a math major, Barclay’s jazz journey began in high school. He started playing the trumpet with classical instruction, and later joined the jazz ensembles Whitney Young offered.  

“I later participated in the After School Matters affiliate, Gallery 37, during my senior year under the direction of Jarrard Harris, and I continued to play in college,” Barclay said. “Most recently, I performed at the 2019 Chicago Jazz Festival and had an opportunity to play a trumpet previously owned by Miles Davis before it went to auction in October 2019.”  

The Chicago Jazz Festival designates a few spots in its lineup for up-and-coming musicians on the NextGen Stage. Barclay was noticed at the Jazz Fest by someone who was working on the Miles Davis trumpet auction, who asked Barclay to play the famed trumpet for a local press feature and live at a pre-auction dinner for prospective buyers.  

“The Miles Davis performance was so fun; as a trumpet player, I’ve always looked up to him as an innovator and as a musician,” Barclay said. “It was fun to step into his shoes for a night. Also, his trumpet was the best trumpet I’ve ever played on, so it was fun to window shop/test out a horn of that caliber.” For both the Jazz Fest and Miles Davis performances, Barclay played with 2014 Morgan Park High School (MPHS) alum and recent Roosevelt University graduate Nick Davis on bass. 

The Dakarai Barclay Quartet that played for the BAPA concert included Nick Davis on bass; MPHS alum and current University of Louisville sophomore, Frank Morrison, on drums; and Elio Wijiya, a DePaul University music student from Indonesia, on piano.  

“The Friday Night Live Porch Concert was the first time this group of friends played together — ever! I love what each member brings to the table and I plan to have a few more outdoor shows with them, either in Morgan Park or elsewhere in the city,” Barclay said. 

BAPA plans to host the quartet at a porch concert in August.  

Stay up to date on Barclay and the Dakarai Barclay Quartet by following him on Instagram @b_rcl_y, along with bandmates Elio Wijaya (@elioadrianow), Frank Morrison (@fmdrums), and Nick Davis (@nick_fmbs). 

Free Stores Assist Neighbors 

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Continuing to respond to the ever-changing economic and living situations influenced by the pandemic, the local Free Store last month added an emergency food option for area families. The all-volunteer group provides a Free Store for hygiene and first aid products at the Beverly Area Planning Association (BAPA) Community Room, 11109 S. Longwood Dr., and a Free Store for food items at Morgan Park Presbyterian Church, 110th Place at Longwood Drive. The stores operate Wednesdays, 5 to 7 p.m.  

Volunteers from Turpin Cares, BAPA and the 19th Ward Mutual Aid group staff the Free Stores. Donations are accepted and can be dropped off at the Free Store during open hours. 

Another Mutual Aid partnership which includes the Beverly Area Arts Alliance, Edna White Community Garden and Turpin Cares, has installed a Neighborhood Pantry Box the Edna White Garden at 111th and Esmond. The Pantry Box provides 24/7 access to items for people who need food assistance. Neighbors can donate shelf–stable, unopened and not expired, food at any time. For more information, contact turpincares@gmail.com.  

To learn more about 19th Ward Mutual Aid, follow them on Facebook contact them at info@19aid.com or 773-980-6043.