After 30 Years in Evanston, Vineyard Has a Permanent Home

Having met in seven different schools and borrowed churches since 1976, Vineyard Christian Church of Evanston finally has a home to call its own.

On Aug. 26,The Evanston Vineyard is hosting a neighborhood open house from 10-4 p.m. offering free hot dogs and tours of their new home at 2495 Howard St. During the open house, the church will also distribute 500 backpacks full of school supplies to local school children.

The grand opening of the building will take place during the Church's 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday-morning services on Sept.10. Mayor Lorraine Morton and former Mayor James Lytle will serve as guests of honor at the grand opening.

The Vineyard is one of Evanston's largest congregations, serving a large multi-ethnic population of hundreds of families, singles and students. The church provides free groceries to 75 needy families each Wednesday evening at its new Harvest Food Pantry. The church emphasizes contemporary worship, neighborhood small groups and practical, Bible-based teaching.

Since its founding 30 years ago, the Evanston Vineyard has established 17 other Vineyard churches around the U.S., including 10 in the Chicago area.

Pastors Steve Nicholson and William Hanawalt have led the church since its beginning. Pastor Nicholson said, "Our vision in the Evanston Vineyard is to build stronger families, to promote racial unity and to demonstrate God's love towards all our neighbors, especially the more marginalized members of our community."

Pastor Hanawalt said, "We are thrilled to finally have a permanent home as a base of our ministry to the people of Evanston, Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. It feels like we have finally crossed the Jordan River and are in the Promised Land."

The opening of the Howard Street house of worship follows a seven-year legal battle with the City of Evanston and a three-year, $2.3 million state-of-the-art remodel of the former headquarters of the Shure microphone company.

In the spring of 2003 Federal Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer ruled that the City of Evanston had violated the congregation's First Amendment Rights of Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Assembly by denying the congregation the right to worship in another building the church had purchased on Ridge Avenue near downtown Evanston.

The church then sold the Ridge building and purchased the 80,000-square-foot Shure building, located behind the Evanston Center, Evanston's most popular shopping center - home of Target, OfficeMax, Best Buy and Jewel.

Affordable Immigration Services Coming to Reba Place Church Sept. 1

By Victoria Scott

World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the 50-denomination National Association of Evangelicals, is extending its hand to Evanston. On Sept. 1 World Relief (WR) is opening an Immigration Services Office in the Ministry Center of Reba Place Church, 535 Custer Ave.

In collaboration with Reba Place Church and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and with the financial support of the Evanston Community Foundation, the office will provide affordable help for those dealing with family-based immigration and naturalization. (Family-based immigration issues differ from "employment-based" issues that arise in cases where an employer sponsors an immigrant employee).

Heading the World Relief office in Evanston will be Daniel Stutz. Mr. Stutz, who immigrated to the United States from Argentina in 2003, obtained his law degree in Germany and his law credentials in Argentina and is a recently naturalized U.S. citizen. He and his wife and three daughters moved to Evanston when his wife was hired to teach systematic theology at Garrett.

Like many immigrants, Mr. Stutz says he had to reinvent himself upon arriving in the United States. In his case, that meant becoming a different kind of lawyer by obtaining partial accreditation from the Board of Immigration Appeals as an immigration counselor. This accreditation gives him the authority to represent clients before the U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services Board of Immigration Appeals, though not in court.

At present Mr. Stutz heads the World Relief immigration services office in Wheaton, Ill. After Sept. 1 he will be in the four-person DuPage County office in Wheaton Monday through Wednesday. Thursdays and Fridays he will man the Evanston office.

The expansion to Evanston will bring the number of World Relief immigration offices in Illinois to five, including those in Aurora, Moline, and Chicago. A needs assessment by WR determined that, according to the 2000 census, 11,448 Evanstonians are foreign-born - 15.4 percent of Evanston's population. They include Hispanics (the Latino population in Evanston has doubled every ten years since the 1970s, says Mr. Stutz) and Caribbean people as well as Asians.

The nearly 4,500 Evanstonians who are naturalized U.S. citizens tend to need help with document translation and petitions for fiancés, spouses, parents or children under 21 to obtain visas, says Mr. Stutz.

The 7,000 or so who reside here legally but are not U.S. citizens need legal counsel as they negotiate the steps to becoming permanent legal residents, a process called "adjustment of status."

Lacking the financial resources to hire competent legal help, many immigrants fall prey to illegitimate "immigration counselors," says Mr. Stutz. Others apply for help through immigration legal services providers in Chicago. But the Chicago providers, he says, can be both overtaxed and difficult to reach by public transport. Mr. Stutz says both the executive director and the immigration attorney at the closest provider, Centro Romero, expressed support for the WR project in Evanston.

Reba Place Church is providing two offices rent-free to the WR project. Garrett will supply students under both the federal work-study and their own field education programs to assist with clerical help, translation, and, after training, with immigration counseling. World Relief DuPage also partners, as will WR Evanston, with the Immigration and Asylum Law Clinic of the DePaul University College of Law. The clinic provides assistance in complex cases requiring extensive research and analysis.

In the beginning Mr. Stutz will divide his time. Pending the receipt of grants, he hopes to be open in Evanston full-time in the future. That would allow for expanding the client base and launching education programs in basic immigration law for those who work with immigrants - educators, social workers, City officials, and religious students and professionals. No proselytizing is involved in WR immigration services, despite the religious nature of the organization, says Mr. Stutz.

World Relief, he says, is advocating for immigration reform. When reform comes, the organization expects to be overwhelmed with requests for assistance. They view the Evanston program as a pilot for future expansion.

Clinic services are not free but are affordable compared with the fees of most attorneys, says Mr. Stutz. Appointments are necessary; the first is already on the books for Sept. 1. For the time being, appointments can be made through the DuPage office, 1-630-462-7566 ext. 60. Though the Reba Place offices are already equipped with computers, Mr. Stutz is awaiting his phone system and hoping for donations of office furniture.

"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan"

"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is a beautiful historical novel by Lisa See. In Hunan Province in 1823, women led very sheltered and restricted lives.

A Book Review By Sue Brooke

Upper-class girls could play outside only until the age of 6, when the process of binding their feet began. After that, and for the rest of their lives, they were mostly confined to the upper chambers of the house, where they sewed and sang together.

Lily lives on a farm that is prosperous enough that the women do not have to work in the fields. However, she knows, as do all the women, that female children are worthless - just more mouths to feed until they are married off. Even during the excruciatingly painful foot-binding process her mother scolded her: "A true lady lets no ugliness into her life. Only through pain will you have beauty. Only through suffering will you find peace."

Mothers tended not to get too close to their daughters, knowing their daughters would move away when they married. Girls were taught to embody the Confucian ideal of a woman: "When a girl, obey your father; when a wife obey your husband; when a widow, obey your son."

Within the feminine world itself there was a hierarchy of power. Young girls obeyed their mothers; wives obeyed their mothers-in-law. Only as a grandmother did a woman have any power over the household.

As a child, Lily is also taught the secret written language of women, "Nu Shu." Over the years, women had created their own, softer, Chinese characters that they embroidered into their clothing. Since it was a phonetic language, it was harder for outsiders to interpret.

Lacking another means of expression, the women had learned to write letters to each other in this language, which was unknown to the men.

When the matchmaker arranges for Lily to have a laotong, a lifelong female friend, everyone in the family is excited.

Usually girls have sworn sisters who help them prepare for social celebrations like funerals and weddings, but they lose these friends when they marry out to other villages; only a laotong is a friend for life. The matchmaker only selects girls of unusual qualities for such relationships.

Lily and her laotong, Snow Flower, enter this contract when they are 8, then write their stories on a delicate fan they pass back and forth over the years.

Snow Flower comes from a wealthier family than Lily; through their connection Lily will have a better chance of marrying well. Snow Flower's stitching is fine and her manners impeccable, while Lily has the better knowledge of cooking and cleaning.

With the help of Lily's mother and aunts, Snow Flower and Lily perfect written the language of Nü Shu. When Snow Flower comes to visit Lily, the women chant songs while they work. At Snow Flower's house, the women are silent.

Though their lives take different directions and they are forbidden at times to correspond, Snow Flower and Lily always find a way to get a message to each other.Both women benefit from their deep relationship. "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is a universal story of female friendship and of the need of women to have women as friends.

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby"

Ricky Bobby is a great comedic name So are Ron Burgundy, Chazz Reinhold, Mugatu, Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly, and for some reason, Frank Ricard. Will Ferrell has made a career out of playing goofballs with appropriately funny monikers. His "Talladega Nights" incarnation, Ricky Bobby, is a Southern boy from a broken home looking to go fast like his race-car-driving, deadbeat dad.

A Film Review By Brian Murphy

Mr. Ferrell, a gifted improv actor/comedian, endows Ricky Bobby with the traits he gave Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman." He is a dim-witted, self-important celebrity who loses everything and must work to regain both his job and his identity. While Burgundy and Bobby are in other ways two very different characters, their journey is the same. Both "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights" were co-written by Mr. Ferrell and Adam McKay, with Mr. McKay directing both; the overlapping plot of Ricky Bobby often falls victim to cliché and moments of utter stupidity.

That said, the rest of the film is absolutely hysterical. Fans of Mr. Ferrell will be more than satisfied, and the film excels due to winning comic bits and the improvisation skills of Ferrell and talented co-star John C. Reilly. In fact, successful actor Sacha Cohen, whose guerilla tactics and invented characters have made his "Da Ali G Show" an HBO hit, often seems out of his league as Bobby's French race-car-driving nemesis.

The film is not biting enough to be a NASCAR satire, but the sport, its participants, owners and fans are playfully parodied. Bobby and childhood pal Cal Naughton Jr. (Mr. Reilly) are good-natured Southern boys seeking to fulfill their lifelong dream - to become NASCAR drivers - breaking into the ranks by working in a pit crew. When a driver quits during a race, Bobby takes the wheel, and a star is born.

Cal becomes Bobby's teammate, and fame and fortune soon follow. The script abandons Bobby's rise to success, choosing instead to gloss over his marriage to bombshell Carley (Leslie Bibb), the inexplicable arrival of two pre-adolescent boys over the course of one NASCAR season, and his inevitable personality change.

Bobby accelerates from innocence to arrogance in 60 seconds of screen time. The film focuses on Bobby's fall, from the destruction of his career by Frenchman Jean Girard (Mr. Cohen) to the appropriation of his gold-digging wife by Cal.

Bobby is reunited with his absent father, Reese (Gary Cole of "Office Space"). Instead of descending to cheesy father-son talks and actual drama, "Talladega Nights" pushes the envelope, with a drunken Reese trying to steer his son back to NASCAR and help him overcome his fear through such awful advice as learning to drive with a cougar riding shotgun.

Mr. Ferrell and Mr. Reilly imbue their characters with apt naiveté, never allowing the audience to hold them in disdain, despite their egocentrism and childish behavior. That, and Mr. Ferrell's gift of mining comic gold from inane ideas - such as not knowing what to do with one's hands during a television interview - makes "Talladega Nights" the lowbrow, funny film it was intended to be.

Mr. McKay's shots of the racing scenes are surprisingly fluid, emphasizing the film's "Days of Thunder" send-ups. Racing fans should appreciate the action.

1 hr. 45 min. Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language, drug references and brief comic violence.

"Snakes On A Plane"

The movie equivalent of a lawn ornament, "Snakes on a Plane" is as tacky as it gets. But with months of internet hype and the studio's refusal to pre-screen it for critics, "S.o.a.P." has generated a buzz among moviegoers who want to know if it is so awful that, like the wings on a plastic swan planter, it actually spins back around to entertainment again.

A Film Review ByJoe Linstroth

The snakes and Samuel L. Jackson are on the plane because an amateur surfer (Sean Jones) witnessed a murder committed by a very dangerous Hawaiian gangster. In order to keep the surfer from testifying at his trial in Los Angeles, the gangster has filled the cargo hold of a 747 with hundreds of poisonous snakes generated by computer and riled them up with pheromones.

Before the "snakes on crack" are released, the movie reminds us to drink our Red Bull three times, and then the plane is loaded with archetypes to terrorize. There are the flight attendant on her last flight (Julianna Margulies), the new mother and her helpless baby, the newlyweds, the fat lady, the Mile High Club wannabes, the snooty Englishman, the rich girl and her purse dog, the crass pilot, and the R&B star with his posse.

Modeled after the disaster movies of the seventies, as well as the "Airplane!" spoofs of the eighties, the obvious references provide some chuckles early. And when the snakes are finally released, the campy gore that ensues is also entertaining at first. Fangs clamp down on breasts, crotches and eyeballs as they pop out of oxygen masks, vomit bags and toilets.

But once the wall of carry-on luggage is erected, the snakes and the movie have nowhere else to go. If the point is to be horribly bad, then "Snakes on a Plane" does not go far enough. The plot is full of holes so big that director David R. Ellis could park the plane in them, and the characters are so bland and wooden that they all deserve to die. To spin past these two ingredients of a terrible movie, back around to good again, there has to be some memorable laughs. Yet the jokes are too lame and too far between to provide any consistent entertainment, and all we are left with is a predictable story that takes forever to land.

1hr. 45min. Rated R for nudity, language, and violence.

EYE ON EVANSTON

At 510 Sheridan Road, the intersection of Sheridan and South Boulevard, a new apartment building is proposed to replace the long outdated gray-blue structure.

The replacement was presented at a recent meeting of Design Evanston, an organization of design professionals, in the hope that our approval will carry some weight when the project is presented to the Plan Commission or City Council.

After Design Evanston's rejection of several proposed buildings, it was refreshing to review one so sensitively designed. It received uncharacteristically unanimous approval.

The proposed condo building is designed by Chris Manfre of the Proteus Group, with Greg Gouwens assisting, for the developer of a number of reputable condo conversions in Evanston.

These talented architects created a thoroughly modern design that fits well into its traditional surroundings. Far from being stark, it is strongly sculptured, colorful and cheerful. Its east end is four stories high to match the height of its neighbor, a suggestion for which Alderman Wynne should be commended. From there, the building steps up to seven stories. At the west end it dips down a floor to echo the steps at the east end, a suggestion made by Design Evanston and welcomed by the architects.

The plan is highly articulated, with a series of ins and outs creating semi-recessed balconies that provide a sense of privacy. The colorful façade combines gray masonry with warmly stained cedar siding and colored enamel panels accented by white painted slab edges. Parking is located behind the building and in the enclosed ground floor. This enclosure is still under study by the designers to make it appear lighter and more translucent.

I hope all the city forums approve the building to prove I am right in believing that developers who hire good architects will be rewarded by easier, thus faster, approval. Considering the vicissitudes of the market and the fluctuations in financing, speed is essential for any developer.

Simply stated, it pays to hire a good architect. Unfortunately developers do not always do that. The architect's fee - though an infinitesimal part of the total project cost - is often the deciding factor.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) could publish a list of award-winning architects with housing backgrounds, but it has been warned it could be held "in restraint of trade" by the government.

So how does the developer who cares about good design but is not sure about his/her own taste select an architect? Here are some suggestions. Hire an architect whose design abilities are recognized by his/her peers. Look for guidance in architectural magazines such as Progressive Architecture. Observe the awards given annually by the AIA or by Design Evanston. Read architecture critics like Paul Goldberger in the New Yorker or Blair Kamin in the Chicago Tribune.

Kid-Friendly Brown Bag

Five-Food-Group Lunches for Back-to-School

By Claire Bryant

Remember learning in school about how to eat healthy? With all the low-carb, low-fat, low-calorie diets, the food pyramid that was once ingrained in young minds now seems as ancient as the pyramids in Egypt. However, the food pyramid is still an essential tool in ensuring kids get the proper nutrition and fuel for energy to survive an activity-filled day.

The ever-changing pyramid currently consists of five food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat and beans (this group includes proteins such as nuts, peas and seeds). Servings from each food group compose an 1,800-calorie-per-day diet for children. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service pyramid, a child's diet should include 6 ounces of grains (half should be whole grain) daily, 2½ cups of veggies, 1½ cups of fruit, 2-3 cups of milk or dairy products and 5 ounces of meat, beans or other protein. Although oils are not a food group the USDA suggests a small serving for good health. These oils can be found in fish and nuts and in liquid oils such as corn, soybean and canola.

With school back in session, lunch time is a good time to get kids the foods they need from each food group, but most importantly will give them nutritious foods they will eat. Here are some kid-friendly brown-bag lunches, pyramid-style.

For most picky eaters, rely on the good old peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. This time however, try something a little different to get in an extra serving of fruit. Peanut butter is a good protein base, so add sliced apples, bananas or 100-percent-fruit jams to whole wheat bread to cut back on the sugars that both jellies and white breads contain.

To make this a well-balanced brown bag, spread 1-inch celery sticks with cream cheese for a serving of both vegetables and dairy. Cutting them into bite-sized pieces takes the work out of biting the tough-to-eat celery and makes them more accessible for the child. Keep the celery sticks cold and crisp by freezing a 100-percent-juice juice box and placing it at the bottom of the bag. Wrap the box in either foil or a plastic bag so the bag does not dampen and tear as the juice melts and causes condensation.

Another lunch-box favorite is the deli-meat sandwich. When paired with two slices of whole grain bread, cheese and veggies, it constitutes servings from four of the five food groups. Some vegetables may have kids tossing sandwiches straight into the rejected-lunch bin, also known as the cafeteria trash can.

To get in a serving of vegetables without sacrificing a sandwich, slice a cucumber and spread the top of each slice with hummus or a flavored cream cheese. Top off the slices with more cucumber (or other sliced raw veggie) to make delicious cucumber snacks. Pack a favorite fruit, as well, for a five-food-group lunch.

Meats in general may not appeal to some children. The most important thing in a vegetarian brown-bag lunch is protein. If peanut butter and jelly has the kids groaning, spread hummus on a vegetable sandwich to add a serving of proteins and veggies. To make a veggie sandwich more interesting, add different-colored vegetables, such as tomatoes; green, yellow and red peppers; avocadoes or other favorites. This also makes a great lunch for those with peanut allergies.

Do not forget to use a whole wheat or whole grain bread and to add a couple of slices of cheese for a serving of calcium. Fruit, as well as being nutritious, can also be fun. Core an apple and fill the hole with a mix of peanut butter and raisins for an extra serving of protein and fruit, or with peanut butter and chocolate chips for a tasty dessert.

Throw away the pre-packaged cookies and chips and the "this-contains-10-percent juice" juices and trade them in for a healthy food-pyramid lunch that kids will not only eat but enjoy.

Source for information and graphic:
USDA Food and Nutrition Service Website www.mypyramid.gov

Summer '06

By Jesse Chatz

Have you ever heard of the saying "time flies when you're having fun"? This summer is a perfect example of that expression. Each day seems like it is getting shorter and shorter until the first day of school.L

Each morning as I wake up between 9 and 10 a.m., I feel grateful because I know I'm lucky to have such a great summer vacation.

Although I hate the thought of going back to school I think of all the fun I had during the summer.

This has been a great summer vacation for me. To start it off I went to my favorite camp, called Good Sports, for three weeks. Then after that I went to Freemont, Mich., for my Camp Echo trip.

When I got on the bus at the YMCA I thought camp would be the best experience ever. But as we drove into the Camp Echo property I felt very homesick and I WANTED to go home. Being away from home was a new experience for me, and I was very nervous about it.

The first couple of days I was very homesick and I really wanted to go home. But as the days passed I had more and more fun. I made a bunch of new friends and learned lots of new things. When the last morning bell rang I felt very sad, because I knew I had to go back to Evanston. I DID NOT want to go home; now I wanted to stay even longer. Overnight camp was a very good experience for me, and I think it made me a lot more independent.

Now, for the rest of the summer I am relaxing and having fun with my friends and family. The fun places for my friends and me to go are downtown Evanston, parks or each other's houses to hang around.

As I write this article I think about sitting in a hot classroom listening to teachers lecturing us and wishing I was back at camp or wishing I was still sleeping. I'm sure teachers are wishing that they weren't in that hot classroom, too.

Most of my friends don't like school but the one thing they do like is being able to see their friends again.

When school starts I think of one thing.... That one thing is winter. I don't like the cold and snowy weather so that is why I cherish every day of the summer.

For some advice to my fellow kids who don't like school, start counting the days until winter break. Then spring break, and finally you get to be home free.

As I sit at my computer desk and look out the window I notice how sunny and warm it is and think about how much fun I have had all summer and dread the thought of going back to school.

Arts Camp Gets a Visit From a Different Round Table

King Arthur, Queen Guinevere and Lancelot visited with Arts Camp of the City's Cultural Arts Division campers last Thursday at Tallmadge Park. The visitors, campers and counselors were dressed in Medieval costumes and participated in several activities with the King and Queen.

Each age group presented a gift to the royalty and watched the knights joust on their horses.

Evanston's Newest Cop.

Jack, a three-year-old German shepherd, has just returned from five weeks of training in Kansas.
Jack and his handler, Officer Ted Schienbein, are ready to patrol Evanston's neighborhoods.

Officer Schienbein says Jack has basically grown upto be a police dog. The trainingreally prepared Office Schienbein to be Jack's handler and gave thenew partners time to bond.

Evanston's canine program was restarted after an anonymous donor pledged $60,000 to acquire and help maintain a police dog.

Not-for-Profit Day at Farmers Market Is Sept. 16

The Farmers Market will feature its Not-For-Profit Day from 8 a.m. till noon on Sept. 16. Evanston-based not-for-profit organizations will be on hand to describe the services they provide to the community.
Call 847-866-2936 for information. The Market is located at the intersection of University Place and Oak Avenue.

Citizen Police Academy to Begin Aug. 31

The next Citizen Police Academy begins Aug. 31. The 12-week course will take participants through the critical elements of police work in Evanston.

Classes meet 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays at the Evanston Fire and Life Safety Services Administration Building, 909 Lake St. To sign up or for more information about the program, call the Police Department Community Strategies Bureau at 847-866-5019.

CommUNITY Picnic Is Aug. 27

The last Sunday in August is the date of the annual CommUNITY picnic, to be held noon-5 p.m. in Ingraham Park behind the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave. Everything is free: picnic foods, cotton candy, popcorn and ice cream; games, such as the dunk tank, cake walk and family bingo, with lots of prizes; and reality experiences in the Fire Department's Safety House. Call the Department of Human Relations, 847-866-2920.

Stop, Hey, What's That Siren?

If it is not 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday of the month when the Evanston sirens sound, residents should take cover. The City's outdoor warning sirens will sound if there is a confirmed sighting of a tornado within 10 miles of Evanston or an imminent threat.

The sirens are a warning for anyone outside to take cover or seek shelter in a sturdy building or the lowest point in their home or business. Do not call 9-1-1 when the sirens sound. Turn on the TV or radio for the latest information.

The City will not issue an "all clear" siren or tone. Information will be broadcast on the radio.

The sirens may not sound when a tornado hits. Tornados can materialize during conditions marked by thunderstorm warnings. Use good judgment on when to seek shelter during severe weather conditions.

Political Forum at Second Baptist on Sept. 2

On Sept. 2 from 8:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. the Evanston North Shore Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Sorority and Second Baptist Church will sponosor a political forum at Second Baptist Church of Evanston, 1717 Benson Ave.

Invited candidates include the following:
- For Governor: Rod Blagojevich and Judy Topinka
- For Lt. Governor: Pat Quinn and Joe Birkett
- For Attorney General: Lisa Madigan and Stewart Umholtz
- For Secretary of State: Jessie White and Dan Rutherford
- For State Comptroller: Dan Hynes and Carole Pankau
- For State Treasurer: Alex Giannoulias and Christine Radogno
- For U.S. Congressional Representative-District 9: Jan Schakowsky
and Michael Shannon
- For Cook County Board President: Todd Stroger and Tony Peraica
- For 9th State Congressional District: Jeff Schoenberg and William Lucksha
- For 13th Cook County Commissioner: Larry Suffredin and Patrick Kansoer

Evanstonians Welcome Visitors from Belize City.

Pictured left to right, standing, are Mr. Usher, Sharita Alexander (former Miss Evanston-Belize) and Captain Sam Hunter, Division Chief of Training; sitting: Lionel Bian Pitt, Flora Chestnut and Yvonne Neal. Mr. Pitt was head of security for Ms. Esquivel's father when he was prime minister of Belize.

On the eve of the Belize-Sister-City Day in the Park, Wayne Usher, the deputy mayor of Belize City, and Councillor Laura Esquivel brought greetings from Evanston's sister city.

The charm and gentle wit of the Belizean people were apparent throughout the ceremony.

"I can tell you the warmth of the reception here is second only to the welcome that Belizeans give their guests," said Mr. Usher at a reception in the Parasol Room of the Civic Center.

Vallen Whittaker, as emcee, seemed to embody the cultural bridge between Evanston and Belize, as the evening flowed from one juncture to the next: from the singing of the national anthems of the United States and of Belize to honoring dignitaries and Sister-City Committee members to poetry, dance and song.

The idea of Evanston's becoming a sister city to Belize City originated with the Lighthouse Rotary Club, said Mayor Lorraine Morton. "Since then," she said, "they gave Fire Captain Samuel Hunter the ball and he has carried the ball ever since."

She said she was "very proud of the Belizeans who live in Evanston - what they have done for Belize.... And everyone should go to Belize, if for nothing else than the grouper. It's the best fish you find anywhere."

Deputy Mayor Wayne Usher and Laura Esquire of Belize City bring welcome to Evanston to celebrate Belize-Sister- City Day.