Lake County briefs
Masquerade gala benefits special needs:
Helping From Heaven, The Lexi Kazian Foundation, will hold its third annual Black & White Masquerade Gala at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 at the Northbrook Hilton/Allgauer's. Proceeds from the event will help children with special needs. The event includes a silent auction, live auction and a raffle. Visit www.helpingfromheaven.org to buy tickets or see auction items including a guitar autographed by U2's Bono and an autographed Mark Buehrle White Sox jersey.
Individual tickets to the gala are $125. Table sponsorships are $1,100 for 10 tickets. Call (847) 624-LEXI (5394) or visit the Web site for tickets. Helping From Heaven was founded by Vernon Hills residents Kris and Kristy Kazian in memory of their daughter, Alexis May Kazian, who was born in August 2002 with a severe brain injury and died in November 2004.
Des Plaines River clean up:
Volunteers will clear trash and debris from the banks of the northern section of the Des Plaines River on Sunday, Oct. 18. Anyone over the age of 12 is encouraged to join TrailKeepers, Lake County Forest Preserve stewards and Girl Scout Troop 1717 in the effort, which begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Wadsworth Road Canoe Launch near Wadsworth. Water TrailKeepers is a project of the Illinois Paddling Council, an umbrella organization of canoe and kayak clubs, retailers, outfitters and providers. They adopt a section of their local river and use ecologically sensitive methods to assist in keeping these waterways safe and enjoyable. Call (847) 367-6640 or visit www.LCFPD.org.
Home school open house:
Lake Villa District Library invites home school families to attend an informational meeting on library resources and services at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19. Included is a tour of the library, information on home school materials and on youth, young adult and adult library programs. A question-and-answer session will follow. This meeting will be most helpful to families new to home schooling and/or home-school families new to the area. Call (847) 356-7711 to register or register online at lvdl.org.