The 71st Annual La Grange Pet Parade, sponsored by La Grange-based Pet Parade Charities, will be held from 9:30-11 a.m. June 3.

Cook County

Trio of East Leyden grads earn Chamber scholarships

Chamber By O’Hare (Franklin Park/Schiller Park/River Grove) recently awarded three $1,500 scholarships for the 2017-18 school year to a trio of Class of 2017 graduates at East Leyden High School. The recipients are River Grove resident Artur Bak, who plans to major in computer science and cyber security, likely at DePaul University; Schiller Park resident Homero Vazquez, who plans to major in electrical engineering at a college yet to be decided; and Franklin Park resident Joseph Adolfson, who was awarded a Triton College Special Technology Scholarship and plans to major in mechanical engineering. Each recipient was chosen based on outstanding academic, extracurricular and leadership accomplishments.

Deerfield

Annual Festival of Fine Arts on tap

The 14th annual Deerfield Festival of Fine Arts will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 3 and 4 on Park Avenue, north of Deerfield Road and west of Waukegan Road. The event will feature more than 120 juried artists representing media such as painting, wood, photography, jewelry, fiber, sculpture, ceramics and mixed media. This year’s list of featured artists includes Chip Cox, a computer sketch artist based in Libertyville. The festival also includes live performances from Chicago-area musicians Aryk Crowder, Sonic Soul, Patchouli and Grammy Award-nominated Kevin Lucas, as well as kid-friendly activities and a variety of international food and beverage selections. Admission (and parking) is free. For more information, call (847) 726-8669 or visit www.dwevents.org.

Buffalo Grove

Village ranked as top place to live by Niche.com

The village reported that Niche.com recently ranked Buffalo Grove as the best place to live in the state of Illinois and as the seventh-best place to live in the nation. Niche.com, a national neighborhood website, publishes yearly rankings by assessing a variety of factors, including housing trends, quality of schools, crime rates, cost of living, access to amenities, employment statistics and overall quality of life. Data is collected from a range of sources, including the United States Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among others. The latest Niche.com rankings resulted from the assessment of 15,783 communities across the United States. For more information, call (847) 459-2500 or visit www.vbg.org.

South Barrington

Arboretum offers first mall-wide rewards program

The Arboretum of South Barrington, 100 W. Higgins Road, a mall featuring a variety of restaurants, stores and theaters, is currently offering, “Oh, So Simple Rewards,” its first mall-wide shopping rewards program. Every time a shopper at the mall reaches $250 in purchases — whether for one purchase or several together — they will receive reward alerts from their “Oh, So Simple Rewards” account. Rewards can then be redeemed at any of the mall’s restaurants,, stores and theaters. Accounts can be created in person at mall kiosks or online at www.ShopTheArb.com/Rewards. Shoppers can link up to 15 Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit or debit card accounts and log in to review transactions and check reward balances. Program members also will receive emails with exclusive retailer and restaurant offers that work with their credit and debit cards. The Arboretum of South Barrington is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. Restaurant and theater hours may vary. For more information, call (847) 426-6200 or visit www.shopthearb.com.

Schaumburg

Host of students earn Youth Orchestra scholarships

The village awarded Schaumburg Youth Orchestra scholarships — valued at nearly $2,500 — to 16 students for their outstanding contributions during the 2016-17 season. Recipients were selected from the program’s four performing ensembles. In addition to the village-sponsored scholarships, three graduating high school seniors each received a special scholarship worth $500. Flutist Bethany Sorman received the Kelleher-Lawless Scholarship (sponsored by Schaumburg Village Trustee George Dunham); bassoonist Emma Simon received the Leo Chan Alumni Award (sponsored by former Schaumburg Youth Orchestra member Leo Chan); and violinist Allen Lin received the Ruth Park Senior Music Scholarship (sponsored by the Prairie Center for the Arts Foundation). Recipients received their scholarships May 9 at the Village Board meeting.

Niles

New program features reduced energy supply rate

The village announced that it will begin a new electrical aggregation program with Eligo Energy, effective June 1. The agreement provides a fixed energy supply rate of 6.89 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for 15 months, compared to an expected average ComEd rate of 7.14 cents per kWh. While all residents will continue to have their power delivered and billed by ComEd, the “electric supply” portion of the bill will reflect the Eligo Energy name and price. Residents who currently have energy supplied by ComEd or IDT will automatically be switched over to Eligo Energy. Residents who did not opt-out of the new agreement by the May 26 deadline will have the ability to opt-out at a later date and return to ComEd’s energy supply rate. For more information, call Eligo Energy at (888) 744-8125 or visit www.eligoenergy.com/cities/il/nilesvillage.

La Grange

Annual Pet Parade to aid local charity group

The 71st Annual La Grange Pet Parade, sponsored by La Grange-based Pet Parade Charities, will be held from 9:30-11 a.m. June 3, kicking off at Cossitt Avenue and La Grange Road. The parade will include children showcasing their pets, as well as marching bands, floats and various entertainment groups. Pet Parade Charities (formerly Pets & Pals Charities) is dedicated to promoting and supporting the health and care of animals in metropolitan Chicago. The organization accomplishes its mission through sponsorship of the historic La Grange Pet Parade and by promoting responsible pet ownership through grants given to like-minded not-for-profit groups. For more information, contact Parade Coordinator Molly Price at (708) 821-2141 or via email at molly@lagrangepetparade.org — or visit www.lagrangepetparade.org.   

–Cook County News Briefs–