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Thursday, November 14, 2024

June Editor’s Notes

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“June is bustin’ out all over,” as the 1945 Broadway song from “Carousel” proclaims.

To a tune by composer Richard Rogers, lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II wrote, “…June’s coming, by gum. We can feel it come. You can feel it in your heart. You can see it in the ground. You can see it in the trees. You can smell it in the breeze. Look around! Look around! Look around!”

Who’d have thought 79 years later the lyrics would resonate appropriately amid the modulation of shrill whining that arrived with the broods of cicadas in late May? Scientists say the presence of cicadas is expected to last four to six weeks. They’re harmless to humans. They’re touted as “tasty” when deep fried. One friend reported her dog enjoys eating them “like crackers.” Reports say this once-in-17-years natural phenomenon likely will be over by the end of June.

And now we’re wondering whatever happened to June bugs? Remember those rusty-brown colored creepy crawlers attracted to lights at night?

When responding to my cousin in Michigan about attending the Mitchell Family Reunion in Indiana later this summer, I included a photo of cicadas hanging out on a plant near our back deck. Nancy replied, “Sorry to hear about the cicadas! Want to trade cicadas for gypsy moth caterpillars (spongy moth caterpillars)?”

While we’re on the subject of what bugs us, we thought of stinging pests—wasps, bees, hornets and yellow jackets. Then there are summer pests such as house flies, ants, crickets, grasshoppers and mosquitos.

And while dodging cicadas, who wants to encounter centipedes and millipedes or spiders?

BEE-Lieve Us!

For the fun and fantasy of what we’re itching to experience this summer, local artists again have applied colorful brush strokes to fiberglass figures to create an attractive buzz for downtown Naperville.

No doubt the sidewalks will be crawling with visitors eager to discover the delightful display of 18 different sculptures shaped as honeybees, caterpillars, ladybugs or snails.

This honeybee-shaped sculpture aims to attract folks to find out more about Turning Pointe Autism Foundation, its programs, school and other services. Find the work of art located in front of Hugo’s Frog Bar along Van Buren Avenue. (PN Photo, June 3, 2024)

Running from the beginning of June until after Labor Day, find these colorful oversized insect and snail sculptures on street corners, east side, west side, and all around downtown.

A new day is coming

Considering streetscape changes and Washington Street Bridge reconstruction that encourage folks to find alternate routes to the heart of downtown, I flashed back to a Mama Cass song from my college days and started singing as I trekked along Jackson Avenue, “There’s a new day coming and it’s just around the bend. There’s a new day coming, this one’s coming to an end…”

Then, just like that, I lost track of the lyrics and sang “dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah…” in tune to finish the verse.

Unable to get the tune out of my mind, back home, I searched online for “lyrics to There’s a New Day Coming by Mama Cass,” only to find words popped up for “There’s a New World Coming…This one’s coming to an end.”

Oh, my gosh! The song written in 1969 painted a dreary picture of the future and my mistakenly using “day” for “world” gave the once-familiar song a whole new meaning.
So let me make my own kind of music while presenting the song the way it’s more upbeat.

There’s a new day coming
And it’s just around the bend
There’s a new day coming
This one’s coming to an end

There’s a new voice calling
You can hear it if you try
And it’s growing stronger
With each day that passes by

There’s a brand new morning
Rising clear and sweet and free
There’s a new day dawning
That belongs to you and me

Yes a new day’s coming
The one we’ve had visions of
Coming in peace, coming in joy
Coming in love

(Repeat last verse with gusto!)

All that said, or sung, much is planned this summer that could use your attention and support, whether it bugs you or not. We welcome readers to find more things to do, thoughts and news scoops daily at www.positivelynaperville.com.

For now, we aim to present a lighthearted preview with sing-a-long music and outdoor concerts on our minds. Why? Because it’s June! June—June—June—Jest because it’s June—June—June!

– Stephanie Penick
PN Publisher

One more thing… The Naperville Municipal Band Summer Concert Series begins at 7:30PM Thurs., June 6, in Central Park.  Photos from the NMB Spring Concert at Neuqua Valley High School and other notes about the upcoming season are featured here.

The big stage door on the Naperville Community Concert Center in Central Park depicts “The Great Concerto,” a Century Walk mural that tells the story of the Naperville Municipal Band that dates back to 1859. 

When the big stage door goes up from June 6 through August 15, the Naperville Municipal Band will perform its annual summer concert series. Concerts are free of charge. Everybody’s welcome. Stay tuned!

One exception to Thursday evening is that the annual NMB Patriotic Concert to celebrate Independence Day, complete with the 1812 Overture accompanied by cannons and Civil War reenactors, will be held at 7:30PM on Wed., July 3. Remember, it’s a blast!

Photos of the Naperville Community Concert Center are from Memorial Day 2024.

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PN Editor
PN Editor
An editor is someone who prepares content for publishing. It entered English, the American Language, via French. Its modern sense for newspapers has been around since about 1800.
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