All Entries Tagged With: "recreational NoCo"
St. Ann celebrates 50 years of soccer & community
Over the years, thousands of area kids have played in the Monsignor Sprenke Soccer Tournament in Normandy. Here's the 1962-63 CYC champion team from the late St. Thomas More parish in Bel-Ridge. Photo credit: Brian Clarke
In 1962, the Men’s Club at St. Ann Catholic Church in Normandy hosted a small soccer tournament for local youth, never imagining that it would become a St. Louis institution. But here we are 50 years and hundreds of teams later and the Monsignor Fred Sprenke Soccer Tournament is now the oldest continuously run parish tournament in the entire metro area.
My husband grew up playing in “the Sprenke” with his team from St. Thomas More, and if the stars align and he drinks enough beer, he just might play in the men’s “alumni” game scheduled for tomorrow night. (The ladies play on Saturday.) But even if he decides not to risk life and limb – fingers crossed – we will be heading to St. Ann.
For one, there’s live music. Lots of it. Over the next three weekends, St. Ann will host an eclectic lineup of twelve bands, ranging from blues, reggae, folk, jazz, even Grateful Dead covers. Brian Clarke, whose upbeat guitar and great voice always draw a big crowd at the Ferguson Farmers Market, is also on the schedule….tomorrow night, probably around 8-9pm. (That’s him in the photo above, far left in the first row. Aww.)
The second reason I’m heading to the Sprenke tournament is because St. Ann Church was founded in 1855, making it one of the oldest parishes in St. Louis. And despite the countless naysayers who say that Normandy is dying, that it’s not safe and we should just forget about it, I’m here to tell you there are some very dedicated and talented people fighting for St. Ann’s continued viability. And if I can do nothing else to support them and their Normandy community, I can certainly spend a few bucks at their biggest annual event.
All proceeds go straight toward the St. Ann athletic program. Some money is also set aside for a high school scholarship. So…what do you say? Are you ready for the Sprenke?
You can see the live music schedule below. For bands playing in the Parish Center, showtime is 10:30pm to 1am. For outdoor performers, times vary. All shows are free.
For more information on the 50th annual Sprenke Soccer Tournament, check out the Sprenkefest Facebook page. St. Ann Catholic Church is located at 7530 Natural Bridge Road, 63121.
Ferguson woman finds her calling teaching yoga
Yoga instructor Julia Zboray will soon teach small-group classes at Ferguson's Emporium Salon, welcoming students of all ages, sizes and fitness levels.
For 31 years, Julia Zboray worked in one of the most stressful fields imaginable: customer service. A manager for Schnucks Markets, she logged many long hours and dealt with a never-ending stream of customer questions and complaints, but she always knew….or at least she hoped….that something much more fulfilling was headed her way.
In 2003, inspired by a longtime interest in fitness and spirituality, Julia took her very first yoga class. And before long, recognizing something special in her, her instructor urged her to not only continue her yoga education but also to become a yoga teacher.
“She just kept putting the bug in my ear….you need to be a teacher, you need to be a teacher,” Julia says. “I was going through some tough times then, with family issues and other things, but eventually I started listening to her and realizing that maybe I could be a teacher. Now when I look back, I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done without yoga in my life. It really helped me through a difficult period and opened me up in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”
Today, at age 58, Julia is a fully certified yoga instructor and has successfully launched a second career. Teaching classes for UMSL, Ferguson Parks & Recreation, and Hidden Lake retirement community in Spanish Lake (where her mother lives), she feels that she was given a gift with yoga and now she wants to share it with others.
“I’ve always loved fitness….aerobics, walking….I was also really into weight training for a while. But over time I always got burned out,” she says. “With yoga, I’ve had the exact opposite experience. The more I do it, the more I want to keep doing it because it just makes me feel so good! It brings you peace and relaxation, makes you stronger and more flexible, and even exercises your heart and lungs. Plus, anyone can do it!”
And she does mean anyone.
At Hidden Lake, most of Julia’s students are in their 80s and 90s. They perform modified yoga poses while sitting in chairs, but even that has brought measurable results. In her Ferguson and UMSL classes, Julia also caters to students of varying ages and fitness levels, gently encouraging them to do only what feels right for them.
I should know. I’m one of her….shall we say….less flexible students.
For the past 12 years, Julia has been my neighbor in Old Ferguson West, and for at least five years, this absolutely luminous and gentle soul tried repeatedly to get me to take her class. Partly because she knew I needed it (as an out-of-shape writer), and partly because there is no subject she loves more than yoga. It is truly her passion.
A mother and grandmother who has shared a lovely Victorian farmhouse with her husband, Chuck, since 1988, Julia takes incredible care in preparing for classes, constantly creating new workouts and adding special touches like candles and lavender eye masks and a trickling fountain. Somehow, she can even make the cinder block basement at Blessed Teresa School feel like a haven of tranquility. I always walk out of there feeling so relaxed!
“All I’m trying to do is help people create a small bit of space in their life, where they can make time just for themselves,” Julia says. “Everyone is just so stressed nowadays.”
In the future, she would like to develop a special yoga program for recovering addicts, encouraging greater self-love and care. But for now, her latest venture is a new series of classes at Ferguson’s fabulous Emporium Salon. Class sizes are limited to 10, with a cost of $30 for four sessions, and you can choose from one of two Wednesday classes: 8-9am or 5:30-6:30pm.
“People may say [North County] is not a great place for yoga, but I disagree,” says Julia, who grew up in Florissant and upstate New York. “Yoga is something that everybody can use, no matter who they are or where they live.”
For more info about upcoming classes or to pre-register, contact Julia at (314) 960-0107. The Emporium Salon is located at 18 Church Street, 63135. You can also register for Julia’s other classes by calling Ferguson Parks & Recreation at (314) 521-4661.
As she would say, namaste….
Maline Greenway plans to be unveiled 3/24 & 29
Suburban Avenue in Ferguson will eventually rest at the heart of the Maline Greenway, a proposed trail network spanning all across North County.
As I first mentioned back in October, the planning process is officially underway for the new Maline Greenway, an interconnected trail system that will run from the city of St. Louis all the way to Berkeley. Following the length of the historic Maline Creek, it will travel through Kinloch, Ferguson, Cool Valley, Jennings, Moline Acres, Riverview and unincorporated North County, ultimately linking the existing St. Vincent and Confluence Greenways and adding to the 600+ miles of trails that the local nonprofit Great Rivers Greenway has already completed.
Consultants from GRG have been busy soliciting citizen input and hammering out the details on the Maline project, and now they’re ready to share their results. During public open houses that start next week, they’ll lay out conceptual plans for the new trail and offer a glimpse at what each of the participating communities can expect.
“Our plan for Maline Greenway is intended to inspire citizens, developers, community organizations and local governments to work together to form an interconnected trail system along Maline Creek, providing children and families with a safe option for exercise, commuting and outdoor activities,” said Susan Trautman, executive director of Great Rivers Greenway.
The first open house will be held March 24, from 6-8 pm at the Bellefontaine Recreational Center, 9669 Bellefontaine Road, 63137. The second open house will be held on March 29 from 6-8 pm, at Ferguson Middle School, 701 January Ave., 63135. All are welcome. Free snacks and children’s crafts will be available during the event.
If you can’t make it, you may want to check out this video from Great Rivers Greenway. It follows a bus tour of the proposed Maline route, with commentary provided by GRG staff. The sound kicks in around :49.
By the way, the photo at the top of this post shows last year’s Live Well Ferguson 5K. Just wait until this year’s event, when my colorful new Ferguson banners will line Suburban Avenue… Have you registered for the race yet? It’s May 14th.
Community Chess Festival features #1 US player
Hikaru Nakamura, a Grand Master chess player ranked #1 in the US, will headline the Community Chess Festival at Flo Valley on April 2. Photo by Fred Lucas.
Thanks to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, a local nonprofit founded by philanthropist Rex Sinquefield, the Gateway City is becoming quite a hotbed for “the king’s game.” In fact, the St. Louis chess scene has gained so much momentum that Hikaru Nakamura, the #1 American player and #8 in the world, recently moved here. Last year, St. Louis also became the only city in the nation to have a full-time Grand Master (the highest title in chess), when top-ranked Ben Finegold was lured from Detroit to work for the Chess Club.
Nakamura and Finegold are both very big names in the world of chess. And on April 2, when the Community Chess Festival comes to the Flo Valley campus, both of them will bring their considerable skills to North County.
Chess players of all ages and skill levels are welcome at this event, where participants can enjoy a life-sized chess board, free chess lessons and snacks for purchase. If you’re brave, you can also pay $20 to be one of 20 players competing in a simultaneous game with Nakamura, or you can opt to play in the US Chess Federation tournament, which has both rated and unrated sections. The cost is $20 and $5 respectively.
Admission is free to those who are not participating. However, this event is a fundraiser benefiting the Florissant Valley Student Government Association and other campus clubs, so donations will be gladly accepted. Participants are encouraged to pre-register at the Chess Club website or by calling (314) 361-2437. Registration on the day of the event will be 10-10:45 a.m. in the campus bookstore, located in the Student Center.
For a full schedule of the day’s activities, grab this PDF: http://users.stlcc.edu/departments/fv/Chess-Tournament-Schedule-of-Events.pdf
The Community Chess Festival is scheduled for Saturday, April 2, from 11am to 4:30pm at St. Louis Community College @ Florissant Valley, Student Center, 3400 Pershall Road, 63135.
