MORGAN PARK — The Frunchroom, a quarterly reading series, will move to the Beverly Arts Center for its show Oct. 3.
The change of venue, to 2407 W 111th St. in Morgan Park, follows the closing of the Beverly Woods. The 63-year-old restaurant, banquet hall and bar had hosted the Frunchroom since July 26, 2016.
The next South Side storytelling session will focus on race and segregation. Five readers will touch on the topic through stories of identity, racism, family, segregation and integration.
The upcoming show begins at 7:30 p.m., and a $5 suggested donation to Beverly Area Arts Alliance is asked of audience members. This organization produces the Beverly Art Walk, the Uprising Craft Market, Local Art on Tap and more.
“Every edition of The Frunchroom has touched on race in some way. It’s sort of built into our South Side narrative,” Morgan Park resident and Frunchroom host Scott Smith said.
The readers for the show include:
• Tina Jenkins Bell, a fiction writer, playwright, freelance journalist and literary activist. She is also the president of FLOW: For Love of Writing, where she creates and collaborates with other writers from the Beverly area.
• Parneshia Jones, a writer, poet and winner of the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, the Margaret Walker Short Story Award and the Aquarius Press Legacy Award. She has been named one of the “25 Writers to Watch” by the Guild Complex and one of “Lit 50: Who Really Books in Chicago” by Newcity magazine. She is also the author of "Vessel," the winner of the Midwest Book Award.
• Francine McKenna, a financial regulation and legislation reporter in Washington, D.C., for MarketWatch and an adjunct professor for the MBA program at American University’s Kogod School of Business. She is also a Beverly native.
• Marisa Novara, director of Metropolitan Planning Council's housing and community development work that focuses on communities facing development challenges. She designed and manages the multiyear Cost of Segregation project and lives in Little Italy.
• Troy LaRaviere, of Beverly, former principal of Blaine Elementary School. He now serves as president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association and is an outspoken advocate for public education.
For more information, visit thefrunchroom.com or at beverlyarts.org.
