NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio - Calling all princes and princesses.

The third annual Princess Ball will take place 5-7 p.m. Feb. 26 at Springvale Ballroom, 5871 Canterbury Road, North Olmsted.

Boys and girls of all ages are invited to dress up in their finest clothes to dance, take photos with storybook favorites and enjoy refreshments. Tickets are $7 and include pizza, cookies and princess punch, plus dancing and visits from storybook characters. All guests must purchase a ticket except infants in carriers.

For more information, call Kelsey Marasch, 440-777-0161, or visit north-olmsted.com.

On stage: Fairview Park resident Teresa Larchian is among the 45 Coastal Carolina University students chosen for the cast of "Oklahoma." Performances of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical will be Feb. 16-25 on the camps in Conway, South Carolina.

Skating party: There will be a Winter Wonderland ice skating event 5-7 p.m. Feb. 24 at Halloran Park ice rink, 3550 W. 117th St., Cleveland.

The free event includes admission and ice skates, as well as games, crafts, a prize wheel, giveaways, snacks and refreshments.

Neighborhood Family Practice is hosting the event. For more information, call NFP, 216-281-8945, Ext. 291.

Final curtain: As reported earlier this month, demolition is under way at the old Hilliard Square Theater, which is located on the north side of Hilliard Road between Northland and Olive avenues in Lakewood.

Most of the front section and roof had been removed from the 90-year-old building by last weekend. Asbestos had been removed earlier. City officials said demolition of the theater, adjacent apartments and storefronts that face Madison Avenue should be finished in about a month, with the entire structure down by mid-March. Grass will be planted on the site.

The theater, which had more than 1,200 seats, was built about 1927 for vaudeville shows and movies. It closed in the early 1960s, but reopened a few years later with a new name: Westwood Art Theater. It showed some risque art films before a long engagement with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," a mid-1970s cult classic flick that drew an eclectic, costume-wearing, toast-tossing audience. But it wasn't enough to save the theater, which closed in 1988.

I grew up a few blocks away and often passed by the aging theater as it struggled for survival. I recall attending a few movies there before it finally closed. It showed signs of its age and neglect back then, with certain sections of seats roped off due to falling plaster and water leaks. As the years passed, things went from bad to worse.

Robert Dobush purchased the theater, attached apartments and storefronts about 14 years ago to prevent it from demolition. He had hoped to repair the building, but the project was costly. Finally, city officials declared the structure a nuisance last year and the property inched towards demolition, which began last week.

Honorees: Connecting for Kids will honor five people who helped fulfill the organization's mission to provide education and support to families with concerns about their children. The honorees will be recognized at the Westlake-based organization's annual fundraiser, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at Ahern Catering & Banquet Center, 726 Avon Belden Road, Avon Lake.

Those being honored are:

• Mariel Krakowiak of Olmsted Falls, parent of the year.
• Ellen Spear of Lakewood, speech language pathologist and co-owner, Lakeshore Speech Therapy LLC. Ellen Spear was honored by Connecting for Kids. Photo provided by Connecting for Kids.
• Jackson Bolognia and Tom Kuemerle of Avon Lake, beyond the bench award winners.
• Meghan Barlow of Avon Lake, pediatric psychologist, board member of the year.

Fundraiser tickets are $75 and include heavy appetizers, drinks, dessert and entertainment. For more information or to reserve a ticket, visit connectingforkids.org.2017fundraiser, email info@connectingforkids.org or call 440-250-5563.

Free tax help: LakewoodAlive is teaming with Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People to offer free tax preparation and filing 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Super Saturday, March 4 at the Turkish Cultural Center, 13308 Madison Ave., in Lakewood's historic Birdtown neighborhood.

Call 211 to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins will be accepted, but will be seen only after all those with appointments have been helped.

The Earned Income Tax Credit Program provides free tax preparation to working, low-income people and families by trained, certified volunteers through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. Tax preparers help participants receive their refunds using electronic filing and direct deposit.

Participants in the program must meet tax credit eligibility guidelines for the 2016 tax year. They should bring IRS 2016 W2 forms, 1099s, Social Security cards for all family members, a government-issued photo ID for each person signing the tax return, child care expense statement including the provider's tax ID number, bank account information including account and routing numbers for direct deposit and form 1099-INT for any checking or savings account interest.

For more information on the program, visit LakewoodAlive.com/events, or call Allison Urbanek at 216-521-0655.

Early childhood center open house: Families interested in programs offered at the Fairview Park Early Education Center are invited to an open house/new family registration night 6:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in the gym at the center, 21620 Mastick Road.

Programs are offered for toddlers (ages 18-36 months), preschool day care, summer camp and before and after school care for kindergarteners. The before and after school program is not accepting any new students in grades 1-5 for fall 2017 and the toddler program has a wait list.

A $50 registration fee is required to hold a spot. Enrollment packets are available by email from Susan Morrison, smorrison@fairview.k12.oh.us. Registration deadline for summer and fall programs is March 1. Contact Morrison for further information, also.

In service: North Olmsted High School graduate Natalie Sessin, a petty officer 2nd class in the Navy, is serving as a hospital corpsman at the San Diego, Calif.-based Surface Warfare Medicine Institute.

Now playing: "Bring It On The Musical," is being performed at Beck Center for the Arts through Feb. 26. Show times are 8 p.m. Feb. 16 and 23, Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Beck is at 17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood.

Kailey Boyle and cast from "Bring it on the Musical" at Beck Center for the Arts. Photo provided by Roger Mastroianni. 

The show is inspired by the movie "Bring It On" and is being staged in collaboration with Baldwin Wallace University's music theater program.

For more information or tickets, visit beckcenter.org or call 216-521-2540.

Tri-C tax clinics: Cuyahoga Community College will offer free personal income tax filing services at Corporate College West, 25425 Center Ridge Road, Westlake, to qualified taxpayers with a 2016 earned income of less than $64,000.

The clinics will be 4-7 p.m. Wednesdays through April 5. Walk-in assistance will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis,

Returns will be prepared and filed by IRS-certified tax preparers while the taxpayer waits. Participants must bring a current photo ID, Social Security cards for each adult and child listed on the return, all 2016 tax documents, sources, of income, support for deductions and credits being sought, health care verification, prior year tax returns and bank account information to arrange for direct deposit of any refund. Those filing jointly must both be present if e-filing.

The clinics also will be offered at the Metropolitan Campus in Cleveland, Western Campus in Parma and Eastern Campus in Highland Hills. For times, dates and eligibility requirements at these sites, visit tri-c.edu/taxhelp.

Other free tax preparation sites can be found at irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep.

Information, please: Readers are invited to share information about themselves, their families and friends, organizations, church events, etc. in Fairview Park, Lakewood, North Olmsted and West Park for the A Place in the Sun column, which I write on a freelance basis. Awards, honors, milestone birthdays or anniversaries and other items are welcome. Submit information at least 10 days before the requested publication date to carolkovach@hotmail.com.

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