FEATURES

September 9, 2021

Motors and Meals returns this October

BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF

After being on hiatus during the pandemic, Motors and Meals is returning from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Beardsley Recreation Center, 128th Avenue and Beardsley Road, in Sun City West.

Admission is free to the event, which includes live entertainment, food trucks, displays of restored vehicles, wine and beer tents, and exhibits from local businesses and organizations.

“Hundreds of people have attended this event in past years, and we’re glad to be able to bring it back,” said Julie Kent-Partridge, chair of the Northwest Valley Connect board of directors.

“This very popular event will be a great time for people to get together, have a good time, and learn about community agencies and businesses.”

Businesses and nonprofits wishing to participate can contact NVC Executive Director Kathy Chandler at 623-282-9304.

“We are aware the COVID-19 situation is very fluid and will be working with health care professionals to ensure social distancing and provide hand sanitizing and whatever else may be beneficial,” Chandler said.

Northwest Valley Connect is a nonprofit organization to serve Peoria residents and others in the area who need help with transportation in a region that doesn’t have public transit.

Technology keeps centenarian inspired

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Peoria Times Executive Editor

Miriam Hirschl has lived a life most would only dream of.

She has spent 101 years — or 102, depending on who is asked — living in the Panama Canal Zone, doting on her family and keeping up with technology.

“I’m optimistic, and I keep up with the times,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m constantly going on Zoom. I have a calendar for my Zoom classes. I have to keep track of all my Zoom classes. I keep active doing word games and things like that. I read a lot. I’ve done exercise all my life.”

She takes ballet, art and lecture classes offered through the Jewish Family & Children’s Services virtual center for senior enrichment.

“If you don’t adapt, you’re not living,” she said. “I know a lot of people my age who will not touch a computer. They do not have a smartphone. They have a flip phone. If you’re going to live in this age, you have to do what others are doing.”

A New York native, Hirschl grew up in Auburn with her grocer father.

“I was born during the Spanish flu,” she said. “My official date is Jan. 5, 1920. I’m 101 right now, but my son found a certificate. I don’t know where he found it. It says I was born in 1919. Nobody knows how old I really am.”

When she was 15, the family relocated to Brooklyn, where he obtained a larger space.

Soon thereafter, she met the love of her life, Daniel, a pediatric intern at a Brooklyn hospital, where she was employed. The two married, and he began doing house calls.

“He didn’t like it,” she said.

Daniel was sitting at his desk one day when he heard about a pediatrician position at a hospital in the Panama Canal Zone. He applied and was hired for the job.

Married for 57 years, the Hirschls spent 31 years in Panama, from 1952 to 1983. She described the time as magical. While her husband treated children at a government hospital, she worked as a kindergarten teacher.

“When I first got there, it was so different,” she said. “The culture was so different. I learned to love it, and I made a lot of friends there.”

She boasts about her handmade bedspread she acquired in Panama. In the same breath, she excitedly shares a time when a visiting queen allowed her to open the gates.

“Not too many people opened the gates,” she said. “I was horrified. I didn’t know if it was going to open. They told me to just turn the lever. It was absolutely amazing.

“I had some very nice experiences in Panama. I didn’t want to leave, but my husband didn’t want to practice any longer in Panama.”

Daniel retired at age 62 and the couple moved to Sun City West, where Miriam still resides. Born on Sept. 13, 1914, Daniel died May 6, 1999.

“It was an amazing, amazing time, really,” she said about Panama. “At that time, he was the chief of pediatrics. He was on the governor’s list. We used to do a lot of entertaining and visit the embassies.”

These days, she’s entertaining her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren via Zoom. She’s hoping to visit Michigan over Thanksgiving to see her son, Dr. Ronald Bruce Hirschl, who helms pediatric surgery at The University of Michigan Hospital.

“I have a good rapport with my grandchildren,” she said. “We’re a very close family — extremely close. They call me all the time. My great-grandchildren, when they say goodbye, they kiss the telephone.”

Enrichment program open house

BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF

Benevilla’s West Valley Life Enrichment Day program includes an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 6, at Church at Cactus, 8133 W. Cactus Road, Peoria.

One of four Benevilla Life Enrichment Programs, this program supports a diverse group of people with a wide range of care needs. The program provides daytime care for members with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease as well as adults with disabilities or those disabled by a stroke who live in Peoria, Glendale and West Phoenix.

Activities are adapted for specific physical challenges to include everyone’s participation. Outings, meals and social exchanges create nice days for members, and provide caregivers the respite they need.

Stop by the West Valley program and meet Director Kylee Lavigne and her staff.

For reservations, call 623-5844999. Social distancing and masks are required.

Miriam Hirschl with her grandson, Jared Hirschl. She said her family is extremely close and frequently Zooms. (Photo courtesy of the Hirschl family)

FILM FROM PAGE 18 showcasing a longer version of it.”

More “Rocky-esque,” according to Carney, is “Platform,” or “a great documentary about three Iranian sisters competing to become international champions of a martial art (Wushu).”

Then there are narrative features like Jarrett Bryant’s “Maxie,” about two unalike but drug-addicted teens (Miles Dixon and Liv Tavernier) who “form a bond as they try to get clean over a weekend,” Carney said.

As for Tim Dahlseid’s music-based drama “Sold Out,” Carney previewed it as telling the story of “a talent scout who takes an unknown under her wing and tries to help mold him and be successful.”

In addition to a variety of newly selected films — and free screenings of family films — award winners from the Phoenix Film Festival, the Peoria festival’s sibling event, will offer an extra chance to catch up on recent releases viewers may have previously missed.

“Because that way, if folks might’ve missed our Best Picture (‘Trees of Peace’) or a couple other award winners, they can catch them at Peoria and get a chance to see them there,” Carney said.

Programs under the Phoenix Film Foundation, the Peoria and Phoenix film festivals were postponed when the pandemic hit last year. The usual spring Phoenix Film Festival was impacted first, and as summer rolled on, Carney said, it became clear the fall Peoria festival would be halted as well.

“It just didn’t make sense for us to try to put on the Peoria Film Festival when there really weren’t any other community events going on in Peoria at the time,” he explained.

After the Phoenix Film Festival was ultimately rescheduled for last November — and turned out to be “a really small shell of what it normally would be,” Carney admitted — this year’s event was held last month. With vaccines now widely administered, it was more of a success, something organizers hope to parlay into the fast-approaching Peoria event.

And it will also be a scaled-down event, mindful of coronavirus concerns. Reserved seating will reduce lines, Carney said, and health guidelines will be in place.

“I think, you know, that really helped us in executing the festival,” Carney explained of holding this year’s Phoenix festival in August as opposed to the original spring plans.

“While it wasn’t, you know, crowds the size of pre-pandemic, they felt really, really excited about the crowds that came out and they were really, you know, just happy to be in the theater again, along with the filmmakers.

“And so I think that really sets us up to be successful continued in Peoria coming up in just a few weeks.”

“Platform” follows three Iranian sisters as they compete to become international champions of Wushu, a Chi-

nese martial art. (Photo courtesy of the Peoria Film Festival)

Peoria Film Festival

WHEN: Friday, Sept. 17, to Sunday, Sept. 19 WHERE: Harkins Arrowhead 18, 16046 N. Arrowhead Fountains Center Drive, Peoria COST: $12 single tickets, $60 festival pass, $30 opening-night event; discounts available for Peoria residents INFO: peoriafilmfest.com

3RD ANNUAL FIRST RESPONDER’S

PRESENTS

JANUARY 2022

Register at peoriachamber.com/events or email events@peoriachamber.com for more information.

POWERED BY

SEP 19 - OCT 30

RESTAURANT FROM PAGE 18 that, you know, is exciting to have happen twice a year.”

More than 120 restaurants have signed on so far, with the event’s website allowing patrons to search menus by categories such as cuisine type, location and price, even accounting for vegetarian/gluten-free options and takeout.

Firebirds is offering a $33 dine-inonly three-course meal that kicks off with chicken tortilla soup or soup of the day; BLT, mixed greens or Caesar salad; or lemon whipped feta with roasted tomatoes and grilled focaccia. For the second course, guests will be treated to slow-roasted prime rib; key lime grilled salmon or wood grilled bacon-wrapped filet. To end the meal, choose from chocolate brownie sundae, crème brulee cheesecake squares or carrot cake.

Revolu Modern Taqueria + Bar is serving a three-course meal for $44. Course one is a choice of elote, shaved roasted corn, chipotle aioli and cotija cheese; stuffed jalapenos, cream cheese, cheese blend, seasoned ground beef and wrapped in jalapeno bacon; or short rib flautas, crispy housemade flautas, shaved cabbage and crema, cotija and avocado salsa. The second course features green chile pork, tequila lime shrimp scampi or the taco trio. The dessert choices are churros con chocolate or pina asada, caramelized pineapple, caramel, vanilla bean ice cream and candied pepitas.

“Arizona is becoming more and more of a foodie-type place and venue, and I think what the restaurant week does is try to trumpet that to our guests and patrons around the state,” Chucri said.

Since it was founded 14 years ago, Arizona Restaurant Week has grown from an annual event every fall to a biannual event also hosted in the spring, increasing along the way from roughly two dozen restaurants the first year to now well over 100 per event.

New this year, the Arizona Restaurant Association is raising funds for the HonorHealth Desert Mission endowment to support those who are underprivileged, experiencing homelessness or affected by the pandemic.

Billed as the “Dine In. Help Out.” program, Arizona Restaurant Week is accepting donations through its website and QR codes provided with bills at participating restaurants. Funds will benefit Desert Mission programs and services, such as its food bank, early childhood learning center and adult day program.

“It’s a really unique event that diners have just come to love, and that’s what makes it worthwhile for us,” Chucri explained of the growth of Arizona Restaurant Week.

Due to the pandemic, Chucri acknowledged that the Arizona Restaurant Association was forced to quickly adapt. Moving to takeout options last year is one such way, though the event is now allowing in-person and takeout options. This may vary between restaurants.

“Restaurateurs, fortunately we’re getting back into our regular cycle, which is a good thing,” Chucri noted. “People have missed restaurants, which we’ll always be grateful for, and so we have seen our places fill up quite more than we expected them to.

“And so, you know, we’re still trying to help people — those who still aren’t comfortable to go into a restaurant — to still be able to take out, but at the same time, I think we’ll probably, come next year, we’ll likely just go back to our original platform, which is just dine in the restaurant.”

But first, Chucri has high hopes for this year’s fall event. He recommends people plan ahead and seek out reservations when possible, as demand tends to increase with restaurant week.

“The Spring Restaurant Week went well, actually,” he recalled. “We had a great turnout. … And so we’re optimistic. I mean, we’re getting more and more restaurants every day participating, and I anticipate that to continue.”

Arizona Restaurant Week arizonarestaurantweek.com

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ACROSS

ANSWERS PAGE 28

1 Pool stick 4 Gasoline dispensers 9 Attorney’s field 12 “Right you --!” 13 Not moving 14 Blond shade 15 Online reference source 17 Carefree 18 By way of 19 Pancake toppers 21 Museum tour guide 24 -- Hari 25 Swelled head 26 Solidify 28 Semesters 31 Stately trees 33 Homer’s neighbor 35 Mt. Rushmore’s state 36 Seized vehicles 38 Dict. info 40 Sundial numeral 41 Hgt. 43 Ancient pyramid builders 45 Bale 47 Mineral suffix 48 Days of yore 49 Sibelius work or vodka brand 54 Blackbird 55 Totally 56 Inventor Whitney 57 Goat’s plaint 58 Lauder of cosmetics 59 Marry

DOWN

1 Crow’s cry 2 Mentalist Geller 3 “A spider!” 4 Slipcover trim 5 Like leftovers 6 Club -7 Spectrum creator 8 Patronize, as a hotel 9 New York airport 10 Now, in a memo 11 Reasons 16 “-- been had!” 20 Numbered rds. 21 Woodland grazer 22 Leer at 23 Summaries 27 Went first 29 Primary 30 Tackles moguls 32 Auctioneer’s cry 34 Cecil B. -37 Arm’s-length portrait 39 Femme -42 Ore layers 44 Longing 45 Smile broadly 46 Forearm bone 50 Rebel Turner 51 Morning moisture 52 -- -de-France 53 Succor

EVEN EXCHANGE

by Donna Pettman

Each numbered row contains two clues and two answers. The two answers differ from each other by only one letter, which has already been inserted. For example, if you exchange the A from MASTER for an I, you get MISTER. Do not change the order of the letters.