Besides sitting on the edge of Lake Michigan, probably the best vantage point to catch the festive boat parade and fireworks display of Venetian Night would be on Lake Michigan.
Diane and Robert Magnuson of Downers Grove have done that on several ocassions. Friday night they decided to catch two fish with one bait: enjoy the Venetian Night activities aboard the Odyssey II lake pleasure cruiser, and support the Du Page County division of the American Heart Association of Metropolitan Chicago.
“It’s spectacular from the water, there’s no comparison,” said Diane Magnuson of the 36th annual aquatic festival.
And it seemed as if little things like a stiff wind and cool temperatures wouldn’t deter the roughly 175 people who attended the cruise, which is the reason the Heart Association has thrown this event for the second time.
“This is just one of the many fundraisers that we have throughout the year,” said Gail Garratt, chairwoman of the board of the Du Page County division of the American Heart Association.
Robert Magnuson has something of a passing interest in seeing the Heart Association benefit succeed. He is a retired president and chief executive of Elmhurst Memorial Hospital.
Those on hand for the Heart Association cruise were helping the Du Page County division raise $40,000, said Garratt, who doubled as benefit chairwoman. The money would be used for research and programs, some of which the Heart Association might not be known for, she added.
Those programs include community involvement and youth and educational programs like “School Site,” which Garratt said provides teachers with information for pupils in grades 1-8 on heart-healthy behavior, nutrition, and how substance abuse affects the body.
This is information that people should be made aware of, if they want to avoid a disease that most still don’t see as the devastating health risk that it is, according to Dr. Mary Ann Malloy, a past president of the Du Page County and Chicago divisions.
“Heart disease still remains the No. 1 killer,” said Malloy, a heart specialist who provides medical commentary for WMAQ-Ch. 5.
