Audiences loved the Grove Players production of “Over the River and Through the Woods,” directed by Larry Boller. Extra chairs had to be set up for sold-out performances, and even then, some late-comers had to be turned away.

The play’s run could easily have been extended for another weekend, as far as audiences were concerned. Using the Downers Grove Park District’s Lincoln Center Recreation facility and having cast and crew available for an unplanned extension would have been a coordination challenge, however.

All involved in the production, from on-stage actors to producers, directors, set, costuming and so on, deserve kudos.

Anny Moravec of Downers Grove is among those being featured in upcoming local DG-TV shows over the next few months. A viola player, she founded the Affinity Strings group and alternates playing viola or her viola-fiddle combination with keyboard as a member of the Debe Welch Band, which was on the “Today’s Tidings” show to talk about the group’s forthcoming CD.

In addition, Moravec plays with several orchestras for their concerts. But recently, her most exciting gig was a stint playing with the Trans Siberian Orchestra at the group’s January concert in Chicago. This Christmas rock band uses a lot of special effects from falling snow to strobe lights and shooting flames. These were really hot and a little scary, but the experience overall was thrilling, Moravec said.

Another upcoming local cable TV show will feature Rich Gannon and Jim Stahulak talking about the Downers Grove Arts Council. Stahulak is the group’s president and Gannon is the marketing director. The council was formed to promote nonprofit fine and performing arts by raising awareness of the arts, increasing audience size, sharing resources, and increasing participation and funding. For more information on this group, visit www.dgarts.org.

Family Shelter Service is gearing up for its spring fundraiser, this year titled The Magic of Hollywood. The event is basically a dinner dance and silent auction. Funds raised from this event support the FSS mission of providing hope and help for victims of domestic violence.

Donated items for the auction still are needed. According to event organizers, things or services that cannot be easily obtained or purchased for oneself are most in demand. Naturally, items of all kinds are appreciated. For more information on the events or how to donate, e-mail kvorel@familyshelterservice.net.

In another arena, I personally think some top literary minded institutions and grammaticians (OK — grammarians) ought to hold a competition for the best, most creative solution to the “his/her” problem.

What problem, you ask? The problem to which I refer occurs when a person does not use “his/her” or “he/she” when they should. A person is singular, but using “they” conveys a plural meaning. That’s called a lack of agreement. Apt, huh?

Mind you, I’m not such a purist that I personally care — much, anyway — but I wonder if I should. Especially when I see or hear this kind of mistake more and more. Even published books include sentences like “A student can have their best chance of getting a loan by applying early.” To say “his/her” instead of “their” is, indeed, a mouthful, but it’s correct.

One solution, of course, is to make the subject plural — “students” instead of “student,” for example. Since that is not always possible, I propose we simply create a new word to mean “his/her”: “hisher.” It would eventually have its spelling and pronunciation corrupted so that people would be saying it and spelling it as “hizzer.” In future, then, when a person is learning English and wants “hizzer” speech to be correct in this area, “heshe” will simply have to remember this new word.

If we make it popular in Downers Grove, our town could become the birthplace of modern usage regarding grammar. And who knows? This could be just the beginning.