Fans of country music may want to head to Oak Lawn for an inaugural fundraiser with a Western theme.

St. Linus School’s Hawky Tonk on Saturday includes live entertainment by country cover band Suburban Cowboys, a whiskey bar, a tasting bar, a moonshine bar, a cigar bar, mechanical bull rides, food from local eateries, raffles and a silent auction.

St. Linus School Principal Margaret Hayes said, “One of our moms said, ‘What about a country night?’ I said, ‘Well, that sounds fun.’ She said one of our kids’ dads is in the Suburban Cowboys, so maybe we could try to find them and see if they’re interested. They were, and it all revolved around that.”

The mom who got the ball rolling was Jennifer Theusch, of Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community. She has two children at St. Linus School and is president of the school’s Family Teacher Connection, which plans student events and helps with fundraisers.

David Clettenberg, of Oak Lawn, is the dad in Suburban Cowboys, a group that has performed on the same bill as artists Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Big & Rich, Keith Urban and Little Big Town.

“It just makes it so much more personal — the fact that he’s got a kid here at school and it’s not just some band coming in to play for us. He’s got a stake in it,” said Hayes, of Oak Lawn.

“The whole point of this event is to raise money for our fine arts. Here’s a dad, and that’s part of his living, being in the fine arts,” she said.

Attendees can bring chairs or blankets for seating on the football field or sit at a table in the covered tents during the concert.

Chances to win prizes include Gift Card Grab for $10 for a restaurant gift card valued between $25-$100; Pull My Cork for $10 for top-shelf liquor or a bottle of wine; and a tuition raffle limited to 100 tickets at $100 each.

“We’re having a silent auction. There’s a lot of outside stuff, but we’re also auctioning off some artwork the kids made, so that’s exciting. Every grade level painted a wooden chair. Either their names are on it or pictures. They’ve done a really good job,” Hayes said.

“Kids do better in every subject when they have music and art. When that’s a part of their curriculum, they do better at math. They do better at reading. When I got here, there was no music class anymore. They did have art, but there was no music, and the band had shrunk to about four or five kids.

“In just three years since I’ve been here, we have music again. We have art still. Our band is growing by leaps and bounds. We do a musical every year. The kids really wanted stuff like that. They wanted music. They wanted art. They were clamoring for band. So we’ve added all those things.”

Hayes, a St. Linus School graduate in the Class of 1976, said she is glad to lead the Hawks in St. Linus Parish.

“The long-lasting friendships I made here are one of the reasons why I’m still a member of the parish,” she said. “I love it so much. To be back here as principal was a lifelong dream.”

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.