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House Walk 2008

Yesterday (Saturday, September 13th), the urge to get a peak inside of some of Elgin’s finest old historic homes was just too great to keep people away from the annual Gifford Park Association’s Housewalk. Although I don’t have any statistics, the sight of crowds of people standing under umbrellas in pouring rain waiting for their turn to get inside any one of the homes on the housewalk, leaves me believing that this years event must have been a huge success. I don’t think the rain kept anybody away.

It’s hard to pick a favorite with all the houses being lovingly and beautifully restored examples of their period’s architecture and decor. It’s going to be awhile before I appreciate my own humble abode after seeing some of these beauties.

This is my second housewalk. My first was Christmas 2007 where my sister and I walked the entire route in a snowstorm (along with everyone else). We so looked forward to this Septembers event because one can usually count on a beautiful, coolish, dry day in September but not this year. The rain never let up and came down in buckets all day long.

The volunteers and organizers of the event did a beautiful job ushering people in and keeping the floors of the homes of the brave souls who opened up these beauties to the drenched public, dry and clean. In most of the homes, visitors deposited umbrellas at the front door while volunteers ran the soaked articles around to meet their owners at the back exit, the volunteer him or herself getting drenched in the act.

It was an exercise in coordination that was a sight to behold.

Everyone involved did a first class job. This is a first class event. We had a wonderful time.

The following things are what I remember the most.

A 1917 prairie style home with so many beautiful rooms that even the cat had it’s own room with antique furnishings.

A 1874 Gothic Revival who’s ornate “wallpaper” turned out to be the owners artwork, painstakingly hand stenciled and multiple layers of molding with high gloss and gilded finish.

A huge picture window over looking the Fox River.

An adorable kitchen with lavender accents.

A powder room with the cutest, tiniest antique sink.

A staircase who’s one original piece was indistinguishable from the custom made replica that helped complete the restoration.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

If you have never been on one of these house walks….please don’t miss the next one.

And thank you to the homeowners who risked opening their homes to us on such a rainy day and for taking such good care of these fine examples of Elgin’s history.

Thankyou….Elgin Arts Commission

A HUGE Thank you…Thank you…Thank you to The Elgin Arts Commission, The City of Elgin, Sean Hargadon and the numerous volunteers for the first annual Elgin Walkabout, which was held on the 3 Saturdays of August 16th, 23rd and 30th.

I attended the event on the 30th and it was perfect in every way. There were 23 people in my tour and it was a beautiful day. I had never been in the gorgeous office building that houses the Elgin Arts Showcase on Division Street and when I entered to pick up my tickets for the 1:30PM tour I entered one of the most beautiful building interiors I have ever had the pleasure of spending time in.

The registration process was well thought out and along with the tickets, patrons received a goody bag full of interesting things about the merchants of downtown Elgin and coupons as well as an ice cold bottle of Elgin’s award winning water.

Our tour guide, Nancy, made things fun and interesting and along with our theater experience, we were treated to a history of the various old buildings that housed each venue.

The performances were professional and outstanding….every one of them. My favorite was the performance by Nothing Special Productions at The Elgin Public House, with the performance of the Janus Theatre at Al’s Cafe and Creamery, a very very close second. Actually, it was such a close 2nd that I waffled back and forth over who to vote for at the end of the tour.

Other performances and venues were by Face-T-Face Productions at an adorable gift shop called Lily Falls, Independent Players at a unique book store, Elgin Books &Coffee, and VEX Theatre at Ravenheart Coffee where the smell and taste of heavenly coffee complimented the theater experience.

Heading down the stairs from the upper room at Al’s, we were handed a ‘to go’ cup containing one of Al’s famous malts….YUM!!! An unexpected treat.

The Art show had some amazing artists and Yes….I did spend money. I couldn’t help it.

There I was…strolling DuPage Court on an absolutely perfect day, surrounded by Elgin’s lovely old buildings, nice people, & great art, while listening to a superb jazz band play fun tunes like ‘Meet the Flinstones’, after having a terrific theater experience, with my Burns Malt in hand……Ah….could life be any sweeter?

I LOVE THIS CITY!!!!!!

Please…Please do this again next year!!!!!!

I’m still here and still Lovin Elgin

Wow…I have not posted since August 7th. Hope you all haven’t forgotten me. Actually, I’m in the process of building a full blown community “Lovin Elgin” website. Since I am not a web designer and I’m learning on the fly, this is taking some time. I finally migrated all of my posts and your comments to them over to the new site which is live but not ready for public consumption yet. It’s still pretty raw. Still, if you want to go on over and have a look see, go to www.lovinelgin.com. Once my new digs are completely constructed, I will put html code here that will forward visitors to the new site and eventually phase this one out. In the meantime, I am brushing up on my html, learning css and trying to master a powerful web platform called Joomla. It should be a pretty cool site once it’s done.

Anyway….other Elgin bloggers are busy posting the happenings around town. Since FoxFireFest, I have not had too many “wandering around Elgin” days except for a dinner at Al’s last night. I do hope to get out to the Elgin Walkabout which appears to have been a great success in it’s debut last weekend. You can read all about it at the Elgin Walkabout Blog.

Another thing that has been on my mind is when the heck is Mad Maggies going to open…I am waiting with baited breath. You can read more on that and other things at the Downtown Elgin Blog.

There is much going on in our fair city and so little summer left to enjoy….get on out there while we have the chance.

The Elgin Walkabout

Back on July 6th, I wrote this post about the virtues of having the fireworks downtown, the question of just what is happening downtown and suggestions to weave art in and amongst the shops to get people on the sidewalks.

A couple weeks ago, Mike and I finally did have that Burns Malt at Al’s (YUM!!!), then we decided to walk it off and window shop in the downtown area. Several shops and offices had flyers in the window and much to my delight was a flyer on The Elgin Walkabout and Alley of Art……YAY!!! This is exactly what I had in mind when I wrote that post.

The Elgin Walkabout is a series of street plays to be held at various locations in the downtown area on 3 Saturdays in August. August 16th, 23rd and 30th. The event is a unique theater experience designed to entertain and get Elginites out on those downtown sidewalks. After the walkabout, guests are invited to head over to DuPage Court, next to Al’s Café for the Alley of Art, an exhibition of works from various artists. Hours for the Alley of Art are 1-4PM

The tickets for the theater experience are $12.00 and a group will depart the starting point at 164 Division, beginning at noon, every 15 minutes as a guide leads them from one venue to another, to see short plays performed. For reservations, please call (847) 841-1713. And please make sure to find out more about this sure to be fantastic event by reading The Elgin Walkabout Blog. It’s an interesting read and has all the information you need to get excited about getting out and about downtown Elgin this summer.

25th Annual National Night Out

Will you be out tonight celebrating the 25th Annual National Night Out. I looked on the City of Elgin website and all I could find as far a activities was “various locations” but not where, or when. Are you supposed to just sit out on your porch? Will you be out on yours?

FoxFireFest 2008 – Saturday Night

“The skies were filled with dragon flies…sunlight was on their wings” (lyric from a Jim Post recording I heard back in the early 70’s….the name of the song escapes me)…but that lyric is a perfect introduction to this post.

We staked out our piece of Festival Park just before Starship came on stage, unfolding our tube chairs and laying in our supplies of water and snacks from the vending booths (what a spread huh???) The weather was perfect for an outdoor concert and I was entertained by the hundreds of dragon files buzzing like miniature helicopters above the crowd.

Startship was really good. I remember seeing the original Jefferson Starship in concert back in the summer of 1976. The music took me back to a simpler and more naive time in my life. Although lead female vocal Stephanie Calvert, was not a substitute for the legendary Grace Slick, she did a great job with her powerful vocals and showmanship. I really enjoyed the performance and after hearing Blues Traveler, thought it was Starship that deserved to be on the main stage.

Although I personally enjoyed the music of last years Buckingham’s to Blues Traveler, I have to admit. Blues Traveler did draw a crowd. The attendance at this years FireFoxFest for Saturday night out did last years and there were more young people there this year. I was initially excited to see Blues Traveler because I really really liked the 4 or 5 songs I knew of theirs from recordings I had heard, however I thought they delivered a 3rd rate live performance and maybe it was the acoustics but most of it sounded like alot of disharmonic noise to me and their performance lacked excitement.

I am just going to throw this out there and perhaps most won’t agree with me but maybe next year, the organizers of this event could look at Smashmouth, a group with multigenerational appeal and great showmen.

Also, the performance of the Elgin Children’s Choir was definitely missing from this years event….I was a bit disappointed in Saturdays entertainment once Starship left the stage, but the organizers of the event should be proud. Although my taste is more in tune with the 2007 Fest, this years was fun and successful and a good time was had by all.

(Just one more suggestion though…..double the port a potties)

And WHAT A PERFECT NIGHT HUH????

FoxFireFest 2008 – Friday Night

If you didn’t go to the FoxFireFest Friday night…..check out these videos. Taken with a cheapo digital camera, they still show how spectacular the pyrotechnics show was….video #2 is the finale and I thought they were coming right at us. It was one of the most thrilling shows I have ever seen but I was unable to capture the giant flaming fire ball that seemed to burst forth from the river itself.

Also,below is a photo of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra who put on a wonderful show. The theme this year was Cowboys and the old west. When they played the Overture from William Tell, no child in the audience could keep their seats….there were galloping and jiggling toddlers and dancing and wiggling older children all through out the crowd…it was like something turned them on…then again…the William Tell Overture can do that to a person…it was all I could do to keep from galloping around myself.

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra plays the Overture from William Tell

We are going back Saturday for the Art Show, and a day full of music and dancing, including Blues Traveler and another spectacular fireworks show.  Sadly, the Elgin Children’s Choir will not be here this year due to scheduling conflicts.  Even with a better music line up and a longer fireworks show…it will be hard to top last years Saturday night with out the Children’s Choir.  They added something astounding  and unexpected to the show last year…they will be missed.

And Now…ladies and gentlemen….THE MOST SPECTACULAR FIRE WORKS SHOW I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED.

FoxFireFest….you gotta go!!!!

I hope you’re all going to FoxFireFest this coming weekend, August 1 through August 3^rd.  We went last year and let me tell you…..it was a wonderful wonderful weekend.

 

Last year I thought the highlight of the entire weekend was an unexpected performance by The Elgin Children’s Chorus with their ethereal, colorful, illuminated procession and angelic voices that sounded otherworldly as they made their way to the stage.  At that point there was something happening all around.  I was completely absorbed in the mood created by this highly talented group of young people. 

 

As they made their way to the stage, a large float to their rear was exhibiting some kind of pantomime puppetry with a European flair.  The children sang a beautiful, haunting melody in which I became utterly absorbed then “BOOM” the fireworks show began and my attention was moved again to a new sight.

 

I did not see the Elgin Children’s Chorus in the lineup for this years show but I am hoping they will again be there by surprise.

 

Even without the Children’s Chorus, Friday night is an opportunity to see our world class Elgin Symphony Orchestra and the best fire works show I have ever seen in my life.  The fireworks were so close you could almost touch them and the flaming fireballs exploding from the Fox River were exciting and hot.  It reminded me of OZ, the Great and Powerful Wizard before they discovered the man behind the curtain.

 

There is music and food and fire dancers and belly dancers and all kinds of wonderful things going on all weekend long.  It would be a shame to miss any of it.  So please, try to clear some room in the schedule for this event unlike any other in the Fox Valley or even in Chicagoland.

The Rose Colored Glasses Come Off

I’ve lived happily in Elgin for 3 years now and have defended her to those who give me a look as if they’ve just gotten a whiff of rotten fish, when they comment about the gangs and the drugs and the run down neighborhoods.

“I’d walk down any street in this city at midnight alone.” I’ve said.

SO…..for 3 years, I’ve come home to my adorable 1936 Cape Cod dwelling in my charming little neighborhood on the North East side. I’ve patronized restaurants in a downtown that has been quaint and on the move. I wax profoundly to people who live in other suburbs about the beautiful homes and the outstanding Gail Borden Library,…..Hemmens,…..The Historical Museum and the Beautiful Lords and Wing Parks.

I have believed every word about the crime in Elgin being no worse than any Chicago suburb and because I have had great experiences in Elgin, I believed it.

So….Imagine my surprise to see a broadcast of the last City Council meeting on TV tonight, Friday, July 18, only to see a string of Near West Side Residents come to the podium to tell horror stories about drug sales, prostitution, vandalism and theft happening feet….mere feet from their front doors….doors where their children come in and out to play.

I was further surprised to hear that these people are vigilantly watching their neighborhood, writing down descriptions of cars, license plate numbers; calling the police when they see a crime occur, only to have the police not show up or show up and do nothing.

Part of the problem seems to be that the Police refuse to put a ROPE Officer in that neighborhood.  I guess this neighborhood had one at one time and it helped.

We are talking specifically about the 300 block of Chicago Street….the areas around National and Rt. 31 and Chicago and Crystal were also mentioned.  From what I understand, there is what used to be a beautiful Civil War era cobblestone home that once belonged to Gail Borden, being used as a drug house. Two prostitutes work the area so frequently, the residents even know their names…yet when car descriptions and license numbers of the Johns who pick them up are given to the Police, their response is “we are not here to arrest Johns”.

Tell me….I don’t get it. We have concerned citizens. We have people caring to rehab these old homes and turn the neighborhood into the prize it once was. We have people on alert 24/7 in order to help the police identify the criminals….one man even offered his home as a place to install a covert security camera….but the Police do not respond. What gives?

Could it be that in order to keep those crime statistics low…..the crime is being ignored? This is not good. How can we rally as a city and support our neighbors…..whom can we vote in or out of office who will listen. Who will pay $400,000.00 for a fancy condo, just across the river from a crime ridden area full of drug dealers and prostitutes. This may be affecting the people on the near West side most of all but it is affecting the reputation and the property values of every resident in this City and having said that….what a shame to let this beautiful city, and what could be an outstanding neighborhood go to the criminals.