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!!!!!!
Filed under: Downtown Renovation, Elgin Events | Tagged: als cafe, city of elgin, Downtown Elgin, elgin arts commission, elgin books, elgin public house, elgin walkabout, janu theater, lily falls, ravenheart coffee
Funny. These comments coming from the same person who no more than a few months ago bashed AL’s for closing before you got the malt you wanted and you refered to Lily Fall’s as a fledgling buisness. I guess you are jekle and hyde when it comes to lovin elgin. Make up your mind.
I’m sorry you saw my comment as “bashing” Al’s. I’ve written a couple other times about enjoying Al’s. I simply commented once that they closed early and that I was disappointed, since I believe that a business being open when they say they will be is vital to the downtown’s success. Also, calling a business a “fledgling” business, simply means that is is a “new” business….that is not bashing either…..maybe you should buy a dictionary. I was a bit more impressed in my 2nd visit to Lily Falls, perhaps on my first visit, it was so new that they did not have all their inventory yet. PLUS…..I don’t believe I mentioned the name of the business when I expressed my disappointment. This was out of respect for a new business who had not yet found their full potential. I calls it as I sees it….if I enjoy something as I did the walk-a-bout I’m going to express it. If I am disappointed….I am going to express it. If all I did was express joy in every single thing then I wouldn’t be writing an honest blog. What I am expressing is honesty…..and I have always expressed the FACT that I LOVE Elgin. I chose to live here and I chose to spend time blogging about my adventures and yes, my misadventures. You can always expect my comments to be honest.