Positive News, Stories, & Rockford Buzz Polls

You can meet two of Rockford’s best pro athletes at a pair of events, as well as talk to perhaps Rockford’s next big deal in pro sports. Thursday night, Rockton Hononegah graduate Corey Anderson is the keynote speaker of the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Sport Stories event, which is being held at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hall, 211 N. Main St. Anderson was a Division III All-American wrestler at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater who now is 10-3 in the UFC and is the No. 6 ranked light heavyweight in the promotion. Thursday’s event will include a three-person panel made up of Misty Opat, who has coached Rock Valley College’s women’s basketball team to four Division III junior college titles in six seasons; Fred VanVleet, a Rockford Auburn graduate who just completed his first season in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors; and Angel Martinez, a senior at Auburn who earlier this year won Rockford’s first national Golden Gloves boxing championship since 1987. There is no cost to Thursday’s event, but seating is limited so you need to reserve a seat in advance. Visit gorockford.com/sportstories to secure a spot. Thursday is just the warmup for VanVleet. Friday night, VanVleet will host a Fan Fest from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the UW Health Sports Factory, 305 S. Madison St. The cost is $5 per person with proceeds going to a foundation to draw more sporting events to the Rockford area. That will be followed Saturday and Sunday by the inaugural FVV Summer Camp. VanVleet will teach boys and girls the various drills he used to lift himself from the courts of the Rockford YMCA to New York’s Madison Square Garden. The cost is $50 per player for one day or $90 per player for both days. The registration includes a camp t-shirt, goodie bag, boxed lunch and free admission to the Friday fan fest. Registration forms are available at the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Burea, 102 N. Main St., Rockford. The former Auburn Knight and Wichita State Shocker played in 37 games this season for the Raptors, scoring 107 points, grabbing 42 rebounds and passing for 35 assists. A special thank you to Alex Gary for writing this Scoreboard piece. Alex Gary spent 22 years as a sports, business and education reporter and editor at newspapers in Beloit, Wis., and Rockford. He now is the communications manager at Thinker Ventures when he’s not umpiring youth baseball, running the scoreboard at Jefferson athletics, working on his NIC-10 Sports History Book website or hanging out with his two daughters.

Have you ever wanted to travel back in time to visit a 1920’s Rockford Speakeasy? Now you have the chance. The 2nd annual Rockford Plate Gala allows guests to go on an adventure right here at Midway Village Museum. On Thursday, July 13, from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm, guests will give the secret password to enter the Speak Easy and into the historic village neighborhood who have opened their doors for this special night. In each of the five homes, a different Rockford ethnic group will feature fabulous food, music, traditional clothing, educational displays, decorations, photo ops, and more! Guests are then invited to enter the glitzy 1920s “815 Club” for the glamorous Main Street Celebration where all guests will gather for live Dixieland music, dancing, dessert, and more! Guests are encouraged to attend in costumed attire of the Roaring 20s, and also should plan to wear comfortable shoes for walking around the Village during the evening. 50/50 raffle tickets are available at the Museum Front Desk for $10/each, 3/$25, or 6 for $40. Winner will be drawn from the Main Stage starting at 8pm. You don’t need to be present to win, but it is going to be a great time, so I’m sure you will be. If you enjoy history or a nice, unique night out, grab a date and travel back to the Roaring 20’s. Actors will be portraying real Rockford immigrants and there will be 1920s antiques and automotives for you to look at. Tickets are $55 per person, and the deadline to register is this Thursday, June 29! You can register online HERE, by phone at 815-397-9112, or at the museum, 6799 Guilford Road. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on this classic night.

Libraries are a great resource to their community. They provide a low-cost way for people to get lost in interesting novels or learn a new skill or two with some instructional books or textbooks. There comes a time where life gets in the way and you may forget to turn in a book or two, and then you get stuck with library fees and you may lose your card-holder privileges. Our Rockford Public Library has come with a new program to help out youth and teens with this problem. They want them to have access to the library, and they want them to enjoy reading and get something more out of it. The Read & Reward program is open to readers ages 5-18 who have a previous library card in the system that is in a barred or blocked status due to unpaid fees. The Read & Reward card is good for 1 year with a checkout limit of 5 books at any one time. The card also allows access to digital resources, and access to the internet at any RPL location. The customer will present their R&R card to Circulation staff and receive a guest pass. This card cannot be used to check out audiovisual material. The customer has to stay in the program for the entire year, even if fines/fees are paid in full. Customers who return items late on the Read & Reward card and do not pay the new fines immediately are dropped from the Read & Reward program and ineligible for reentry. Books can be checked out for 21 days with 2 renewals if the book is not on hold for another customer. Children ages 5-13 are limited to children’s material only, Youth Services and YA areas. A $1 credit will be given for every book read, when materials are returned on time to a staff member at the Customer Service desk. Materials may not be checked out and returned immediately to earn credits. RPL has taken the program one step further. When a Read & Reward card holder attends a RPL program, they can earn credit in the form of book bucks. This system allows kids to have access to book, and they will pay off their current fees by enjoying some more books. This is a great new program for our library. If you have kids with fines to pay off, make sure you check this out!

If you love classic automobiles, there’s no better place to go this weekend than Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit. Blackhawk Farms is one of hidden gems of the Rock River Valley. It is a 1.95-mile, 7-mile private circuit racetrack on 216 acres at 15538 Prairie Road. It holds several racing weekends, both automobile and motorcycle, but Father’s Day weekend for the past 25 years has been reserved for the Blackhawk Vintage Classic hosted by the Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association (VSCDA). The Blackhawk Vintage Classic features six different racing events over three days (June 16-18). A look at the automobiles that will be appearing on the course is a dizzying array of iconic names, ranging from Alfa Romeo Spiders and Austin Healey Bugeye Sprites to Porsche 911s and Zink C-4s. Among the six races is the 15th running of the Kastner Cup, which is a race entirely filled with classic British Triumph cars. The weekend though is more than just watching these magnificent mechanical beasts dash around the course. For a $10 gate donation, children 12 and under are free, you can walk amongst the cars, talk to the owners and even ride along with drivers on the course. All gate proceeds go to the Tebala Shriners Association. Blackhawk Farms gates open Thursday at 5 p.m. with the races running Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For more information or to register for the event, go to vscda.org. A special thank you to Alex Gary for writing this Scoreboard piece. Alex Gary spent 22 years as a sports, business and education reporter and editor at newspapers in Beloit, Wis., and Rockford. He now is the communications manager at Thinker Ventures when he’s not umpiring youth baseball, running the scoreboard at Jefferson athletics, working on his NIC-10 Sports History Book website or hanging out with his two daughters.

Paulson’s Agriculture Museum of Argyle, 6950 Belvidere Rd. Caledonia, IL 61011, is a true gem here in Northern Illinois. Take a journey through time as you step through the doors of the museum and see a huge collection of farm equipment from yesteryear. They have so many antiques for you to explore that it is hard to take it all in during one visit. I would suggest taking your time to really look at what they have. Then you will be able to fully appreciate what they have going on in Caledonia. Paulson’s was started by Warren Paulson who, unfortunately, passed away in November 2012. His memories and work live on through the museum today. The museum is a collective effort, run by volunteers who have a passion for the antiques and showcasing them to the public. They work hard to preserve the items so that they can provide tours for groups, families, or individuals who are interesting in seeing how far the Agricultural industry has come. With the weather getting nicer now, it is a great opportunity to explore what your home region has to offer. Mike England has written a virtual tour of the museum. While this gives you an insight into what you will find when you visit the museum, nothing compares to seeing it for yourself. To schedule a tour, give them a call at 815-885-3846, visit their Facebook page, and send them an email at PAMA6950@gmail.com. I also encourage you to take a look at some of their photos HERE. Now, enjoy your virtual tour written by Mike England: First, there are three buildings; the first includes a corner porch that would seem to be the main entrance, but it’s not exactly used for that. We kind of use a different door, right around the corner, most of the time. A little bit like a farmhouse where the front door is usually bypassed in favor of a side or rear entrance. Me: “So was that your office when you were an implement dealer?” Warren: “No. That’s just where I like to keep those things.” (models, plaques, scrapbooks, two beautifully-restored walk-behind plows, a camel, and 1,000 other unique artifacts.) The next stop was a larger room where he has shelving for an enormous collection of farm toys. I remember when I was growing up on the farm; sometimes a tractor would break down and you could not fabricate a part with scrap metal or other on-hand resources, so you had to make a trip to the tractor place. There, on the counter, was always a toy tractor or two, representative of some of the very shiny big-boy toys in the parking lot. Warren must have bought one of everything for 10 or 15 years! He has John Deeres, Farmalls, and every other manufacturer represented here, with models ranging from very old and very rare to fairly recent and pretty common. They are all lined up on shelves that were apparently built by a local farm toy club he was a member of. In the same room, he has created a representation of a farm kitchen and one of a living room. I guess most of the artifacts would put these in the 1930s. I could be wrong, but I think he may have told me he intended a third room, this one a general store. These are similar in size to some exemplar ‘rooms’ at The Henry Ford. I only know that because I was there a couple weeks ago. One of the oddest items in the collection is in this room; a horse drawn hearse. Not only a horse drawn hearse, but a pretty ornate one, and it’s on sled runners. I bet there aren’t very many of those to be found. One of my favorite items is here; a sleigh. I think it has been restored and it looks just like new. It was a work of art when it was build (1920s possibly) and it was a work of art to restore it as well. There is a beautiful pony cart (made in Rockford by Emerson Brantingham), a simple breaking cart, and a very early seated John Deere plow. This was long before John Deere ever got into the tractor business. And a stuffed coyote. I’ll eventually figure out why, but I haven’t quite yet. The next room is a large meeting room. In the meeting room is a large number of metal signs as well as collections of barbed wire, flour sacks, gas pumps and WWII literature. The center of this large machine shed is loaned or leased to the Northern Illinois Historical Railway Association, a very active model railroading club. I’ve been given the tour of their layout a couple times; they have put a lot of effort into it and there is an amazing layout here. The last part of this building is The Emerson Room. (I think that’s what everyone calls it). Here there is one tractor – the rare 3-wheeled Emerson Brantingham model L, the first tractor ever built by the Rockford manufacturer. Also here there are more than a dozen E-B implements, including walk-behind implements, seated implements, and at least one large wagon. Hanging from the rafters is a wheelbarrow seeder. Those things never cease to amaze me. There are also three large hit-and-miss engines in this room. Finally, you will find what Warren called a Democrat wagon and a Republican wagon. I can explain what that means, but maybe another time. The second building starts with Warren’s workshop – this is where he worked on all the tractors in his collection, as well as all the other assorted artifacts. This is also where Warren once welcomed Mike and Frank from American Pickers. (the clip is on the website). In here are displayed more than 700 implement seats, a dozen antique washing machines, 30 or more pedal tractors, several bicycles including a tandem bike, his small collection of flame-throwers, some rollers made from felled logs and a few other primitive tools, including a plow with no metal parts at all. (How long do you suppose you can plow a field when the moldboards are wooden?) There are also dozens (A hundred, maybe?) of metal signs on the walls, hundreds of small tools, a collection of memorabilia I think he was planning to assembler in the 1st building as a store display, and a treadmill for dogs or goats. I put my beagle on that treadmill once; he didn’t know what to do. The oddest-looking and possibly most unusual thing in this building is the Minneapolis-Moline Uni-Tractor. I can describe that unique piece of equipment in a whole separate article one day. It looks a bit like a large, powered unicycle, but it has three wheels. The yellow tractor-maker only produced these for a few years and sold the right to New Idea, who made them a bit bigger, put a cab on them and added a 4th wheel. Warren showed me why it was such a unique approach to farming and explained why it wasn’t really a big success. The third building, I believe, is that one he called the Emerson Brantingham building. There is a huge E-B sign on the door, and the building is filled with beautiful tractors. There are about a dozen bright green John Deeres, an equal number of red Farmalls, a rare Silver King, a couple other makes including Massey-Ferguson. Oh, and a jail. With an occupant. Probably the rarest thing in this building is a backward manure-loader. Warren was an implement dealer, not a tractor dealer, so it’s no surprise the whole collection is weighted toward implements. This has got to be the rarest implement. I’ve used some tractor loaders, but nothing like this. I’ve stared at this several times, and it’s amazing. This implement represents a unique point in the development of such tractor-mounted productivity tools that have led to the near-automated farm of today. What have I skipped? A horse-powered stump puller. A sorghum molasses press. (I hope to see this work soon). A LOT of potato-pickers – each one is different from the others. Several implements that are clearly intended to cut ice – as in, harvesting ice from the river in winter to keep the milk cool in the summer. Did I mention the PAMA collection of manure spreaders? Some of these are John Deeres, some are made by E-B, and several other makers are represented. If you are not yet convinced, I urge you to still head over and check it out. It will make for a great educational trip, and you get to see items that you won't find anywhere else. Give them a call and schedule an appointment. You will be happy that you did!

This weekend, a brand new exhibit opened up at the Discovery Center Museum. It is designed to take you and your kids or grandkids on a journey with an interactive traveling exhibit. It will transport you to present-day Tokyo. “Hello From Japan” is an exciting exhibit that will teach you about a different culture and you have the opportunity to see a far-away place right from Rockford! The exhibit is open from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm seven days a week until September 3, 2017. You have plenty of time to check it out, but make sure you make time to do so! The 1,500-square-foot exhibition, funded by The Freeman Foundation, invites families to explore an immersive, child-sized Tokyo streetscape and Shinto park. Visitors will learn how time-honored Japanese traditions co-exist with the contemporary culture of kawaii-inspired graphics and products, characterized by round figures, vibrant colors and a whimsical, cute aesthetic. The contrast between modern culture and traditional Japanese practices is demonstrated through the representation of an authentic present-day Tokyo streetscape that connects to a bridge leading into a natural Shinto shrine park setting. Based upon the colorful and bustling streets in the modern Harajuku district, Kawaii Central, explores contemporary Japanese culture by evoking the friendly feel of Japanese kawaii, an aesthetic and sensibility which emerged in the 1970s among Japanese school children and has now permeated cultures worldwide. Families are introduced to Japan’s unique culture through child-friendly characters and graphics. Visitors express their own individuality and simultaneously gain insight into modern Japanese society as they create kawaii outfits, design playful mascots, explore seasonal cuisines, practice writing Japanese characters, and sing along to Japanese children’s songs in a karaoke booth. A bridge at the end of the streetscape leads from the contemporary urban setting into a more tranquil Shinto shrine park environment. The park explores the traditional, nature-based practices and beliefs of Shinto, an indigenous Japanese religion. Visitors can explore the shrine area’s crawl-through forest, make a wish at a large Wishing Tree, get their fortune told and encounter a few of Japan’s kami spirits. Hello From Japan will be thrilling for the whole family as you see things that you wouldn't see here in Rockford. It is always great to learn about other cultures and how they go about their lives. You can do it in a fun and interactive way with this exhibit!

If you haven’t heard yet, Wilco is coming to the Coronado on June 14! They are bringing their special blend of Americana rock to the stage to put on a great show for you. The show will start at 7:30 pm and tickets are on sale now! They are going super fast, so if you want to get your tickets, make sure you get them now. Based in Chicago, Illinois, Wilco's music has been inspired by a wide variety of artists and styles, including Bill Fay, The Beatles and Television, and has in turn influenced music by a number of modern alternative rock acts. Wilco's musical style has evolved from a 1990s-country rock sound to a current "eclectic indie rock collective that touches on many eras and genres." Wilco won two Grammy Awards for their fifth studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born, including Best Alternative Music Album. Wilco released their ninth studio album, Star Wars, in July 2015, and in September 2016 released their tenth studio album, Schmilco. To make the night even better, The Coronado will be introducing their 90th anniversary beer that they partnered with Prairie Street Brewing Company to create! Providing that the weather is nice, there will be a pre-show block party starting at 5:00 pm outside of the venue. There will be beer, soda, water, and grilled burgers and hotdogs available for purchase. Not only that, Culture Shock will be DJ’ing the event and Roni Golan will be doing a live painting. You must have a Wilco ticket in order to attend the block party. To make things easy for you, here is a link to purchase your ticket: TICKETS. The Wilco show is going to be a great time, and the block party beforehand is going to start the night off right.

Saturday night’s normal Rockford Speedway racing lineup includes one of the Speedway’s more unique events – “The Original Trailer Race of Destruction. For more than 30 years, the Speedway on the corner of Forest Hills Road and Illinois 173 in Loves Park has been holding the annual trailer race where cars, trucks and vans race around the track pulling boats, campers and travel trailers. It essentially turns into a rolling demolition derby where the key really is more survival than speed. The carnage annually draws one of the top crowds of the year for the speedway so fans are encouraged to get tickets in advance. You can buy your tickets online at rockfordspeedway.tix.com, by phone at 815-633-1500 or in person. Preferred seating costs $24 for adults, ages 12 and up, and $12 for those age 11 and under. Reserved seating is $20 for adults and $10 for kids, while bleacher seating is $15 for adults and $5 for kids. Gates open at 5 p.m. with the first race of the evening at 7:07 p.m. The night features the full menu of racing, including the Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Models, Bargain Hunter Sportsman, Miller Lite American Short Trackers and Kickstart Roadrunners and the Roadrunner Challenge ‘Escape from I-90 Race.’

The NBA Finals tipped off Thursday night and many of the subplots of the series between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers trace back to Michael Jordan and his NBA title teams in the 1990s. If the Cavaliers can somehow knock off the heavily favored Warriors for the second year in a row it will give LeBron James fans more ammunition in the GOAT (greatest of all time) argument, LeBron or Jordan. If the Warriors beat the Cavaliers, especially if they do it in impressive fashion, you could argue that Golden State is the greatest team in NBA history.

We often like to bring up how Rockford has an ever-growing art community. We do that because it is no lie. We have so many creative minds here in our town, and Jenny Mathews is one of them. Jenny Mathews is a Rockford original; She was born and raised here. She went to Harlem High School and then to Rock Valley for college with the intention of going into teaching. Unfortunately, a teacher’s salary wasn’t going to work for her right away, so she ended up in sales as a secretary. She got married and moved out to Pecatonica and eventually to Texas. She ended up moving back with her kids to be closer to family, and also for the school system. Rockford has an incredible gifted program that she wanted to put her daughter into. Jenny is a big fan of our schools. She says that they do a really good job, and it was one of the main factors that drew her back. It was also a great time to come to Rockford to buy a house and open a small business. She saw moving back to Rockford as an investment opportunity. If you don’t know, Jenny Mathews works are 317 Studio & Gallery. She also owns Rockford Illustrating. They have a book coming out in a few days, Atrocious Poems A to Z, published Zombie Logic Press. There are 26 poems, one for each letter, all about things that kids hate. She also does custom, commissioned work. If you want to look into buying the book, you can find more information HERE. When she isn’t teaching art classes or illustrating books, she spends a lot of time with her kids. Ella, 13, and Jack, 6, are involved in a lot of activities. She is often driving them around. She is also involved in the Democratic Central Committee of Winnebago County. Jenny grew up outdoors with her family. They would travel a lot and go hiking, camping, and climbing mountains. She tries to keep her kids outside as much as possible. They frequent Rock Cut and take their new puppy for walks. Personally, Jenny’s favorite thing about Rockford is that she knows all of the little tricks about the town. She is the expert here for friends or family of hers that come to visit. When she was living in Texas, she realized that her friends were the ones that knew about all of the great hidden gems about their town. It was a good sense of comfort for her when she came back. It makes life easier when you know the little intricacies of the place that you live. Aside from that, Jenny also loves how humble the people of Rockford are. A lot of times we don’t realize how wonderful it really is. We have phenomenal food, music, and art. We have great niche places to visit and show off. Everyone in Rockford has an ability to make something out of thin air. A lot of artists she knows make things out of recycled material. We have learned out of necessity, but she finds it amazing. Fun Facts: Favorite Local Restaurant: Hai Quynh Book: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck Movie: Happy Gilmore – she quotes that movie more than anything else Artist: Salvador Dali Music: Jazz, she is a big fan of Ynton Marsalis Jenny has an incredible talent for finding four-leaf clovers. She spends a lot of time standing around in fields while her kids are participating in activities. So, she has a lot of time to find them, but she has found more than anybody else I know. She can’t walk by a box of books without buying some. She loves reading, and books call out to her. Jenny is involved in a summer art exhibit at the Rockford Art Museum. Bittersweet Observations opens on June 9 and explores the grown-up wonder of childlike nostalgia in a dramatic, fairytale setting through paintings, drawings, prints, animation and installations. Artists Casey Riordan Millard, Sarah Reed-McNamara, and Jeremy Klonicki will also be involved in the exhibit. Jenny Mathews is a cool person to sit down and chat with. She has a good outlook on things and has a very infectious positive presence. She is also an incredible artist and you should check out her work HERE.

If you are a fan of country music, there is a treat for you next Thursday, June 8, 2017! The country music singer/songwriter that most roots music enthusiasts would crown the reigning king of California country, Dwight Yoakam, is coming to Rockford for a rare theater show at the Coronado Performing Arts Center. The show will start at 8p.m. and doors will open at 7p.m. Tickets are available for purchase now, so make sure you get yours before it sells out! Tickets are $35.00, $49.00, $75.00, $89.50 and $125.00 plus applicable fees and are available HERE, the BMO Harris box office, and by phone at 815-968-5222. Dwight Yoakam has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, and he is a 21-time nominated, multiple GRAMMY Award winner. He has 12 gold albums and 9 platinum or multi-platinum albums, with five of those albums topping Billboard’s Country Albums chart, and another 14 landing in the Top 10. Nearly 40 of Yoakam’s singles have charted, with 14 peaking in the Top 10. He received the Artist of the Year award at the 2013 Americana Music Honors & Awards ceremony, the most prestigious award offered by the organization. This is going to be a great night out at the Coronado. Pull out those cowboy boots and hats and head downtown for a good time!

You get your first chance to potentially see future major league players in action Thursday night when the Rockford Rivets open their season at Rivets Stadium, 4503 Interstate Blvd., Loves Park. The Rivets are members of the Northwoods League, a 20-team college developmental league that is in its 24th season. Such current major league stars as Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals), Ben Zobrist (Chicago Cubs), Curtis Granderson (New York Mets) and Chris Sale (Boston Red Sox), honed their skills in the three-month summer league. This year’s edition of the Rivets includes players from as far away as Texas and Louisiana in the U.S. and Slovenia (Matic Lesnjak). It also is filled with Midwestern college stars, including Mike Roberson, who is expected to be Northern Illinois University’s starting catcher in the fall, and Rockford University’s Adam O’Malley, who hit .283 in 34 games for the Regents this year. The top home-grown product for 2017 will be Hononegah alumni Jack Granath. Granath played briefly for the Rivets last summer, going 1-1 in two games with a 3.55 ERA. At Hononegah, Granath was just as much a slugger as a pitcher. In four years, Granath batted .363 over 366 at bats. On the mound, he was 13-4 with a 1.99 ERA. In 2016, he was 9-0 in 12 games for McHenry Community College with 83 strikeouts in 64.1 innings. He’ll be pitching for Davenport (Michigan) University, an NAIA school. The Rivets open the season at 6:35 p.m. against the Wisconsin Woodchucks. The season opener also happens to be Thirsty Thursday. All night long 16 oz Miller Lites, Miller High Lifes and Coors Lights will be $3. To buy tickets beforehand, go to their site HERE. A special thank you to Alex Gary for writing this Scoreboard piece. Alex Gary spent 22 years as a sports, business and education reporter and editor at newspapers in Beloit, Wis., and Rockford. He now is the communications manager at Thinker Ventures when he’s not umpiring youth baseball, running the scoreboard at Jefferson athletics, working on his NIC-10 Sports History Book website or hanging out with his two daughters.

Spending quality time with your four-legged pals is super important. It allows for some bonding, a nice break from trying things on your mind, and it makes your pup happy! When your dog is happy, it will lead to you being happier too. I don't have any science to back this up. But, come on now, it just makes sense! The 2nd Annual Dog Day Out at Meyer’s Tails Up Farm, 5390 Irene Rd, is coming up this weekend. You now have a date with your dog on June 4 from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. Bring out your pup to see demonstrations of Rally, Dog Diving, K9 Nosework, Canine Aquatics, and Trick Dogs. When you are done watching those, you can participate in some fun activities with your own dog. You can meet new dog owners, and your furry friend can take in all of the sights and smells of the farm and new dogs. They may even make some new puppy friends! If you have a dog that is friendly with other dogs and people and loves to have fun, you really can’t miss this event!

If you haven’t heard, there is a very neat project going on called Focus Rockford. The project was started by Brian Wallheimer; you have probably seen some of his writing in the Register Star. As attention is being shifted to showing off how beautiful and promising our town is, Brian wanted to contribute in changing the narrative. From that idea, Focus Rockford was born. Focus Rockford is a photography project with the intent of showing off the beautiful parts of Rockford, IL. From now until September, photographers are encouraged to enter their photos to be judged. The theme of the entries is “The Best of Rockford.” This gives you the opportunity to show off what you love about our town or some place that is particularly beautiful. There is no limit to how many photos you can enter. You can submit up to 4 for the entry fee of $30. Every photo after the first 4 is an additional $10. In total, there will be 12 winning prints chosen with the top 3 winners receiving cash prizes and their prints will be mounted and framed by Jeremy at MainFraim. Camera Craft will be printing the photos. There will be an event held on November 2, 2017 at Prairie Street Brew House to showcase the winners. The official prints will be auctioned off. After the auction, they will be hung in a local business for about 6 months and then delivered to the winner by Brian. There will be on-site printing available at the November event if guests would like to purchase prints of the photos. I hear there may even be a calendar available. The money earned from this event is going to be put into a Rockford Beautification Project in 2018 that is being worked on by Focus Rockford and the Rockford Area Arts Council. Rockford has its problems, but when you have the whole community buying into change, anything is possible. This project is just one more initiative working to changing how Rockford is viewed. If you are a photographer, or if you just have a photo to enter, you can visit their site HERE. We look forward to seeing all of the winners. This is a fun way to get involved in your community, and there may even be a prize in it for you! Get those cameras going!

One of the fastest growing competitions sweeping the nation actually dates back to 1883. That’s when Heyliger de Windt received a patent for “Parlor Quoits.” De Windt’s game featured bean-bags and a slanted board with a hole as a target. His hole actually was a square. DeWindt eventually sold the rights to his game to a Massachusetts toy manufacturer. Parlor Quoits today is officially known as Cornhole or by the more popular and simpler term, Bags. Millions of people play bags weekly at church events, tailgates and backyard parties. The game is easy and the equipment minimal. The game can be played one-on-one or as two-man teams. Cornhole players stand next to a slanted board and toss bean-bags underhand at a board 27 feet away. Each round is four bean-bag tosses. You score points by tossing the bags into the holes – known as Drano - or landing more bags on the board than your opponent. A bag that stays on the board is an ace or cow pie. The American Cornhole Organization was started in 2005 to standardize the game, take advantage of marketing opportunities and to turn Cornhole into a legitimate, competitive sport. There are more than 25,000 fans and players in the ACO database and there are professional Cornhole players in more than a dozen states, including most of the Midwest. The ACO championship – known as Cornhole XII – will be held in Owensboro, Kentucky, from July 25-29. The ACO hits Rockford this weekend. This Friday night and Saturday, the UW Health Sports Factory, 305 S. Madison St., Rockford, is home to the ACO Rockford Cornhole Tournaments. Serious teams – teams consist of two players - can begin playing at 5 p.m. Friday night and then at 9:30 a.m. for two tournaments that feature $500 in prizes to the top four teams in each of the two tournaments. The first tournament Saturday begins at 10:30 a.m. and the second at 3 p.m. Both tournaments are double-elimination. The cost is $25 per team for each tournament if you register online and $40 if you sign up the day of the event. The cost is $40 if you register for both tournaments or $60 if you sign up for both on Saturday. To learn more, go to the Facebook event HERE. A special thank you to Alex Gary for writing this Scoreboard piece. Alex Gary spent 22 years as a sports, business and education reporter and editor at newspapers in Beloit, Wis., and Rockford. He now is the communications manager at Thinker Ventures when he’s not umpiring youth baseball, running the scoreboard at Jefferson athletics, working on his NIC-10 Sports History Book website or hanging out with his two daughters.

Foodie, author, TV Show host, and now guest at the Coronado Performing Arts Center! Alton Brown is coming to town, and he is bringing quite the show with him. Imagine the thing most people love, food, being turned into a crazy science experiment and comedy show. Brown says fans can expect “all-new everything” including songs, comedy, puppets and bigger and better and potentially dangerous food demonstrations. Brown has received rave reviews about the interactive components of his shows and for this tour he promises “plenty of new therapy-inducing opportunities” during the audience participation segments. “I don’t want to give too much away, but this time we’re going to play a little game,” says Brown. Brown has a knack for mixing science, music and food into two hours of entertainment. “Plus, you’ll see things I’ve never been allowed to do on TV.” This is a show that you don’t want to miss. Alton Brown is going to be cooking up some crazy confections and putting on a stunning show. With an over-the-top display, flashy utensils, the show is going to be crazy, fun, and it is going to leave you and the family laughing at what he comes up with next. You can find the performance at the Coronado on Wednesday, April 5 at 7:30 pm. You can purchase your tickets online HERE.

By now, you have probably heard of using essential oils for some health reasons. You most likely know someone who uses them, and you may have even tried them out yourself. Did you know that essential oils can be used for alertness, pain, mood boosting, sleep, and many other things? Well, they can! They can even be used to ease stress. That sounds lovely, doesn’t it? If you are intrigued by essential oils or already love them, you can’t miss this event at Luna Studio, 5906 Elaine Drive. On Thursday, May 25, 2017 from 5:00 – 5:45 pm, they are hosting an Essential Oils & Summer: DIY night. If you attend, you will be in great company with people who are all interested in the same thing you are – wellness and improving your life. This class will be focusing on summer and oils that you can use during the warm weather months. It will also include a DIY roller or spray that you can take home with you. Even better? The class is only $3! Take some time to hang out with some fun people and learn a little something on a Thursday evening. You’ll have a great time!

The Rockford running community’s flagship race, the Rockford Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K will have its 10th run this Sunday. The race isn’t just a highlight on the Rockford event calendar, it’s a valued stop on the Midwestern marathoning calendar with more than 1,200 running in the event each year from more than 20 states and several countries. For the visitors, the race shows off some of the prettiest neighborhoods in Rockford. It starts and ends at Davis Park and the courses meander through the city’s Historic District – featuring Queen Anne, Greek Revival, Italianate, Dutch Colonial and Tudor style homes. It also winds along the Rock River and through several of the city’s top parks. The cost to enter – if you haven’t already – is $75 for the marathon, $50 for the half-marathon and $45 for the 10K. There is $2,500 in prize money for the top finishers in each category, finishers medals for all participants, shirts and snacks at the post-race party at Davis Park. Online registration is closed, but you can still register on the day of the event. For more information, go to rockfordmarathon.com. The marathon and half-marathon start at 6 a.m. and the 10K starts at 7 a.m. A portion of the proceeds go to the Northern Illinois Food Bank. A special thank you to Alex Gary for writing this Scoreboard piece. Alex Gary spent 22 years as a sports, business and education reporter and editor at newspapers in Beloit, Wis., and Rockford. He now is the communications manager at Thinker Ventures when he’s not umpiring youth baseball, running the scoreboard at Jefferson athletics, working on his NIC-10 Sports History Book website or hanging out with his two daughters.

The Coronado, one of Rockford's most loved venues, is always booking new and exciting shows. There are two coming up that you need to put on your calendar and get your tickets for. KANSAS KANSAS has been entertaining fans for more than four decades. The band, which is currently comprised of original drummer Phil Ehart, bassist/vocalist Billy Greer, keyboardist David Manion, vocalist/keyboardist Ronnie Platt, violinist/guitarist David Ragsdale, guitarist Zak Rizvi, and original guitarist Richard Williams, continues to perform in front of large and enthusiastic audiences around the world. KANSAS is coming to the Coronado on Saturday, May 20th. There are balcony seats available now for only $35, so you should snatch those up while they are still available. You can find your tickets HERE. RENT In 1996, an original rock musical by a little-known composer opened on Broadway...and forever changed the landscape of American theatre. Two decades later, Jonathan Larson’s RENT continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world. Now, it is coming to Rockford! At 7:30pm on Thursday, May 18, be taken on a journey through a classic story. It has made many people feel every emotion in the book, and now it is your turn to see it live. Find your tickets HERE. These two upcoming shows are going to be great and would make for a good time out with friends or a great date night. Make sure you grab your tickets before they are gone!

Mother's Day is this weekend, and spoiling your mom is always a lot of fun. You can do that in various ways. You can spoil mom with love, experiences, help, or gifts! We asked you where the go-to shopping place is if you want to get gifts. The answer is. . . CRIMSON RIDGE! At Crimson Ridge, you can find a large assortment of flowers and other gifts. They also have home furnishings, jewelry, clothing, among other things. You can't go wrong with a gift from Crimson Ridge, and they offer free gift wrapping. You can also grab a card there, too. It is a one-stop-shop for your Mother's Day shopping needs!

You can say goodbye to the 2016-2017 IceHogs and get ahead on next season’s planning by attending the team’s annual offseason Garage Sale this Saturday. May is a popular month for this peculiarly American tradition. According to Statisticbrain.com, 690,000 people buy something from a garage sale each week. At the IceHogs Garage Sale, you truly are picking over unique items you won’t find anywhere else. On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., you can sift through dozens of IceHogs items – including game-worn and practice jerseys, hockey sticks and other equipment on the arena floor of the BMO Harris Bank Center. In true garage sale fashion, many items will be priced below $10 and select merchandise from the IceHogs gift stores will be dramatically marked down to clear out space for next season’s inventory. To make sure everything gets moved, fans who buy $50 or more during the event will earn an opportunity to spin a prize wheel for even more IceHogs stuff. Fans also will have a chance Saturday to take part in the Select-A-Seat event. If you are interested in purchasing any of the ticketing packages for next season, you will have a chance to test out the view of newly available seats. Ticket plans start out as low as $105 for a seven-game mini pack of tickets or $266 for full season tickets. The 2017-2018 season will begin in mid-October. For more information, call the IceHogs front offices at 815-986-6465. A special thank you to Alex Gary for writing this Scoreboard piece. Alex Gary spent 22 years as a sports, business and education reporter and editor at newspapers in Beloit, Wis., and Rockford. He now is the communications manager at Thinker Ventures when he’s not umpiring youth baseball, running the scoreboard at Jefferson athletics, working on his NIC-10 Sports History Book website or hanging out with his two daughters.

Most of the time, a 72nd birthday means that you are getting pretty old and things start breaking down. But, like a fine wine (yes, I know they are a beer lover's haven), The Olympic Tavern only gets better with age. They have been serving up beer and great food for Rockford residents at Fulton and Main for 72 years now. This is something to celebrate. They are celebrating in the best way they know how – by tapping some super special kegs from their beer cellar. They are kicking the party off at 11:00 am on Friday, May 12. You will find: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Krieky Bones Prairie Artisan Ales Pe-Kan Avery Brewing Company Vanilla Bean Stout Pipeworks Brewing Company Manowar XO Galactic Golden Age If you are a beer lover, this is your chance to show your appreciation for one of our most loved taverns in town. If you haven’t taken the time to visit them yet, there is no better time than for a birthday celebration. Friday is going to be a great time, so make sure that you don’t miss out! You can check out the event on their Facebook page HERE, where they will be adding updates as Friday gets closer.

Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful (KNIB) has announced a clothing partnership with Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois. Donations that are collected from their next clothing drive and onward will be processed locally, rather than being exported for sorting and distribution through textile wholesalers. Everything will be staying in our community thanks to the efforts of Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful and Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois. Their clothing drives allow clothes to be redistributed to people who may need them. They also keep clothing and textiles out of our landfills. The next KNIB Clothing Drive is from 9 a.m.to Noon, Saturday, May 13, at three locations in Rockford and one in Roscoe. Volunteers will accept clean, bagged clothing and textiles at SERVPRO of Rockford, 4315 Charles Street; Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 3300 Rural Street; and at both KNIB Recycle Centers: 4665 Hydraulic Road, Rockford, and 13125 N. 2nd Street, Roscoe. If residents are unable to drop off clothing on May 13, items will be accepted at both KNIB Recycle Center locations year-round from 9 a.m. to Noon on Saturday mornings. The Rockford Center is also open 2-5 p.m. Tuesdays. Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful accepts items in plastic bags that are clean and dry, although they may have rips or stains. In addition to men’s, women’s or children’s clothing, donations may include shoes, hats, belts, purses, soft-sided luggage, throw rugs, curtains, plush toys, sheets, blankets, pillows and towels. Last year, KNIB clothing programs saved 77 tons of textiles from landfills - and more than one million pounds since 2010. An affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, KNIB helps educate the next generation of community stewards, helps prevent blight, water contamination and accidental poisonings, and improves property values with beautification projects. Additional information at www.knib.org. Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois is a community-based not-for-profit organization whose mission is to create opportunities for individuals with barriers to enhance their lives. It funds job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs in a service area stretching from Southern Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois.

Kevin Schwitters, a Rockford native, is a part of a very talented group of people that make up the band La Historia. He started playing in bands as a teenager in the late ‘90s and hasn’t looked back. He has been lucky to play with talented and easy-going people for over 20 years now. He was always intensely passionate about music but wasn’t much of a musician. Thankfully, some of his talented friends started a band and asked him to be a singer. After that, he began learning how to play instruments and sing and has played in a handful of bands since: Blinder, The Evergreen Trio, Haunted Hayrides, The Braves, Table and Chairs, State Capitals, and now La Historia. When asked about his and the band’s sound, he usually says that he is in an indie-rock band, but they tend to frame their music around the underground punk and indie bands from the 1980s and 90s that they grew up listening to. There aren't any universal themes to their music. He tends to just write about whatever is on his mind at the time and converts those ideas into something more abstract. In La Historia, Kevin Schwitters plays guitar and is the main vocalist. All four members of the band, Luke Kramer (bass and backing vocals), Jesse Carmona (drums and backing vocals), and Phil Goudreau (guitar) have a hand in the songwriting process, but he write most of the lyrics. He has also played drums in other bands, so if he ever gets a chance, he would like to get the opportunity to focus on bass at some point. A lot of his inspiration comes from the music he grew up with. As a teenager, Nirvana blew him away and opened his eyes to underground bands. Some other bands that made a huge impact on his include Fugazi, Dinosaur Jr., Superchunk, Sebadoh, Jawbreaker, Pavement, and Idlewild. A newer band that Kevin appreciates is The Joy Formidable. They have been around for about a decade, but he still thinks of them as his favorite “new” band. Kevin Schwitters feels fortunate to have grown up in a town and in a time when all-ages punk shows were readily available. Being a part of that scene as a teenager informed a lot of his attitudes about music, politics, and culture. He has been part of the local music community for a couple of decades now, and he feels there is definitely something unique happening now here in town. “I think a healthy music scene gives young people not only a place to go but also a group of people to share ideas and experiences with. I’ve met too many people to even count who have greatly influenced my life through music. Some of my best friends in the world are people I first saw on a stage somewhere and befriended later. And all of this is not to mention the great charity and benefit shows local musicians put on.” One piece of work that Kevin is really proud of is La Historia’s music video for a song called “Wrong Things Right.” It is off of their first EP, and when they started writing, they practiced in their bass player, Luke's, father’s hardware store, Pecatonica Hardware. Kevin had the idea of filming a music video from one of their practice sessions because it was a neat environment. Kevin’s brother-in-law, Barton Bishoff, is an award winning filmmaker and came in to help them film the video. You can find that video HERE. If you want to hear more from Kevin and La Historia, you can find them on their WEBSITE, BANDCAMP, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER. Go give them some follows and support the local music scene.