Have you marked your calendar? If not, do it now: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Peoria Library North Branch facility located off of Allen Road behind Menards.

The guest speaker is Dr. Richard Macdonald, author of Inside the Gates: The Nazi Concentration Camp at Ebensee, Austria. The article in the link below, touches briefly on the delightful evening in store for all of us as Dr. Macdonald talks of his experiences, which led him to write his book. He will share his research, writing, and publishing experiences, as well as his post publishing experiences since the June 2010 publishing of his book.

Please plan to attend and hear this captivating story.

Sew Special ’11 features Linda Lee’s “The Best of the Sewing Workshop”

Would you like to learn some special sewing techniques used by the pros? In a day-long event on October 1, Linda Lee, owner of the Sewing Workshop Pattern Collection, and other talented presenters will showcase the fiber arts in hands-on workshops, demonstrations, and lectures.

Linda Lee is the owner of The Sewing Workshop Pattern Collection, a group of patterns for distinctive garments using innovative sewing techniques. She writes for Threads, Sew News and Stitch magazines and travels the country teaching fine sewing skills and the art of combining beautiful fabrics and distinctive design in garment and home decorating creations. Using her background as a licensed interior designer and a member of the American Society of Interior Designers since 1974, she has written fourteen books relating to garment sewing and interiors. Attend Sew Special ’11 to learn Linda’s methods for Cool Edges, Subtleties of Sewing, Cutting Outside The Lines, and Material Matters. Linda’s website is www.sewingworkshop.com.

To fill your day, choose from more sessions taught by local presenters: fitting a shell top, bead embroidery cuff bracelet, sweatshirt to quilted jacket, new specialty rulers, polar socks, foundation piecing, small bags, sewing as a business, fabric embellishment, upholstering, and alterations. Whether hands-on or demonstration, each of these will provide new and interesting information.

Mark October 1, 2011 on your calendar. Come to Sew Special at PARC, 1913 Townline Road, Peoria, Illinois, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration deadline is September 24. Cost for the entire day is $50 for American Sewing Guild members, $35 for students, and $60 for non-members. The fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, door prizes, and the State of Illinois Make It With Wool Style Show. Make It With Wool winners advance to the national level.

Contact Gisela Schuman at (309) 245-4884 or gschuman93@gmail.com for information regarding Sew Special or membership in the American Sewing Guild.

The American Sewing Guild is a national non-profit organization founded in 1978 to promote and preserve the sewing arts and provide a support organization for sewing enthusiasts. The Central Illinois/Peoria Chapter sponsors special events, monthly meetings, newsletters, “members only” discounts, service projects, and much more.

Muir Omni Graphics is proud to be a sponsor of the 4th Annual Peters’ Charity – Hole Out for a Cure – Golf Tournament benefiting Friedreich’s Ataxia research.

Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) is a rare, genetic, neurodegenerative, multi-system, life-shortening disorder resulting in symptoms ranging from gait disturbance and speech problems to heart disease. About 1 in 50,000 people in the United States has Friedreich’s Ataxia. Symptoms, which typically begin sometime between the ages of 5 to 15 years, include any combination of the following: Muscle weakness in the arms and legs, loss of coordination, vision and hearing impairment, slurred speech, curvature of the spine, diabetes and heart disorders.

For more information about the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance visit http://www.curefa.org/index.html
The Tournament is scheduled for August 22nd, 2011 at the Country Club of Peoria from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Donations will go towards supporting patient advocacy groups who educate the public, elected representatives, and other government officials regarding Friedreich’s Ataxia and the importance of funding biomedical research.

For more information about the event visit http://www.holeoutforacure.com

On Sunday evening, August 21, 2011, from 6:30 pm until 8:30 p.m., David Cobb, national spokesperson for the Move to Amend organization will speak in Peoria Heights at the Forest Park Nature Center, 5809 Forest Park Drive. His topic will be “Creating Democracy and Challenging Corporate Rule.”

The US Supreme Court decision of January, 2010, Citizens United versus the Federal Election Commission, gave virtually unlimited power for corporate financing in all governmental elections. Cobb, an attorney and organizer for the Move to Amend coalition, will first provide historical background then offer a proposal to abolish the concept of ‘corporate personhood’ and re-establish a government of, by and for the people.

Corporate Personhood commonly refers to court-created precedent that gives corporations constitutional rights intended soley for human beings. Although the Founding Fathers never intended to give away the rights of its citizens to big business, beginning in 1886 the US Supreme Court did exactly that. Their January, 2010 ruling confirmed and extended 14th Amendment protections to all corporations, providing them legal justification to inject AS MUCH MONEY AS THEY CHOOSE into local, state and Federal elections.

Move to Amend is a national coalition dedicated to reversing this ruling by establishing a constitutional amendment that gives corporations privileges, not rights. By reducing corporate influence in government, the citizens of the United States will have increased influence on politicians, and big business will have much less. Their website is www.MoveToAmend.org.

David Cobb is on a state wide tour en route to an August 24 – 28 Pro-Democracy rally in Madison, Wisconsin. That website is www.democracyconvention.org. Cobb will be Alton on August 20, Peoria August 21, Champaign on August 22, and Chicago August 23, speaking to interested groups.

The Peoria tour is sponsored by the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club, whose members understand that environmental decisions are unfairly subjected to corporate influence at all levels of government. The value of America’s rich natural resources belong to the citizens who should make the tough decisions about how their allocation, not by big business. Their website is www.illinois.sierraclub.org/hoi. For more information please call David Pittman, 309-676-5237, dvdpttmn@aol.com.

Nominated for eight Academy Awards, “To Kill A Mockingbird” is powerful cinema that takes on issues large and small and succeeds in a way few dramas – few movies – do, and it’s returning to downtown Peoria’s Apollo Theater on Saturday, August 20.

The 1962 motion picture was last screened as part of 2007’s “Peoria Reads!” program.
Starring Gregory Peck in his Oscar-winning role as small-town lawyer Atticus Finch, “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written by Horton Foote, whose screenplay also won an Oscar. It was based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic novel of intolerance set in the Depression-era South.

The tense and tender film also touches on family and childhood innocence, as its story is recalled through the eyes of “Scout,” Finch’s 10-year-old daughter.

The cast also features Brock Peters, William Windom, Alice Ghostly, Paul Fix and, in his debut, Robert Duvall.

The National Film Preservation Board in 1995 named the 129-minute feature to the National Film Registry; the American Film Institute (AFI) named it the 25th greatest movie of all time and in 2003 named Atticus Finch the 20th century’s greatest movie hero.

Show times at the Apollo are at 7:00 p.m. Donations are $5 and $4 for kids, students and seniors. For details call (309) 673-4343.

[Editor’s Note: The HFO sent more information after my previous post. So, here is more detailed info than listed before!]

Committed to giving back to the community, the Heartland Festival Orchestra continues its tradition of partnering with deserving local nonprofit organizations in Season Three — 2011-12. In connection with each concert, the HFO makes a monetary contribution to the community partner, shares the onstage spotlight before each concert with the partner’s spokesperson, and offers the partner opportunity and venue to showcase its programs for concert-goers.

The Heartland Festival Orchestra’s 2011-2012 Community Partners are:
• Concert 1; August 27, 2011 – CASA of Peoria County (Court Appointment Special Advocates) www.casapeoria.org – CASA ensures that every abused and neglected child is placed in a safe and permanent home by utilizing specially trained community volunteers who advocate for children going through the court system. Concert Program: Romantic Heroes: featuring piano soloist Adam Neiman, Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2

• Concert 2; October 8, 2011 – Kids Konnected – www.kidskonnected.org or www.hult-health.org/KidsKonnected/ – Kids Konnected serves by helping kids who have a parent with cancer or lost a parent to cancer. Concert Program: Beethoven Lives Upstairs: a dramatic and musical portrait of the mysterious and difficult Mr. B;
with Beethoven Symphony No. 2

• Concert 3; January 7, 2012 – Friends of the Children of Haiti (FOTCOH) – www.fotcoh.org – Delivering health and hope to those in need – with your help. This concert coincides with the two year anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake. Concert Program: New Year’s Greeting: from Vienna to Broadway

• Concert 4; March 17, 2012 – Look! It’s My Book! – www.lookitsmybook.org – Giving free books to Peoria’s school children. Concert Program:
Old and New World Strings: with clarinet soloist David Gresham, Copland’s Concerto for
Clarinet, Strings, Piano and Harp

• Concert 5, June 2; 2012 – Paws Giving Independence – www.givingindependence.orgPGI trains service dogs to assist people with a variety of different disabilities while providing support to encourage independence. Concert Program: Amadeus: featuring violin soloist Stefan Milenkovich, Mozart Violin Concert No. 5 in A

Individual and Season Tickets to the Heartland Festival Orchestra Season 3 concerts are on sale now at www.HeartlandFestivalOrchestra.org For more information, call (309) 339-3943.

State Rep. Jehan Gordon (D-Peoria) will be hosting her 3rd Annual Free Community Shred Day with AAA Confidential Security Corporation in the North Parking Lot of the Landmark Recreation Center, located at 3225 Dries Ln., on Saturday, August 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

“In properly disposing of their documents, consumers will help protect themselves from identity theft while helping preserve the environment by recycling,” Gordon said. “I urge anyone and everyone who is interested in keeping their personal information safe from unsavory characters to stop by and shred what they don’t want laying around their house.”

Identity thieves try to steal information from consumers in a variety of ways, one of which is to rummage through the trash. With this sensitive information, criminals can open fraudulent credit card and utility accounts, create counterfeit checks, and secure loans in the names of their unsuspecting victims.

A study released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in February of 2010 reported that during the 2009 calendar year, Illinois experienced 36,133 consumer fraud complaints. 12,113 of the total number of complaints were cases of identity theft. The FTC study also reported that in 2009, United States financial losses incurred due to consumer fraud totaled over $1.7 billion.

Residents are welcome to stop by and drop off old personal documents and unused credit cards to be securely destroyed by AAA Confidential Security Corporation, a NAID certified shredding company based in Peoria. For more information on the 3rd Annual Free Community Shred Day, please contact Rep. Gordon’s constituent service office at (309) 681-1992 or by email at repjehangordon@gmail.com.

What: 3rd Annual Free Community Shred Day with State Rep. Jehan Gordon & AAA Confidential Security Corporation
When: Saturday, August 13 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Where: Landmark Recreation Center, 3225 Dries Lane, North Parking Lot, Peoria

Dedicated to giving back to the community, the HFO continues its tradition of partnerships with deserving local community charities in Season Three — 2011-2012.

This HFO’s 2011-2012 Community Partners will be:

• Concert ; August 27, 2011 – CASA of Peoria County (Court Appointment Special Advocates) www.casapeoria.org. CASA ensures that every abused and neglected child is placed in a safe and permanent home by utilizing specially trained community volunteers who advocate for children going through the court system.

• Concert 2; October 8, 2011 – Kids Konnected –
www.kidskonnected.org or http://www.hult-health.org/KidsKonnected/ – Kids Konnected serves by helping kids who have a parent with cancer or lost a parent to cancer

• Concert; January 7, 2012 – Friends of the Children of Haiti (FOTCOH) www.fotcoh.org – Delivering health and hope to those in need – with your help

• Concert ; March 17, 2012 – Look! It’s My Book!
www.lookitsmybook.org – Giving free books to Peoria’s school children

• Concert 5, June 2; 2012 – Paws Giving Independence www.givingindependence.org – PGI trains service dogs to assist people with a variety of different disabilities while providing support to encourage independence

Namaste to move when Kramer completes its name transition and relocation to Senara Health and Healing Center and Senara Spa (Senara)

Kramer, which is in the process of transitioning its name to Senara, announces that an agreement to acquire Namaste has been finalized. Namaste will move its entire operation and officially become part of Senara when the doors open to Senara’s new 12,000-square-foot building, which includes the 7,000-square-foot Senara Spa. Construction of the new facility is scheduled for completion this November.

“The Senara Center is going to be a phenomenal place,” said Molly Waller, owner of Namaste. “Senara Spa is state-of-the-art and absolutely fantastic. It has beautifully designed areas dedicated to our specialties of yoga, Pilates, Tai Ji, Poi and more. Senara also has room to host special yoga-related events. With the expanded services and amenities Senara offers, it’s going to be a special place for our customers. So we’re thrilled to join the Senara family.”

The owners of Senara, Dr. Keith Kramer and his wife, Penny, said they are building Senara to expand Kramer’s existing services to bring the total package of health and healing services to downstate Illinois. “As part of the total package, we wanted to offer the best possible yoga experience for our Senara guests,” said Penny Kramer. “Keith and I have been extremely impressed with Namaste since the day it opened. Molly and her staff have already proven they deliver the best yoga and other complementary services, so we wanted them to join us as part of Senara.”

Dr. Kramer added, “Our vision for the Senara Experience is all about how we can help our guests feel their best—in mind, body and spirit—to help Senara’s guests ‘Live Life Well.’ So adding the highly qualified, professional staff of Namaste to the Senara Experience is a perfect fit for our vision. Especially since we all share a passion for creating the ultimate customer experience.”

Waller also stressed that the agreement to become part of Senara will not cause any interruption in service to current Namaste customers. “We’ll remain open for business as usual in the Junction City Shopping Center until Senara opens,” said Waller.

“We’ll also be sharing all the details with our customers about what they can expect when we become part of Senara,” she said. “For now, we want our valued customers to know that all parties involved in this agreement share the same, and proven, commitment to offering exceptional customer service, so we’re a great match for each other. This will be a terrific move for our customers.”

Peoria County is pleased to welcome Illinois State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka to the animal shelter on Tuesday, August 9, for a press event to launch Topinka’s “Comptroller’s Critters” initiative. The press conference will be at 3:30 p.m. at 2600 NE Perry Street in Peoria. Topinka will be joined by County Board Chairman Thomas H. O’Neill; shelter staff, volunteers, and animals; and animal-lovers throughout the community. The public is welcome to attend, and to adopt a shelter animal!