6th Annual Glen Ellyn Kitchen Walk
The 6^th Annual Glen Ellyn Kitchen Walk will be held Friday, October 3, 2008, from Noon to 6 pm. The Kitchen Walk is a benefit for Glen Ellyn-based Bridge Communities, a grassroots non-profit whose program of housing, mentoring and empowering families focuses on moving them towards a goal of self-sufficiency. The Kitchen Walk is presented by the Glen Ellyn office of Baird and Warner Real Estate as their annual project for the Baird & Warner GoodWill Network. The GoodWill Network has given over $1.1 million to local charities throughout the Chicago area in the past 6 years.

The Glen Ellyn Kitchen walk is a unique event. Like many area home tours, attendees are able to tour recently-remodeled or new kitchens in Glen Ellyn. But unlike other home tours, the Kitchen Walk also features the AfterWalk, a gourmet reception in the studio of our principal sponsor, Drury Design Kitchen & Bath Studio. During the AfterWalk, guests can sample a variety of fabulous food, prepared on-site by Joel Cheseboro, an Executive Chef for The Westye Group, Midwest LLC, the sole distributor of Wolf and SubZero products in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Iowa. During the AfterWalk, guests may also bid on items in our Silent Auction. A couple of this year’s items include real treats for fans of popular shows. The Ultimate Lizzie McGuire Fan package includes an autographed picture of Hilary Duff and three autographed scripts from the TV show. The Ultimate Kathy & Judy package is for fans of the Kathy & Judy Show on WGN Radio. It includes a “Camp Kathy & Judy STAFF” polo shirt, a Kathy & Judy Convention t-shirt, 2 cd’s , a set of Kathy & Judy Convention playing cards, a Kathy & Judy water bottle, and the opportunity to sit in the studio during the broadcast of the show, followed by a tour of the studio.

Of note also is the unique structure of this fundraiser. No funds are deducted for operating costs or other expenses. Money is raised through ticket sales, advertising in the Kitchen Walk booklet and our Silent Auction. 100% of all money raised via these three components goes directly to Bridge Communities.

“Bridge Communities congratulates Baird and Warner’s Glen Ellyn office and Drury Design Kitchen and Bath Studio on being a community contributor and partner in events like the 2008 Glen Ellyn Kitchen Walk. The funds raised through the Kitchen Walk has provided more than 1,000 nights of housing and services to homeless families throughout DuPage County.” said Joyce Hothan, executive director of Bridge Communities.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. One ticket includes admission to the Kitchen Walk AND the AfterWalk; two events, one ticket, one price. The ticket price is tied directly to the cost Bridge Communities estimates to provide housing and services to one person for one night. In other words, when someone buys a ticket, they provide one more night of shelter to a woman or child.

A great deal more information about the event, including the AfterWalk menu, can be found at www.kitchenwalk.org. More information about Bridge Communities can be found at www.bridgecommunities.org.

For additional information, please contact Mitch Williams, Chair of the 2008 Kitchen Walk, at (630) 469-1855 or via email at kitchenwalk@bairdwarner.com.

Baird & Warner Real Estate is the nation’s oldest real estate company, founded in 1855. As part of their dedication to providing support to communities in which they do business, they formalized their efforts company-wide in 2002. Since the formation of the Baird & Warner GoodWill Network, over $1.1 million has been donated to Chicago-area agencies and organizations, most of which address housing those in need. Also begun in 2002, the Glen Ellyn Kitchen Walk is a project of the Glen Ellyn office of Baird & Warner and has benefited Bridge Communities for each year of the event. To date, the Kitchen Walk has raised over $25,000 for Bridge Communities, or the equivalent of over 1,000 shelter nights.

Northern Illinois Food Bank’s

The Art of Giving

Thursday, September 18, 2008
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Tickets are $50.00 per person

Cantigny Park
Visitor’s Center & Le Jardin
1 S 151 Winfield Rd.
Wheaton, IL 60187

Join us for an evening of delicious food provided by Cantigny, wine pairings donated by vintners, and fine art available for sale by local artists…all complimented by the beautiful backdrop of the Cantigny Park Gardens. Tickets are $50.00 per person. Ticket price includes hors d’oeuvres, a prime rib carving station, Italian cuisine and seafood stations with wine pairings. Live music by 51 Strings, a harp and cello duo will also be enjoyed. A cash bar will be available. Proceeds will benefit Northern Illinois Food Bank and the hungry served through its agency network. To reserve tickets or for more information, please call Northern Illinois Food Bank at 630.443.6910 ext. 25.

Northern Illinois Food Bank is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization and a member of America’s Second Harvest. Through innovative Food Distribution and Youth Nutrition programs, the food bank provides over 22 million pounds annually to Boone, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will, and Winnebago Counties. Currently, more than 2,600 children are fed each day through the food bank’s Summer Lunch Program and more than 40,600 different people receive food assistance through its network of 520 agencies weekly. “NIFB outperforms most charities in America in its efforts to operate in the most fiscally responsible way” earning a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities (www.charitynavigator.org), for the fifth consecutive year. www.northernilfoodbank.org.

Camerata Chicago is thrilled to announce Mathias Tacke’s acceptance to join Camerata Chicago as its new concertmaster beginning September 2008 replacing exceptional violinist Dorothy Hall who is resigning to devote herself to family.

Tacke will debut as concertmaster and soloist the weekend of Friday, September 26, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in Westminster Presbyterian Church, DeKalb (http://westminsterpres.net) and Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. in St. Michael Church, Wheaton (www.stmichaelcommunity.org).

Mathias Tacke, formerly second violinist of the acclaimed Vermeer Quartet, Chicago from 1992 until 2007 is one of the world’s foremost violinists.

His academic credentials include a Professorship of Violin and Chamber Music at Northern Illinois University and Guest Lecturer for String Chamber Music at Northwestern University.

With the Vermeer Quartet Mathias Tacke gave performances in practically all of the most prestigious festivals, including Tanglewood, Taos, Ravinia, South Bank, Lucerne, Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein and Edinburgh, to name a few. Three of the Vermeer Quartet recordings were nominated for the Grammy Award.

Mathias Tacke appears internationally as a soloist and chamber player, performing a wide range of repertoire from the Baroque to music of our time.

A native of Germany, Mathias Tacke studied with Ernst Mayer-Schierning in Detmold, Germany, with Emanuel Hurwitz and David Takeno in London, and with Sandor Vegh in Prussia Cove, Cornwall.

He won first prize in the German National Youth Competition and graduated from the Musikakademie Detmold, where he was later appointed to the faculty.

From 1983-1992 Tacke was a member of the Ensemble Modern Frankfurt, one of the most important professional groups specializing in the performance of contemporary music. In this capacity he gave countless first performances, including works by most of today’s leading composers.

He has made numerous recordings for such labels as Sony, ECM. Harmonia Mundi, Naxos and Cedille.

Founded in 2003 by British conductor Drostan Hall, Camerata Chicago is a world-class chamber orchestra serving Chicago and its surrounding communities with performances of great music featuring musicians of global distinction. Camerata Chicago is committed to providing an incomparable concert experience which enriches the community and inspires the next generation of musicians and concert-goers.

For further information please visit www.cameratachicago.org and telephone 630-201-0629.

Earth Summit comes to Wheaton Franciscan campus

The Wheaton Franciscan campus is one of 50 sites around the world-and the only location in Illinois -to be selected to host Earth Summit 2008. The Wheaton Franciscans are organizing the Oct. 11, 2008, community-wide event on their 60-acre campus in DuPage County, Ill. Working in collaboration with the UN Earth Charter Committee, the focus of the event addresses issues of climate change. Facilitated by the Wheaton Franciscan Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), the Earth Summit promises to celebrate the variety of green endeavors already underway in and around DuPage County, beginning with initiatives undertaken by the City of Wheaton as well as ventures by the county government to promote the idea of living green. New ideas and innovative green living will be showcased, and models of fresh environmentally friendly concepts will be featured, such as cooking with solar.

A long list of supporters and organization have helped to bring Earth Summit 2008 together, particularly the Wheaton Franciscans, Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital, Benedictine University, Toyota Corp. of Lombard, Sun Publications and DuPage County Environmental Commission. Other sponsors are both supporting and presenting information to help preserve this planet for future generations, namely Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, the Conservation Foundation, University of Illinois Extension Service and the DuPage County Forest Preserve and many more environmentally responsible organizations.

The daylong event begins when the doors open at 8 a.m. and Provincial Directress Sr. Beatrice Hernandez, OSF, welcomes the community. The event is slated to unfold at the Our Lady of the Angels Motherhouse, which is situated in the lap of the restored prairie. 

A variety of presenters discussing both small and large-scale aspects of water reclamation, conservation and purification are expected to mark the day as unique. A collaborative effort between the Wheaton Franciscans and the DuPage County Environmental Commission (DCEC) has resulted in a line-up that should attract municipal and other civic leaders around the region to hear about fresh conservation efforts concerning the amount of water drawn from Lake Michigan as it services millions of households in the city proper and surrounding suburbs.

An initiative by Chicago Water Commissioner Jack Spatz is expected to reveal for the first-time in public the details of engineering plans to save more than 300 million gallons of water a day. Jack Sheaffer, chair of the DCEC, has agreed to share his groundbreaking plan to conserve water and stir economic incentives by processing waste water more effectively. Already his designs are being utilized in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago.

The keynote speaker is Joyce Johnston Rouse (Earth Mama); she not only has an MA in Earth studies, but she also is noted for her Broadway-style song and dance show that breathes fresh air into a landscape of views regarding resource conservation, recycling, composting and more. A 90-minute concert starring Earth Mama begins at 5 p.m. In the spirit of St. Francis and grounded in respect for all, we are inviting our furry and feathered friends as well. A pet blessing is scheduled for 1 p.m. 

The Earth Summit is designed to jumpstart a commitment to “begin at home” the process of environmental stewardship and respect for all God’s creation. For more details, visit http://www.wheatonfranciscan-jpic.org/earthsummitblog.html .

Presentation at 7 p.m. followed by public input, questions and answers at 7:20 p.m. If you have questions, please email mbenard@wheatonparks.org.