Festival of Lights Work in Progress

Mr. Bill Bly and his crew continually make the Festival of Lights a great Event

 

Many of you know about the Festival of Lights in Shelbyville at Forest Park.  However, you may not understand all of the work that goes into making this event run successfully.  Mr. Bill Bly and his crew of dedicated volunteers have been working diligently to provide this Winter Wonderland for Shelby County.

The following pictures will give you an idea of what these individuals have been doing to make this event possible.  Some of the responsibilities include checking each individual bulb and replacing them as needed, painting the light fixtures, and once dried, carefully placing them in their viewing locations, attaching yellow ribbons to supporting wires to warn passersby’s of their presence, making sure all cords and plugs are working each night of the display, contacting sponsors for support of this event, displaying sponsor signs in appreciation of donations, recruitment of volunteers to do various tasks, making arrangements for the annual soup supper to raise funds for the festival of lights, getting the word out about this great event, and many other tasks, including the taking down and arranging of items back in storage once the event is over.

This team is made up completely of volunteers, and it is to them we give our gratitude in doing their part in making Shelby County a better place to live! 

This truly is a community project that could not be done without the support of all of the sponsors, organizations, volunteers, and the city playing their roles in this festive event!

A big thanks to Mr. Bill Bly and his crew for all that you do! 

If you would like to help out with this event in any way, feel free to contact Mr. Bly at 217-259-2361. 

Mr. Bill Bly, graciously teaching me about the intricacies of the Festival of the Lights.

Just a fraction of the lights that are now displayed outside. (And notice how nicely arranged the fixtures are stored. I was impressed by the organization of this shop!)

Ms. Gail Depew diligently adding color to the fixtures.

Bulbs ready to be used for the opening night if needed.

Mrs. Norma Anderson and Mr. Bob Thomas making sure replacement bulbs are in working condition.

Mr. Ken Ward, Mr. Thomas, and Mrs.  Anderson replacing bulbs.

Mr. Thomas, Mr. Dakoda, and Mr. Bly making sure each bulb is lit while Mr. Ward and Mrs.  Anderson insert bulbs on another fixture.

Mr. Ward and Mr. Dakoda putting together the light fixtures.

Mr. Thomas and Mr. Ward attaching the supporting posts so the fixtures can stand firm in Illinois winds.

While many of the fixtures are now up, there is still much to be done!

Don’t forget, opening night is on November 20^th! 

There will be a soup supper at the Senior Center in Forest Park with plenty of food offered at only $5 per person (children 12 and under are free).  Proceeds go towards maintaining the light displays.

 We appreciate your support!

 

Thanks again to all of those involved with the Festival of Lights!  You make this wonderful winter event possible!

Halloween Ball at the Chautauqua

Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets:          2015 Halloween Ball at the Chautauqua!

Halloween night brought with it great fun provided by Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets inside the beautiful Chautauqua building in Forest Park!  Members of the band interacted with the crowd, and after all of these years of performing, they can still kick their legs at impressive heights!

The dance floor was occupied by happy feet during each song, and costumes kept the night decorated with all sorts of creatures feeling the beat of the music.  Thanks to everyone who joined us for this awesome night! 

Stay tuned for more exciting events that will help support the Chautauqua building!

 Captain Rat and the Blind Rivets performing in the Chautauqua

Attendees dancing the night away to some great tunes

Great costumes for the Halloween Ball

 More great costumes

Fun to be had by all, including Shelbyville’s Mayor, Jeff Johnson

 

A Big Thanks to all of the volunteers that made this event possible!

AmeriCorps Member helping Shelby County Partners

Hello Everyone,

My name is Jenny Biggs, and I am a Western Illinois University Peace Corps Fellows/AmeriCorps member in Shelby County with the group Shelby County Partners.  I am serving in the communities of Findlay, Shelbyville, Strasburg, and Windsor on various projects, and when I am not out and about in one of these communities, you can find me in my office at the Shelby County Tourism building in Shelbyville. 

The first project we worked on was collecting baseball gloves and baseballs for troops overseas in remembrance of 9/11.  AmeriCorps teamed up with the organization Gloves 4 Troops and various communities in collecting and shipping gloves and baseballs overseas to our armed forces.  Our participating communities had two collection sites where collection boxes were left out from September 11^th through September 30^th. 

A big THANKS to all of the places that allowed us to leave boxes out for donations.  These include:  Findlay Village Hall, Tailwinds Steakhouse in Findlay, Shelby County Tourism in Shelbyville, Shelbyville Public Library, Shelby County State Bank in Strasburg, Strasburg Shortstop, E-K Petro Mart in Windsor, and Shelby County State Bank in Windsor.  Thanks again to the communities of Findlay, Shelbyville, Strasburg, and Windsor for your cooperation in the Gloves 4 Troops project!  For more information about how you can help out with Gloves 4 Troops, check out their website at http://www.gloves4troops.com/.

Also, a big thanks to those who distributed the boxes in Shelby County!

 

Jenny Biggs, David Johnson, David Young, Gary Kull, Maria Shafer, Marcia Johnson, and Freddie Fry

 For information about the communities listed above, please visit the following websites:

Findlay, Illinois:  http://www.findlayillinois.net/
Shelbyville, Illinois:  http://lakeshelbyville.com/
Strasburg, Illinois:  http://www.strasburgil.com/
Windsor, Illinois:  http://windsorillinois.net/

2015 Photo Contest

The Shelby County/Lake Shelbyville Digital Photography Contest has begun!

The Shelby County Office of Tourism in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Lake Shelbyville are sponsoring a digital photography contest that began on May 4th, 2015 and entries will end on July 31, 2015.  Photos can be placed on a CD and mailed to SCOT, 315 E. Main, Shelbyville, IL 62565 or digitally to photo@lakeshelbyville.com.

Online voting will then take place from August 11th-24th.  Voting is allowed once per day in each of the four categories per IP address.  The categories are Parks and Recreation, Scenic, Wildlife (NO Human interaction), and Faces at Places.  The winners will then be announced on August 25th.

All photos must have been taken at Lake Shelbyville or Shelby County.  Digital photos must be 5 megapixels or above.  The contest is open to everyone except SCOT & U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees.  Each individual photographer may enter up to two photographs in each category.  An entry form must accompany each digital photograph.  SCOT reserves the right to refuse entries (ex:  poor resolution, questionable content).  All entries will become the property of the Shelby County Office of Tourism. 

Last year's Grand Prize winner was titled "Breathe".

Use your summer to enjoy the great outdoors, bring your camera and take pictures along the way to enter our photo contest and maybe you will win! 

Spores N More Festival

Spores N More Morel Mushroom Festival: 
April 18-19, 2014

Come and enjoy the thrill of the hunt for the elusive morel mushroom or come and bid at the auction. Friday night kicks off the event with a welcome dinner, reception in Findlay featuring our incredible mushroom soup with guest speakers Andy Miller and Dr. Methuen:  authors of "False Morels".  This will all happen at the American Legion Building.  The dinner starts at 5:30 and includes mushroom soup, spaghetti, baked potato, drinks, and desserts and there will also be hotdogs for kids.  The cost of your dinner is a donation. 
    

    Saturday morning, come to Wyman Park in Sullivan with registration for the hunt from 6:30-8:30 in the morning.  The busses leave for the hunt at 8:30 and lasts about 2 1/2 hours.  If you can't or don't like to hunt but love morels, the auction starts at 1:30 on Saturday with registration for it from 6:30 am - 1 pm in Wyman Park. 

     Findlay will have a Biscuit and Gravy breakfast at the Christian Church basement from 7-9:30 Saturday morning. 

     Events in Windsor on Saturday will include an vendors at the Red Barn from 10 am - 4 pm selling food, crafts, and more.  The Methodist Youth will be selling perennial plants and baked goods.  And W.H.A.T. will be selling Portabella Mushroom Sandwiches and Shiskabobs. 

     Other events Saturday in Shelbyville include Blessing of the Bikes at the Best Wedding Chapel at noon.  The Horseshow Pitchers will be selling their famous Sausage sandwiches on Friday and Saturday from 9 am - 5:30 pm at the West Courthouse Parking Lot.  

For a complete listing of events, hunt & auction registration forms and more, you can go to Spores N More page on the Lake Shelbyville website. 

Be sure to visit the official Lake Shelbyville Website @ www.lakeshelbyville.com

Are you on Facebook?  Like us @ Lake Shelbyville Area CVB

Sweets for Your Sweeties, Happy Valentine's Day!

What is Valentine's Day without something sweet?  As promised we saved Greg's delicious dessert recipes as our Valentine gift to you!

Enjoy.......with a loved one!

AMARETTO CHEESECAKE

3-8 oz pkgs cream cheese

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

⅓ cup Amaretto

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ cup sugar

6 T butter, melted

8 oz sour cream

1 T + 1 tsp sugar

1 T amaretto

Garnish: sliced almonds and whipped cream

CRUST

Mix graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, sugar and butter. Pat mixture in bottom of a 9” spring-form pan.

Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar. Beat in ⅓ cup Amaretto. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Pour into and bake in a pre-heated 375ºF oven for 45-50 minutes. Mix the sour cream, sugar and 1 T Amaretto. Spoon the mixture over the cheesecake when done and return to oven for 5 minutes at 500ºF. Garnish before serving.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

2 cup gingersnaps (about 40 cookies), crushed

¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar, divided

¼ cup butter or margarine, melted

3 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, softened

2 T all-purpose flour

15 oz can pumpkin

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

3 large eggs

1 T vanilla extract

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground allspice

1½ cup sour cream

Combine cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, and butter. Press on bottom of a 9” spring-form pan. Set aside. Beat cream cheese and flour until creamy. Add pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and allspice and next 5 ingredients. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 225˚F and bake 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes. Combine sour cream and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Spread over cheesecake. Bake 5 more minutes. Cool on a wire rack 30 minutes. Cover and chill overnight.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

3 T cornstarch

2 tsp lemon rind

1 cup sugar

1¼ cup warm water

1 lemon, juice

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

9” pie shell

Separate eggs. Grate lemon rind. Cook first 5 ingredients and 3 egg yolks until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Cool before putting into cooked 9” pie shell. Beat egg whites, add vanilla, and ½ the powdered sugar.  Spread this mixture over pie and cover edges. Put in oven at 350˚F for 8 minutes or until meringue is golden brown.

PASTRY FOR 9” ONE CRUST PIE

⅓ cup shortening or lard

½ tsp salt

3 T cold water

1 cup all-purpose flour

Cut shortening into flour and salt until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle in water,
1 T at a time. Cut with a pastry cutter. Additional 1 to 2 tsp water can be added. Form
dough into ball and shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Roll pastry
2” larger than inverted pie plate, 9x1¼”. Place in plate. Press firmly against bottom and side.
Trim edge of pastry 1” from rim of plate. Flute the edges.

COCA COLA CAKE

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

½ cup buttermilk

1 cup cola

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1½ cups marshmallows

3 T cocoa

Heat the oven to 350ºF. Stir the flour and sugar together. Heat the butter, cocoa and cola until hot and mixed well. Stir this mixture into flour and sugar. In separate bowl, mix buttermilk, eggs, soda, vanilla, and marshmallows. Add this mixture to the batter.  The batter will be thin. Spray a 13”x9” pan with nonstick spray. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Spread icing on while hot.

ICING

1 cup butter

6 T cola

3 T cocoa

1 pkg powdered sugar

3 T cocoa

1 cup nuts, chopped

Heat the butter, cocoa and cola to a boil. Stir into the sugar and mix well. Add the nuts. Ice the cake while both cake and icing are hot.

About the Author:  Gregory Heal

Went to college at Eastern Illinois University.  Graduated from Disney College Program in Orlando, FL.  Attended Culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI.  Graduated with honors from Parkland College in Champaign, IL with a degree in Restaurant Management; a member of the National Deans List and Phi Theta Kappa.  He has worked for various restaurants and hotels, including Levy Restaurants and America's Convention Center, Cracker Barrel, Marriot, Renaissance, Renaissance Grand Hotel, Thelma Keller Convention Center, Fat City Saloon, Pie-Full Delight, Walt Disney World and his own, Grilling and Go Catering.

He has published two cookbooks, "Give Thanks, a Collection of Heartland Recipes," and "Harvest Time, Favorite Fall Foods."  They are available through Lulu.com.

Currently working on a Grilling and BBQ book, developing resources for Heartland Cooking and Living, and Catering at Grilling to Go Catering!

  

Greg's Facebook Pages:

For Grilling to Go, Catering Grilling and more:

http://www.facebook.com/GrillingtoGo

For Heartland Cooking and Living, Recipes, Heartland Cities and Towns, Special Events:

http://www.facebook.com/HeartlandCookingandLiving

Greg will be back soon - hopefully the weather will be nicer and we'll be ready to do some outdoor cooking!

For all the info all the time:  www.lakeshelbyville.com

.

A Recipe for Blogging!

Back to Blogging!  It can be hard to keep up with everything we want to get done, and fortunately a thought came to me, to enlist guest bloggers!  We have a few people that have graciously offered to share some thoughts and skills with us, starting with Gregory Heal.  Greg had been posting some great looking recipes, and information on the two cookbooks he has published; and he grew up in Shelbyville, thankfully he is willing to share!  So while one of these roasts of tenderloin is in the oven - download our new Lake Shelbyville guide and plan your next visit!  Like us on Facebook  

BEEF RIB EYE ROAST
4 lb beef rib eye roast
3 closes garlic, crushed
1 T salt
1T cracked black pepper
1 T dried thyme leaves

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme.
Press evenly into surface of roast. Place roast on rack in roasting pan.
Roast 18 to 22 minutes per pound for rare to medium. Remove the roast
from oven when meat thermometer register 135 degrees for rare,
155 degrees for medium. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.
(The temperature will continue to rise to 140ºF for rare, 160ºF for medium.)

RIB ROAST OF BEEF AND WILD MUSHROOMS

BEEF

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ± 9 lbs rib roast of beef

MUSHROOMS

1 oz dried wild mushrooms, any kind

2 cups warm water

1 cup beef broth

2 leeks, white parts only, washed, finely chopped

2 T butter

¾ lb fresh wild mushrooms, any kind, trimmed, cleaned, sliced

1 tsp dried rosemary leaves

2 T fresh parsley, chopped

4 plum tomatoes, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Soak the dried mushrooms in the warm water until they are soft about 15 minutes. Squeeze liquid from mushrooms. Rinse well. Strain the soaking liquid. Combine the strained soaking liquid and the beef broth in a saucepan, place over high heat and reduce to 1 cup. Sauté the leeks in butter. Add fresh wild mushrooms, white mushrooms, soaked wild mushrooms, rosemary and parsley. Add the tomatoes and the reduced soaking liquid. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 475ºF. Mix together salt, pepper and garlic, Rub into the surface of the beef. Place the beef in a roasting pan, with fat side up. Roast for 1 hour. Reduce the oven temperature

to 400ºF and continue roasting for about 1½ hours. A thermometer inserted in the center of the

meat will register 130ºF for medium-rare or 140ºF for medium. Remove beef from the oven.

Allow it to rest 20 minutes before slicing. Serve the meat with mushroom sauce.

ROAST BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH HORSERADISH-CHIVE SAUCE

2 3 lb beef tenderloins

2 T dried rosemary, crumbled

3 T cracked black pepper

2 T granulated garlic

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

Rub beef with rosemary pepper and garlic. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Take out and rub with butter and soy sauce. Let set for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 500ºF. Place beef on roasting rack in pan. Roast for 15 minutes to seal in flavor. Reduce oven to 400ºF, and cook until thickest part registers 120ºF for rare, about 40 minutes. Let beef stand for about 20 minutes before slicing.

HORSERADISH CHIVE SAUCE

1½ cups mayonnaise

1½ cups sour cream

½ cups chopped fresh chives

¼ cup prepared horseradish

Fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Season the sauce with fresh ground pepper.

About the Author:  Gregory Heal

Went to college at Eastern Illinois University.  Graduated from Disney College Program in Orlando, FL.  Attended Culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI.  Graduated with honors from Parkland College in Champaign, IL with a degree in Restaurant Management; a member of the National Deans List and Phi Theta Kappa.  He has worked for various restaurants and hotels, including Levy Restaurants and America's Convention Center, Cracker Barrel, Marriot, Renaissance, Renaissance Grand Hotel, Thelma Keller Convention Center, Fat City Saloon, Pie-Full Delight, Walt Disney World and his own, Grilling and Go Catering.

He has published two cookbooks, "Give Thanks, a Collection of Heartland Recipes," and "Harvest Time, Favorite Fall Foods."  They are available through Lulu.com.

Currently working on a Grilling and BBQ book, developing resources for Heartland Cooking and Living, and Catering at Grilling to Go Catering!

  

Greg's Facebook Pages:

For Grilling to Go, Catering Grilling and more:

http://www.facebook.com/GrillingtoGo

For Heartland Cooking and Living, Recipes, Heartland Cities and Towns, Special Events:

http://www.facebook.com/HeartlandCookingandLiving

Next week, more from Greg-Sweets for Your Sweeties, special treats for Valentine's Day!