World Marriage Day Mass will be celebrated Feb. 22 at St. Patrick’s Church in Kankakee. Bishop Sartain will preside over the special Sunday Mass, which begins at 11:30 a.m.

Here are more details from St. Pat’s:

Brunch follows at the Knights of Columbus.

Married couples of all ages are urged to participate!

Make your reservation now! The cost of $25/couple is due by Feb. 13. Make checks payable to St. Patrick Church.

For more information call the Rectory Office at (815) 932-6716.

St. Patrick’s Church is at 428 S. Indiana Ave. in Kankakee.

If you would like to promote an event in this space, please email your event information to Denise Renckens.

Bishop Sartain

The Kankakee Primary Mayoral Debate will be begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 10) at the Kankakee Public Library’s 4th floor meeting room. The debate is for those candidates who have opposition in the city’s primary election.

From Classic Cinemas:

“The Fab Four as the American English group will be returning to the Classic Cinemas Paramount Theatre, located at 213 N. Schuyler Avenue in downtown Kankakee, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 12, 2009.

The not-to-miss benefit performance will be hosted by WVLI’s James D. Jones in support of Saint Patrick Academy. Tickets are $20 per person and available for purchase at the Paramount Box Office, through St. Patrick Academy at (815) 472-2864 or online at beatlejames@ yahoo.com.

Those of us who remember the British Invasion of the 60’s – and those of us who were not even born yet – will love the Beatles Tribute concert by American English, a group that channels John, Paul, George and Ringo’s personas and music. “Everything about them – the look, the sound, the instruments – everything is authentic,” declares Sam Leach, the original promoter of the Beatles and author of “Birth of the Beatles. “They are without a doubt the world’s premier Beatles Tribute band.”

Winner of three consecutive Beatlefests, the American English group has traveled worldwide, inciting Beatlemania-type frenzy in Japan and performing on the “hallowed ground” of several original Beatles venues in England, including The Cavern Club in Liverpool.

All the songs by American English are performed completely live, without any tapes or backing tracks. The four performers – Eric Michaels as Paul, Tom Gable as Ringo, Young Hines as John, and Doug Couture as George – bear an uncanny resemblance to the original Beatles in looks, performance and personality. Accompanied by keyboardist Ken Zemarek – their “George Martin” producer – all of the signature Beatles instrumentation and special effects are there.

The American English Beatles Tribute concert at the Paramount Theatre is a benefit for St. Patrick Academy of Momence, IL.”

I received this info via email from Acorn Design Source and thought it was a clever idea. They are holding separate his and hers shopping nights for Valentine’s Day. Here are the details they provided:

Ladies Only ~ Thursday, February 5th from 3pm to 7pm

Come view our offerings and enjoy complimentary Champagne and Chocolate while you browse. You will be given a card to write down items you’re interested in, and a place to provide your spouse/boyfriend’s name and contact information. We’ll do the rest.
Men Only ~ Thursday, February 12th, from 3pm to 7pm

We will contact you after the Ladies Night and host an evening of shopping and complimentary Beer and Snacks. We’ll have a card with your spouse/girlfriend’s preferences to make your shopping quick and easy. Gift wrapping will be available.

Acorn Design is at 815 South McMullen Drive in Kankakee. Click here to register.

Free the Fox & Symmetric Minds will be performing Saturday evening at Higher Grounds (formerly Moon Monkey Coffee House) in Bourbonnais. The concert begins at 7 p.m.

If you happen to go and shoot any photos or video, please post them to this site.

The Paramount Theatre in Kankakee has installed new 3-D technology, and the first 3-D movie will be shown on Friday.

“My Bloody Valentine 3-D” will be shown on Friday (Jan. 16) at 5:10, 7:30 and 9:50 p.m. Showtimes for Saturday and Sunday are 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:30 and 9:50 p.m. Monday showtimes are 12:30, 2:50, 5:20 and 7:30 p.m.

The movie is a reimaging of the 1981 film, which Quentin Tarantino called “the best slasher movie of all time.” It stars Jensen Ackles, Jaime King and Kevin Tighe.

The requisite 3-D glasses are “much more comfortable and cooler looking than the old cardboard ones with the red and blue lenses,” says Mark Mazrimas, marketing manager for Classic Cinemas, in a story on The Daily Journal Web site. He also says, “No matter where you sit in the auditorium, you get the same perfect 3-D effect. It’s not the old 3-D movies that gave you a headache.”

Here’s the full press release from Classic Cinemas:

Read the rest of this entry »

It seems that Kankakee-area residents are busy getting their 15 minutes (or seconds) of fame this week, as at least one business and three individuals have appeared or will appear on major TV networks.

Here’s a rundown and info on when to catch them:

• H & H Custom Woodworking of Bradley and Bourbonnais is expected to be profiled in Sunday’s episode of Extreme Makeover on ABC. The business specializes in kitchen cabinets and remodeling, and they supplied the counter tops for this particular makeover. According to the TV listings, the show will air at 7 p.m. The show summary says: “An Illinois family takes a vacation in Florida while the team makes over its home with an eye toward safety and independence for 8-year-old Jake, who has brittle-bone disease.”
• Last Sunday, Lindee and Al Kutemeier of Momence appeared briefly in an episode of Challenge on Food Network. Both are fans of the network, and they made plans to go to Hico, Texas, this past summer for the taping of the “Texas Steak Cook-off” episode. The show first aired Sunday. According to TV listings, it is scheduled to rerun on Saturday (Jan. 10) at 1 p.m. and Sunday (Jan. 11) at 6 p.m. The Kutemeiers can been seen about 45 minutes into the show, but Lindee says they’re only on screen for a second.
• Amy Noble of Bourbonnais also appeared this week on Food Network’s Challenge, though Amy was there as a competitor. “The Great Cake-off” episode was actually taped in 2003 and first ran in 2004, but it lives on in reruns, which was the case Monday night. In the show, Noble prepares Caramel Apple Cake, a recipe passed down from her husband’s grandmother. Amy didn’t win the grand prize, but she did win an Accubake oven just for being selected as one of the ten finalists. You can read more about Amy’s experience on my Best Bites blog.

Thanks to Gwen, Amy and Chris for these tips!

The local Habitat for Humanity chapter invites you to a fundraising concert on Jan. 15 at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Kankakee.

“Jazz for Habitat: An Evening of Jazz Standards” will feature the Dave Stone Quintet in a two-hour performance beginning at 8 p.m.

General admission tickets can be purchased in advance for $10 at the Paramount, Standard Title, Lydia and Groucho’s Coffee Shop and Deli, Veronda’s Music Shop or the Mayor’s Office of Special Events in the Kankakee Depot. Tickets at the door are $15.

All proceeds will benefit the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, which will begin construction on its second home this spring.

The fundraiser is sponsored by Standard Title and Riverside Healthcare.

(Thanks to a reader named Sarah for that tip.)

When I was a kid, my parents took my siblings and I to see a Harlem Globetrotters game — and it remains one of my best sporting event memories.

If you would like to take your own family to a game, there are still tickets available to the 2:30 p.m. game this Saturday (Jan. 3, 2009) at Olivet’s McHie Arena. (The 7 p.m. game is sold out.) Tickets can be purchased on the Ticketmaster Web site.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is your last chance to catch some of this year’s Kankakee Holiday Tournament. The annual basketball tournament is now in its 59th year.

The event has even been dubbed the unofficial “goof-off destination” by Kankakee Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bill Yohnka. In making the announcement this morning via email, Yohnka wrote:

I do not generally advocate “goofing-off” but this morning it is my honor to announce the Kankakee Holiday Tournament as the official Kankakee Chamber of Commerce Goof-off Location for 2008. For 59 years now the tournament has been an un-official goof-off destination for those in the Kankakee area business community but for the first time this year it has official status as such (Keep in mind, this is a completely arbitrary designation/honor that I made up this morning.)

The first game today is at 9 a.m this morning at Kankakee High School and continue all day today and tomorrow. Goofing-off aside the tournament, is a result of a lot of local hard-work and a great tradition and showcase for the school and our area.

A schedule for tomorrow’s games, plus results from Monday and today, can be found at www.khtbb.com.

__________________________

UPDATE:

Here’s the schedule of games for today (Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008)

Game #17
9:00 am
Peotone vs Morgan Park

Game #18
10:30 am
Bradley-Bourbonnais vs Andrew

Game #19
12:00 pm
CICS Longwood vs Deer Creek

Game #20
1:30 pm
Carver vs Illiana Christian

Game #21
3:30 pm
Momence vs Herscher

Game #22
5:00 pm
Peoria Woodruff vs Kankakee

Game #23
6:30 pm
Watseka vs St. Anne

Game #24
8:00 pm
Champaign Centennial vs Chicago Hope