One of the largest indoor wine tasting events in Illinois

GALENA, Ill. - Now in its fifth year running, Galena Wine Lovers' Weekend on March 26-28, 2010, is a community-wide celebration of good wine, good food and good friends. Wine lovers of all sorts are invited to enjoy three event-filled days of fine wine, culinary delight, celebrity chefs, wine makers, pampering packages and all of the stops Galena can possibly pull out.

Galena Wine Lovers' Weekend is a spirited way to warm the winter and add romance - whether it is for vino, gourmet cuisine or the love for a town with history and charm all on its own. Wine-inspired dinners, spirit tastings, spa experiences, history tours, cooking demonstrations and shopping welcome and enchant visitors.

Kicking off the weekend on Friday evening is the Grand Tasting and Wine Auction - which has grown to be one of the largest indoor wine tasting events in the state of Illinois. This year at the Grand Tasting, choose to sample from 300 varieties of hand-picked wines and spirits. Cost is $30 in advance (purchase online at wineloversweekend.com) or $35 at the door, while supplies last. Admission also provides you with a keepsake wine glass and an opportunity to win a wine-themed trip to San Francisco. Additional trip chances may be purchased for $15 each. Auction items include vintage wines, artwork, large format wine bottles and related items of interest.

Lodging specials and package deals fuel the passion. From dining packages to pampering in luxurious accommodations and the warmest of hospitality, Galena's finest provide a variety of options to cater to every taste and budget.

Visit wineloversweekend.com for a detailed listing of weekend activities, links to lodging and an opportunity to purchase tickets online. Additional area offerings may be found at the Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention and Visitors Bureau at galena.org.

(DAVENPORT) - Although 'American Pickers,' a new reality series debuting on the History Channel on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. local time, follows its stars Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz across the country as they scour for hidden antique gems, it has a longstanding history in the Quad Cities.

The show started in Le Claire, Iowa, with nothing but Wolfe's handheld video camera documenting his and Fritz's unique finds, quirky characters met along the way and amazing stories never-before captured. Numerous junkyards, basements, garages and barns later, the pair had accumulated hours of amateur footage that would later be used to create the 'American Pickers' pilot by local film production company,  
Crazy Eyes Productions.

Wolfe and Fritz crossed paths with Crazy Eyes Productions' owner Justin Anderson in a chance-happening meeting at a Bettendorf coffee shop. Of their first meeting, Anderson recalls, "I thought their back-story was really interesting, and knew it had potential to become something even bigger."

Crazy Eyes Productions quickly got to work thereafter, producing more than a dozen shorts and a full 22-minute pilot for the show. Wolfe's box of 20-something unlabeled tapes quickly became a unique look into the business of finding, selling and buying antiques in America.

"When we met Justin, the project starting coming together," remembers Wolfe. "He created the stories and gave it a professional look with interesting graphics to make it ready for T.V."

Anderson is thrilled that Wolfe, Fritz and their company, Antique Archaeology, will now be nationally recognized for their hard work and creativity.

"It was my first big project when I started Crazy Eyes Productions and has definitely been a favorite to work on. I'm very excited to watch the premiere with Mike and Frank," he details.

Crazy Eyes Productions invites all of the Quad Cities to watch the series premiere of American Pickers with its staff and the show's stars Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz on Jan. 18 at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Davenport. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the show airing at 7 p.m.

For more information on American Pickers, visit  
www.history.com/content/american-pickers.

About Crazy Eyes Productions

Crazy Eyes Productions is a video production and creative media company based in downtown Davenport, Iowa.  Owner Justin Anderson and T.V. Producer Frank Otero specialize in creative marketing, animation, and video production. Other related credits include graphic titles for a show that premiered on the History Channel in September 2008.  Currently, the company is working on the development of two new scripted comedy pilots for T.V., among other area ventures. For additional information, visit www.CrazyEyesProductions.com.

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MOLINE, ILLINOIS -- WQPT, Quad Cities PBS will hold their annual Champagne on the Rocks Gala on January 29, 2010 at Jumer's Casino and Hotel.  The Presenting Sponsor for Champagne on the Rocks is The Singh Group, Merrill Lynch-Quad Cities, Global Wealth Management.  "The event will acknowledge WQPT's long relationship with Black Hawk College and will kick off the station's new partnership with Western Illinois University by honoring WIU's Dr. Joe Rives, Vice President Quad Cities, Planning, and Technology, for his efforts in making this transition possible," said WQPT General Manager, Rick Best.

Champagne on the Rocks is WQPT's major fundraising event featuring dinner, diamonds, live and silent auction and a musical revue featuring Larry Adams and Jessye Wright. Ms. Wright was recently in the Quad Cities as the alto soloist in The Messiah at Centennial Hall. Mr. Adams will have just completed "The Merry Widow" for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The two singers will be performing a series of love songs including "Wunderbar" from "Kiss Me Kate" and "All I Ask of You" from "Phantom of the Opera" among others.

Each guest receives a champagne glass with a gem as they enter the gala. Representatives from Expressions Jewelers will be on hand to appraise the gems. Two guests will win a .25-carat internally flawless cut diamond, donated by Expressions Jewelers.  Guests will also bid on 100 items featuring trips to Cancun, Wisconsin Dells and Las Vegas. Golf for four at TPC and tickets to the Quad City Symphony and Circa '21 are also being offered.  "We're very excited by the variety of silent auction items as well as the live auction items that include a John Deere Home Generator and one-of-a-kind vases from artist Steve Sinner," said WQPT Special Projects Coordinator, Bea Brasel.

To view a complete list of auction items log on to www.wqpt.org. For further information or to make a reservation to attend Champagne on the Rocks call 309-796-2424 or log on to wqpt.org.

WQPT is the regional PBS station located in Moline, Illinois on the campus of Black Hawk College.                      

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Guardian Glass will receive Recovery Act tax credit to re-equip manufacturing facility

Washington, DC - Rep Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) announced today Guardian Glass will receive a $900,000 Recovery Act Advanced Energy tax credit to re-equip their manufacturing facility in DeWitt.  The tax credit will expand Iowa's clean energy economy by allowing the DeWitt facility to expand its production of bent solar mirrors.

"As we continue to work our way out of the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, expanding our investments in clean energy manufacturing jobs are the key to real recovery," Braley said. "These are high-quality jobs that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and strengthen Iowa's role in the 21st century economy."

The project at Guardian will modify and enhance the existing mirror line to enable the facility to mirror glass in a single throughput on the production line, while at the same time achieving a multi-layer specialized paint coating to protect and preserve the reflective layers of copper and silver. Preservation of these reflective layers is critical to the achievement of long service lives of highly reflective solar mirrors.

For more information about Recovery Act projects in the First District, click here.

 

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