Holiday events to be held at two of The Arc of Rock Island County's facilities this week may determine who has more pull?Santa Claus or the Quad City Mallards.  Individuals enrolled in The Arc's Developmental Training and RAP (Retired and Proud) programs at the Opportunity Center in Moline will kick off the holiday season with a special visit from the Quad City Mallards during a Meet-and-Greet event on Tuesday, December 8, 2009, from 1-2 p.m.  The event, the highlight of this year's annual Christmas party, will take place at The Arc's Opportunity Center located at 5101 52nd Avenue in Moline.  Individuals will also enjoy lunch, activities, and making holiday crafts.  The Arc Holiday Choir will circulate with Santa and serenade participants with Christmas carols in each of the classrooms as the QC Mallards join them in spreading the holiday cheer.

On Friday, December 11, 2009, individuals working at Arc Industries and those enrolled in The Arc's Work Services, Developmental Training, and day programs in Rock Island will celebrate the season with a Christmas lunch followed by a holiday program beginning at 1 p.m. The program features Santa's guest appearance, a concert performance of The Arc Holiday Choir, and a Christmas Dance.  The luncheon, concert performance, and dance will take place at Arc Industries, 610 37th Avenue in Rock Island.

The winter weather is not likely to impact the fun this week as Santa's sleigh is equipped to handle the snow and the Mallards are experts on ice.  Both events are closed to the public.  For more information about these holiday celebrations, contact Maureen Dickinson, director of development and communications for The Arc of Rock Island County, at 309-786-6474 or dickinsonm@arcric.org.

Founded in 1952, The Arc of Rock Island County serves more than 300 individuals with developmental disabilities daily.  Day programs are offered in both Moline and Rock Island.  The mission of The Arc is living and working in partnership with the community to support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

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The village exhibit includes the collection of Arlene Rose Considine, of Clinton, Iowa. These houses will be nestled among the vintage and log houses. A 7-foot German feather tree decorated with German ornaments from 1850 -1930 will also be displayed. Additional unique German ornaments will also be showcased. 

The German Immigrant Experience Exhibit

Enjoy an interactive experience as you learn about immigrants' journies by sea, train and foot, to their final destination at the German American Heritage Center building, which was originally a very busy hotel for thousands of immigrants in the 1860s. Two original hotel rooms are included. The second half of the exhibit shows contributions to the region by immigrants, and highlights daily life, from recreation, family life, religion and organizations.

Christkindlmarkt

Stop in our museum gift shop until December 23rd for gifts imported from Germany: Nutcrackers, Steins, Glass Ornaments and Smokers.

GRANDPARENTS $50 (UP TO TWO GRANDPARENTS & THEIR GRANDCHILDREN)
(Regular price, $55)

Before opening his first Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream Parlor, founder Joe Whitty was nearly fired from another pizza chain for sponsoring a party for a group of special needs children without first checking with his boss.

The night before opening his first restaurant in the Village of East Davenport, Happy Jo invited the local priest to bless his business and he made a promise that if he could make enoughmoney to feed his family, he would give something back to the community. As it turned out, business was so good that Joe thought maybe he shouldn't have prayed so hard. "After just a few weeks in business, people were waiting out the door," Joe said. "I wanted to be true to my word, so I shut the restaurant down one day a year to have a party for those less fortunate, and I required my franchises to do the same."

"We've been having these Special Needs parties for 37 years now, and have hosted nearly 150,000 special needs children at parties throughout our chain. I hope we never stop," Joe commented.

"As we expand into new markets, it's important to continue this tradition," said Larry Whitty, President of Happy Joe's and son of the founder.

The daughter of Happy Joe Whitty and Marketing Director for Happy Joe's, Kristel Whitty-Ersan, stated, "Again this year we are very honored that Pepsi Co., as well as many of the Quad Cities' Optimists Clubs made contributions to our parties allowing us to continue with out two-day event at the iWireless Center, serving even more children from the Quad Cities area. All of our Quad Cities locations are involved in hosting the parties and our entire team is very excited! We want to also thank the Sparkles Cheer Team from Pleasant Valley for showing us their spirit. We appreciate so much others who help make this event bigger and better each year: Burke Corp., Connie McGowan, The Midwest Corvette Club, city and state police volunteers, and the other volunteers too numberous to mention."

The Quad Cities Special Needs Children's Party will be held December 1st and 2nd at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. each day (four parties total).

An additional party will be held at the Milan Happy Joe's on December 8th at 10:00 a.m.

For more information, please contact our Marketing Department at 563-332-8811, ext. 203.

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(November 16, 2009)--Moline, IL - The Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce kicks off the holiday season with its annual "Taste of the Chamber" beginning at 5:15 PM on Thursday, November 19, 2009 at the Isle of Capri located on 1777 Isle Parkway in Bettendorf, IA. This festive event combines the best of fun, food sampling and the soothing rhythms of the Black Hawk College Jazz ensemble...add to that the warm, relaxed company of this area's top leaders and you may find a new spicy combo you can't live without as well as the business contact that could make your 2010.

The event will feature tastings from the Chamber member restaurants and caterers. The list of participating vendors, to date, includes:

• Fireworks Coffeehouse
• Lagomarcino's
• Ganson's Neighborhood Café
• Jumer's Casino & Hotel
• TGI Fridays
• Hy-Vee
• The Captain's Table
• Sam's Club
• TPC Deere Run
• Bridges Catering
• Aramark
• Denny's
• The Hungry Hobo
• Bass Street Chop House

The cost of the event is $10 for Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce members and $20 for guests. Stop at any of the above participating eateries and ask for a $5 off coupon. Bring your appetite and your business ideas for this grand mix of networking and  cuisine sampling from around the area just in time to become aware of new holiday gathering places as well as and catering possibilities for year-end parties and 2010 events.

For twenty five years the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce has been bringing together the right people with the right products...right here in our hometown.

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