GALENA, Ill. - The Bed and Breakfast Innkeepers of Galena, tucked away in the scenic and hilly corner of northwest Illinois, will once again present their annual interactive Murder Mystery weekends! These two-day events take place right in downtown Galena, with participants staying with the city's finest innkeepers. Galena features a wealth of historic 19th-century dwellings, in a variety of styles, that are now cozy B&Bs and inns.

Visitors can try their hands with "Love U to Death" on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26-27, or attempt to solve "Murder in the 3rd Millennium" on Friday and Saturday, March 12-13. "Love U to Death" encompasses the complete atmosphere of the 1940s. Complete with authentic gangster ambiance, plenty of passwords and crooked officials; it will truly be a challenge for even the most trained sleuth. The second weekend will truly be an out-of-this-world sci-fi experience. Can you avoid the humanoids, aliens, and even a robot to solve this challenge? With some help, you can unmask the killer!

Each event is $70 per person, plus the cost of lodging, and includes a Friday night reception in the Grand Ballroom and Saturday night dinner theater in the Courtyard of the historic DeSoto House on Galena's quaint Main Street. Visitors can choose between the following BBIG members: Aldrich Guest House, Annie Wiggins Guest House, Avery Guest House, Belle Aire Mansion Guest House, Brierwreath Manor Bed and Breakfast, Captain Harris Guest House, Cloran Mansion & Antonio's Cottage, Farmers' Guest House, Galena Log Cabin Getaway, Hellman Guest House, Ryan Mansion Bed & Breakfast or The Steamboat House.

Tickets are limited to 100 per event. They may be purchased from the selected innkeeper and picked up at the lodging facility. Period costumes always add to the fun but are not required. And an interactive drama gives the audience a chance to participate as performers. For more information please call Kathie Farlow at 815-777-3456 or visit bestofgalena.com. For information about room availability, shopping, dining, attractions, events and more, please go to galena.org, the Web site of the Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau, or call 877-464-2536 toll-free. The Bed & Breakfast Innkeepers of Galena represent a not-for-profit group of select innkeepers with the common goal of providing their guests with the very finest travel experience.

You are invited to attend the 2009 Quad City Earth Charter Summit on Saturday September 26th at Augustana College, Rock, Island, IL. Registration is from 9-10am, Summit is 10-3:30pm.

Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG) will present this year's Quad City Earth Charter Summit, with the Congregation of the Humility of Mary, Augustana College, The Riverboat Development Authority and the Doris & Victor Day Foundation as major sponsors.

Local Food is the theme of the 2009 Earth Charter Summit, focusing on PACG's Local Foods Initiative whose goal is to promote and assist in the development of a healthy, safe, sustainable, local food supply for the Quad Cities and to support local sustainable agriculture.

The Summit will include local and regional speakers and informative workshops focused on how we can create locally sustainable agriculture and a local food plan on an individual level and at an institutional level as the result of working together as a community.

The Earth Charter Summit day will also include a delicious local lunch prepared by the Augustana Food Service which is modeling the practices we are organizing around.

Additional sponsors to include Quad Cities Chapter-Buy Fresh Buy Local, Neighborhood Housing Services of Davenport, Quad City Chapter- Sierra Club, Radish magazine, Iowa Interfaith Power & Light and the Faithful Pilot Café & Spirits

Join us! Together we can help educate and mobilize QC citizens, municipalities and organizations to strengthen the Quad City area and foster a source of healthy, local food.

For more information or to register please contact Rachel Griffiths at rgriffiths@qconline.com 309-721-3204 or Caroline Vernon at 563-676-7580.

Registration is $10.00 / $5.00 for students and includes lunch. Seating is limited. Scholarships are available.

www.qcproressiveaction.org

www.augustana.edu

###

Penguins Comedy Club would like to extend an invitation to all veterans - be they active or retired - a complimentary admission to our comedy shows. They are welcome to bring a guest.  We just ask that they make a reservation and show military ID at the ticket window when they attend the show.

Questions?  Please call Penguins Comedy Club 563-324-5233.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (July 9, 2009) - More than a year after floodwaters did massive damage to Theatre Cedar Rapids' home in the Iowa Theater Building, the Vision Iowa Board voted Wednesday to award $1.5 million toward renovation and expansion of the downtown facility.

Funds will preserve and upgrade the historic Iowa Theater building in downtown C.R., with the reopening expected to be in February 2010.

In addition to repairing flood damage, the project will give the theater a massive facelift, creating more space for its patrons, adding modern facilities and helping to inspire reinvestment in downtown Cedar Rapids.

"I think this is a linchpin for Cedar Rapids' recovery," Vision Iowa Board Chairwoman Regenia Bailey told the media Wednesday. "Theatre Cedar Rapids comes back downtown (and) the restaurants will be motivated to come back."

Pat Deignan, President of the Theatre Cedar Rapids Board of Directors, agreed.

"The Vision Iowa Board believes, as we do, that bringing TCR back as soon as possible after the flood will help bring people back downtown, and will be a catalyst for further redevelopment of downtown Cedar Rapids," said Deignan, of Bankers Trust.

The $7.8 million project by Theatre Cedar Rapids received a major boost from the announcement of Vision Iowa's support. The new funding will combine with over $3 million pledged to the Next Act Capital Campaign and several FEMA grant applications that total more than $3 million.

Together, these funds will complete the renovation and re-opening of the Iowa Theatre Building, Deignan said.

"When we embarked on this redevelopment plan in earnest last fall, we set an aggressive goal of being back in the theatre by the end of February 2010 with the musical The Producers," said Deignan. "That remains our goal, although the timeframe is getting very tight. We are currently working diligently with FEMA on completing their review process so we can commence full-scale construction in order to get TCR back into its home, and start bringing patrons back to downtown Cedar Rapids."

Located at 102 Third St. SE in the heart of downtown, originally the Iowa Theater Building had served as a movie theatre. Last renovated in 1983, it is currently home to Theatre Cedar Rapids, the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre and the Cedar Rapids Harmony Hawks, as well as touring companies and corporate events. The 500-seat auditorium provides a key piece of the city's venue portfolio.

However, the building's age had already created difficulties before the flood. Many of the building's plumbing and heating systems were still original, and were in poor condition even before they were decimated by the floodwaters. The theatre also struggled with small lobby and restroom space.

Among the elements of the new Iowa Theater Building design:

• More than 30 additional seats for audiences.

• • A wider, more modern lobby that accommodates more patrons, shows photos and updates on TV monitors and restores original architecture from the building's construction in 1928.
  • A digital marquee on the building's exterior that evokes the design of the original Iowa Theater marquee from 1928.

• A lounge that extends out to the windows along 1^st Avenue.

• Larger and more accessible restrooms.

• • Renovated dressing rooms, additional classroom space and better facilities for volunteers.
  • Relocating new electrical and HVAC systems to higher levels as a protective measure against flooding.

The value of arts in the community was recently illustrated by the Americans for the Arts study, which found that more than $63 million is generated by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations like TCR each year in the Corridor. With more than $31 million in spending by local organizations, local nonprofit arts organizations support 1,986 full-time jobs; generate almost $34 million in household income to local residents; and deliver more than $6 million in local and state government revenue

TCR brings more than 30,000 people downtown each year, playing a vital role in the rebirth of downtown Cedar Rapids. Improvements to the Iowa Theater Building could create a drastic increase in that number, said Casey Prince, TCR Managing Director.

"I can tell you there is more enthusiasm and excitement about the future of live theatre among the board, our volunteers, actors and patrons than we have sensed for several years," Prince said. "This initiative will create perpetual support for our storied organization, improve an historic and unique downtown community structure, more efficiently use existing space for educational programming and ensure that this venue remains a source of local pride as well as a home for Theatre Cedar Rapids."