November 19th, 2009 07:29am
Georgette Braun
Faith Center, 4721 S. Main St., Rockford, will host a free dinner Wednesday, Nov. 25, for about 400 people.
Dinner will be served from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., and reservations are required. Register at thankfulfriendsdinner.com or call 815-964-8000.
You may attend the event without having dinner from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. There will be music and giveaways, including plane tickets from the Chicago Rockford International Airport.
November 18th, 2009 12:01pm
Georgette Braun
Comedy duo Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong will appear at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 27, at the Coronado Performing Arts Center. Tickets go on sale at 4:20 p.m., a time associated with cannabis, on Friday at coronadopac.org, 815-968-0595 and the box office at 314 N. Main St., Rockford. They cost $50 or $35.
For this tour, “Cheech and Chong: Get It Legal,” the duo has partnered with the Marijuana Policy Project. Chong’s wife and comedy partner Shelby Chong will open, and DJ Joey Mojo will perform.

Should marijuana use be legal?
November 18th, 2009 10:46am
Georgette Braun
Chemistry professor Deborah Breiter of Rockford College was slated to be included in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” last Sunday about the Stott family from Lena, but her scene did not make the final cut.
You can see her segment from the show’s online bonus scenes here. Crews filmed her during their taping of the construction of the Stott home in September. She is shown donating lab glassware to family members and demonstrating a fun experiment, making ice cream with liquid nitrogen in the lab.
November 18th, 2009 10:34am
Georgette Braun
Until Dec. 1, you can nominate local musicians for Rockford Area Music Industry Awards in categories that include rock, Latino, Christian, jazz, gospel and more by going to the group’s Web site here.
You can vote online from Jan. 1 to March 20 to choose winners, but only RAMI members can vote for the technician awards. The 19th annual RAMI Awards Ceremony will be April 29.
The organization also has outlined at its site how it selects winners for the Lifetime Achievement, Community Service, Outstanding Achievement and D.J. awards.
Other related dates: Jan. 30, deadline for nominations for recordings for song, composer and album of the year awards, as well as Youth Charity Jam application deadline; Feb. 27, jam auditions; March 27, jam. Auditions, jam, awards ceremony take place at Tebala Shrine Temple in Rockford.
KATY MULL | RRSTAR.COM
Fall Asleep Sober vocalist Brandon Torzeski, 16, of Machesney Park
performs Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, at the Rockford Area Music Industry
Youth Charity Jam Auditions at Tebala Shrine Temple in Rockford. The RAMI
Charity Jam is scheduled for April 3, 2009, at Tebala Shrine Temple
with proceeds going to the Gary S. Wilmer Memorial Scholarship Fund
administered by the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.
November 16th, 2009 01:40pm
Georgette Braun
Did you learn to swim later in life? Are you in your 30s and decided to give up your job as a lawyer to make cookies for a living? What have you done after deciding it’s never too late to start something new? Post your comments here and read about Mary E. Larson of Pecatonica here. She’s an actress this weekend in her first play since high school.
November 16th, 2009 12:02pm
Georgette Braun
In case you were wondering, I donned a Catwoman costume last Friday, the 13th, for a black-cat-themed luncheon fashion show, Puttin’ on the Glitz (other photos here), to benefit SwedishAmerican’s Regional Cancer Center.
(Me and Kevin Haas, KHaas Theory writer, who also was in the show.)
November 16th, 2009 11:53am
Georgette Braun
Joe Jencks was a member of Kantorei, The Singing Boys of Rockford, Dorothy Page Turner’s Black Theater Ensemble and performed at shows put on by Charlotte’s Web for the Performing Arts in Rockford.
On Saturday, the American folk song singer and guitarist who graduated from Boylan High School in Rockford in 1990 will perform at Brooklyn College. Each day this week, he is performing in the intimate Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Zankel shows bring elementary school students in for interactive concerts.
November 16th, 2009 11:31am
Georgette Braun
Caledonia photographer Sherry Pritz of Pritz Photography donated art work for the home of the Stott family of Lena, who were featured Sunday night on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
Pritz’s work captured images of the Nachusa Grasslands in Ogle County and complemented the “country” theme designers pursued for the Stott home.
The Stott home on a 39.9-acre farm had been destroyed by fire.

November 11th, 2009 11:32am
Georgette Braun
Country singing sensation Taylor Swift, 19, is the “hottest ticket in music,” and could take the top prize at tonight’s CMA awards, so says a headline on this Associated Press story.
Swift appeared at the MetroCentre in Rockford two years ago, opening for Brad Paisley. (See Register Star story HERE.) I get tired of hearing that the MetroCentre doesn’t book hot acts. True, she’s even hotter now than then. Wonder if the MetroCentre will try to get her back as top headliner anytime soon?
(Register Star photos by Scott Morgan)
Previous Posts