July "First Thursday" Harvest Market Schedule of Events

It's "First Thursday" time again Harvest Market fans! On Thursday, July 1st the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market rolls out its second "First Thursday" Market of the 2010 season. On "First Thursdays" we open bright and early at 10:00 AM and extend the market hours all the way until 6:00 PM!

In addition to our usual variety of locally grown and produced fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, olives, organic products, pet treats, wine and more, we deliver on our motto of "More Than Just a Farmers' Market" by bringing in special activities and attractions:

Below is a schedule of the day's events:

11:00 AM - Dave Granger from Cirrus Falcon will roam the grounds of the Harvest Market playing all your acoustic guitar favorites!

11:30 AM - The Centre of Elgin's Raks Christina will conduct a demonstration of bellydancing as a way of improving core fitness.

Noon - The Centre of Elgin will conduct a Senior Fit exercise class.

2 PM - Ray Maxwell from Elgin Antiques & Uniques will conduct a wood furniture restoration seminar.

On-going throughout the day:

* Chef Virginia Lopez will conduct cooking demonstrations.

* Members of the Frock Swap Committee will be on hand to collect donations of women's clothing and promote their August 5th wardrobe renewal event at The Hemmens which benefits Community Crisis Center.

* Julie Schmitt of Schmitt Design Studio will have information about her unique concrete faux finish countertop overlays.

* Informational booths from Alexian Brothers, Elgin Community Network/ECCO, Salon Couture, Landin Chiropractic, The Centre and Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin.

Hope to see all of you out there tomorrow at the Civic Parking Lot (corner of Highland and Douglas Avenues) between 10:00 AM-6:00 PM for our July "First Thursday" Harvest Market!

"Photographers on Parade" Contest

Attention all photographers! The Downtown Neighborhood Association is looking to “parade” your best photos of the City of Elgin’s 2010 Fourth of July Parade to share with the world in our "PHOTOGRAPHERS ON PARADE" CONTEST!

We are encouraging all photographers, professional and amateur, to come out with your cameras to the Fourth of July Parade (which takes place this Saturday, July 3rd beginning at 10am at Slade & Douglas Avenues and ending at Highland & Douglas Avenues) to capture all the majesty, pageantry, pomp and circumstance of the parade. PLEASE NOTE: Photographers must stay behind the white bike lane lines and may not walk into the street or disrupt the parade in any way in order to snap photos.

After the parade is complete, we invite you to upload your best photos to our 4th of July Parade Group Album on Photobucket which is available at http://photobucket.com/elgin4thparade for all to see. Photo submission deadline is July 9th.

Our photography committee will select the best 5-10 submissions. We will then post a link in the July 14th issue of the Downtown Neighborhood News Top 10 eblast which will enable the general public to vote for their favorites. Voting will be tabulated throughout the following week and the results will be announced in the July 21st issue of the Downtown Neighborhood News Top 10.

If you are not currently receiving the Downtown Neighborhood News Top 10 eblast, visit our website at http://www.downtownelgin.com/ to sign up so that you can vote for your favorite entry and receive the latest and greatest Downtown Elgin has to offer each week.

Downtown Elgin Gift Certificates will be awarded to the first, second and third place entries.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a point-and-shoot-and-hope-for-the-best newbie, take your best shot (or shots) and share your vision with us!

NOTE: DNA will moderate all photographic submissions through Photobucket's filtering protocols and reserves the right to reject any photos for any reason. All photographic submissions will become the property of the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin and may be used in future DNA promotional or marketing materials, on our website or other advertising media.