Downtown Madness Score Central Update - March 19

Welcome back to Downtown Madness Score Central. We are coming up on buzzer beater time in the Second Round of Downtown Madness! With less than 48 hours to go in Round 2, let's update you now on the scoring in each of the match-ups in the Round of 8 (as of 5PM CDT on Saturday, March 19):

Al's Cafe & Creamery's Burns Malt leads
Domani Cafe's Domani Latte by 68

Elgin Public House's Pulled Pork leads
La Puesta Del Sol's La Puesta Margarita by 59

Bangkok House & Shanghai Restaurant's Pa-Naeng leads
Buckingham's Steakhouse's Grand Tomahawk by 54

Toom Toom Thai Restaurant's Thai Style Chicken Wings leads
Villa Verone's Asparagi by 13

It's Bracket Buster time. If you have not already voted for your favorites in Round 2, VOTE NOW!

If you have already voted (remember, one vote per person, per computer), forward the voting link onto your friends and family to encourage them to get out and rock the vote for your teams!

Second Round voting continues thru Monday, March 21 at Noon. Downtown Madness Score Central will update the voting throughout the weekend and announce the winners of the Second Round of play as well as unveil the updated brackets for the Third Round on Wednesday, March 23. Voting for Round 3 tips off March 23 thru March 28.

Stay tuned to Downtown Madness Score Central on the DNA Blog for the latest updates!

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CLICK HERE to watch Jeff Myers of Elgin Today announce the updated brackets for the Round of 8.

Downtown Madness Score Central Update - March 18

Welcome back to Downtown Madness Score Central. We are coming up on buzzer beater time in the Second Round of Downtown Madness! Let's update you now on the scoring in each of the match-ups in the Round of 8 (as of 4PM CDT on Friday, March 18):

Al's Cafe & Creamery's Burns Malt leads
Domani Cafe's Domani Latte by 42

Elgin Public House's Pulled Pork leads
La Puesta Del Sol's La Puesta Margarita by 35

Bangkok House & Shanghai Restaurant's Pa-Naeng leads
Buckingham's Steakhouse's Grand Tomahawk by 45

Toom Toom Thai Restaurant's Thai Style Chicken Wings leads
Villa Verone's Asparagi by 13

It's Bracket Buster time. If you have not already voted for your favorites in Round 2, VOTE NOW!

If you have already voted (remember, one vote per person, per computer), forward the voting link onto your friends and family to encourage them to get out and rock the vote for your teams!

Second Round voting continues thru Monday, March 21 at Noon. Downtown Madness Score Central will update the voting throughout the weekend and announce the winners of the Second Round of play as well as unveil the updated brackets for the Third Round on Wednesday, March 23. Voting for Round 3 tips off March 23 thru March 28.

Stay tuned to Downtown Madness Score Central on the DNA Blog for the latest updates!

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CLICK HERE to watch Jeff Myers of Elgin Today announce the updated brackets for the Round of 8

New Harvest Market Manager Jennifer Benson to Speak at DNA’s March Out to Lunch

The Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) of Elgin's next "Out to Lunch" meeting will be Monday, March 28 from Noon-1:15PM and is proudly hosted by Toom Toom Thai Restaurant at 23 S. Grove Avenue in Downtown Elgin.

Our featured guest speaker for March will be the DNA's new Downtown Elgin Harvest Market Manager Jennifer Benson, who will discuss her exciting plans for the 2011 Harvest Market season, which begins Thursday, June 2.

For $12.00 per person (all inclusive with tax & tip included - cash only), guests will enjoy a delicious lunch buffet courtesy of Chef Toom Wiitanen, featuring Pot Stickers, Garden Salad, Thai Chicken Wing, Chef Surprise, Pepper Steak (Beef), Pad Thai Woonsen (Tofu), Thai Fried Rice (Veggie), Fruit, and choice of Tea, Coffee or Soda.

Interested guests should RSVP to DNA by no later than Friday, March 25, with your name and e-mail address via our Online RSVP Form, by phone at 847.488.1456 or by e-mail at downtownelgin@gmail.com.

The Out to Lunch Meetings, presented by the DNA and conducted on the last Monday of each month, are an effort to engage the public by showcasing a different downtown Elgin restaurant each month and featuring guest speakers and topics relevant to the community. Recent Out to Lunch guest speakers have included City of Elgin Mayor Ed Schock, City Manager Sean Stegall, Police Chief Jeff Swoboda, and U-46 Superintendent Dr. Jose Torres.

Downtown Brainstorm to Focus on Addressing Perceptions

The Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) of Elgin invites the community to participate in Downtown Brainstorm #2, an interactive planning workshop about downtown Elgin and the DNA, on Tuesday, March 22 from 6-8PM at The Centre of Elgin's Heritage Ballroom, 100 Symphony Way.

The theme of this workshop will be “How do we continue to change the perception of downtown Elgin for the better?”

Proposed discussion topics include, but are not limited to:

• Proposed new downtown marketing and branding campaigns, including a new DowntownElgin.com website
• Plans for marketing downtown's available commercial spaces and properties to potential tenants and buyers
• Accentuating the positives/eliminating the negatives through key marketing messages via social media, community outreach and other engagement tools
• Image enhancement through special events and promotions

The public is encouraged to attend this workshop to share ideas, meet new people and get involved in their community. To RSVP for Downtown Brainstorm #2, please contact the DNA at (847) 488-1456 or e-mail downtownelgin@gmail.com by Monday, March 21 at Noon. You can also RSVP via our Online RSVP Form.

In November of 2010, the DNA held its first Downtown Brainstorm Workshop in an effort to engage the Elgin community and encourage more involvement in downtown issues, happenings and DNA programming. Approximately 60 people attended this workshop and in a series of 3 roundtable rotations discussed topics such as special events, arts initiatives, property improvement, community outreach, “green” initiatives, new business recruitment, fundraising and marketing. Three reoccurring themes emerged from this workshop, upon which the DNA based its focus for programming and projects for 2011:

1.) More communication about who DNA is and what we do.
2.) Smaller, more frequent downtown events and promotions, especially in the arts.
3.) More marketing about the positive changes in downtown.

The DNA will provide an overview of how this feedback is being implemented in its current programming and projects at the workshop.

Downtown Madness Rolls into Round 2

Welcome back to Downtown Madness – the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin’s exciting new interactive promotion for the entire month of March pitting downtown Elgin's restaurants and bars in a head-to-head bracket tournament, similar to the NCAA’s March Madness, where the public’s votes determine the winners.

After a hotly contested Opening Round of voting from March 4-14, our voters have paired the original Field of 16 to eight elite establishments.

Here are the Final Results from the Opening Round of Downtown Madness:

- Domani Cafe's Domani Latte defeats La Quebrada's Tampiquena by 84

- Al's Cafe's Burns Malt defeats Spanky's Gyros Italian Sausage by 132

- La Puesta Del Sol's Margarita defeats Douglas Street Sports Pub's Bacon Cheddar Burger by 13

- Elgin Public House's Pulled Pork defeats Ravenheart Coffee's Mediterranean Club by 108

- Buckingham's Steakhouse's Grand Tomahawk defeats Gasthaus Zur Linde's Das Boot by 31

- Bangkok House & Shanghai Restaurant's Pa-Naeng defeats Red Bar Winery's Spicy Butter Poached Shrimp by 14

- Toom Toom Thai Restaurant's Thai Style Chicken Wings defeats Martini Room's Appletini by 23

- Villa Verone's Asparagi defeats PRIME BurgerHouse's Drunken Bull Burger by 6

Here are the Downtown Madness Second Round match-ups:

- Domani Cafe's Domani Latte vs. Al's Cafe's Burns Malt

- La Puesta Del Sol's Margarita vs. Elgin Public House's Pulled Pork

- Buckingham's Steakhouse's Grand Tomahawk vs. Bangkok House & Shanghai Restaurant's Pa-Naeng

- Toom Toom Thai Restaurant's Thai Style Chicken Wings vs. Villa Verone's Asparagi

Second Round voting in Downtown Madness opens at Noon on Wednesday, March 16 and concludes Monday, March 21 at Noon. Subscribers to the DNA’s Downtown Neighborhood News Top 10 weekly e-blast will receive the link to the Second Round Voting Form in Wednesday’s edition of the DNN. Voters can also visit www.DowntownElgin.com, "Like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DowntownElgin or just CLICK HERE to access the Second Round Voting Form.

Voting is limited to one vote per e-mail address and you must vote for one of the two entries in each match-up! Failure to vote for one entry in each match-up will invalidate the remainder of your votes.

For an up-to-date scoring summary on all the match-ups to see how your "teams" are doing, visit Downtown Madness Score Central throughout the Second Round on the Downtown Neighborhood Association’s Blog at DowntownElgin.blogspot.com.

Third Round voting for the Final Four establishments tips off March 23-28. The Championship Game round of voting then takes place March 30-April 4, with the winning venue announced on Wednesday, April 6. The DNA will also announce the winner of our Downtown Madness Pick ‘Em Challenge, in which individuals attempt to predict the winners from the Opening Round thru the Championship Game according to the weekly voting

For more information about Downtown Madness, please contact DNA Promotions Coordinator Jason Pawlowski at (847) 488-1456 or e-mail jpawlowski@elginil.org.

Downtown Madness Score Central Update - March 14

Welcome back to Downtown Madness Score Central. We are coming up on buzzer beater time in the Opening Round of Downtown Madness! Let's update you now on the scoring in each of the match-ups in the Round of 16 (as of 9AM CDT on Monday, March 14):

Domani Cafe's Domani Latte leads
La Quebrada's Tampiquena by 85

Al's Cafe's Burns Malt leads
Spanky's Gyros Italian Sausage by 125

La Puesta Del Sol's Margarita leads
Douglas Street Sports Pub's Bacon Cheddar Burger by 14

Elgin Public House's Pulled Pork leads
Ravenheart Coffee's Mediterranean Club by 107

Buckingham's Steakhouse's Grand Tomahawk leads
Gasthaus Zur Linde's Das Boot by 29

Bangkok House & Shanghai Restaurant's Pa-Naeng leads
Red Bar Winery's Spicy Butter Poached Shrimp by 21

Toom Toom Thai Restaurant's Thai Style Chicken Wings leads
Martini Room's Appletini by 11

Villa Verone's Asparagi leads
PRIME BurgerHouse's Drunken Bull Burger by 5

Time is ticking down on the Opening Round voting clock. If you have not already voted for your favorites, VOTE NOW!

If you have already voted (remember, one vote per person, per computer), encourage your friends and family to get out and rock the vote for your teams!

Opening Round voting concludes TODAY at Noon. Downtown Madness Score Central will announce the winners of the Opening Round of play and unveil the updated brackets for the Round of 8 on Wednesday, March 16. Voting for the Round of 8 tips off March 16 thru March 21.

Stay tuned to Downtown Madness Score Central on the DNA Blog for the latest updates!

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And don't forget to download your bracket in our Downtown Madness Pick 'Em Challenge - Presented by Daily Herald Media Group. Correctly predict the winners (based on the round-by-round voting) from the Opening Round straight thru the Championship Game to take your shot at $100 in Downtown Elgin Gift Certificates.

To download and fill out your bracket, click here!

Completed Downtown Madness Pick 'Em Challenge sheets must be submitted to DNA by Monday, March 14. E-mail predictions and completed sheets to DowntownElgin@gmail.com

Downtown Madness Score Central Update - March 13

Welcome back to Downtown Madness Score Central. Time is running out in the Opening Round of Downtown Madness! Let's update you now on the scoring in each of the match-ups in the Round of 16 (as of 12PM CDT on Sunday, March 13):

Domani Cafe's Domani Latte leads
La Quebrada's Tampiquena by 81

Al's Cafe's Burns Malt leads
Spanky's Gyros Italian Sausage by 119

La Puesta Del Sol's Margarita leads
Douglas Street Sports Pub's Bacon Cheddar Burger by 15

Elgin Public House's Pulled Pork leads
Ravenheart Coffee's Mediterranean Club by 101

Buckingham's Steakhouse's Grand Tomahawk leads
Gasthaus Zur Linde's Das Boot by 22

Bangkok House & Shanghai Restaurant's Pa-Naeng leads
Red Bar Winery's Spicy Butter Poached Shrimp by 17

Toom Toom Thai Restaurant's Thai Style Chicken Wings leads
Martini Room's Appletini by 15

Villa Verone's Asparagi leads
PRIME BurgerHouse's Drunken Bull Burger by 3

Time is ticking down on the Opening Round voting clock. If you have not already voted for your favorites, VOTE NOW!

If you have already voted (remember, one vote per person, per computer), encourage your friends and family to get out and rock the vote for your teams!

Opening Round voting concludes Monday, March 14 at Noon. Downtown Madness Score Central will announce the winners of the Opening Round of play and unveil the updated brackets for the Round of 8 on Wednesday, March 16. Voting for the Elite 8 tips off March 16 thru March 21.

Stay tuned to Downtown Madness Score Central on the DNA Blog for the latest updates!

* * * * * * *

And don't forget to download your bracket in our Downtown Madness Pick 'Em Challenge - Presented by Daily Herald Media Group. Correctly predict the winners (based on the round-by-round voting) from the Opening Round straight thru the Championship Game to take your shot at $100 in Downtown Elgin Gift Certificates.

To download and fill out your bracket, click here!

Completed Downtown Madness Pick 'Em Challenge sheets must be submitted to DNA by Monday, March 14. E-mail predictions and completed sheets to DowntownElgin@gmail.com