Blessings in a Backpack is coming to Mable Woolsey Elementary School in Knoxville thanks to a $2,500 grant from the Knoxville Community Fund. Blessings in a Backpack is a national nonprofit that provides food on weekends for elementary school children who might otherwise go hungry. "The Knoxville Community Fund awarded a grant to the Knoxville Community Food Pantry for a new freezer as well as ongoing grants for the Little Food Bank and Christmas Food Basket Project," said Chris Hroziencik, chair of the Knoxville Community Fund advisory committee. "Making sure children receive the food they need when they aren't in school is one more way that we are combating hunger in our community." The Knoxville Community Fund is a fund of the Galesburg Community Foundation. Community Funds are endowments, which are permanent funds where the principal is invested and a portion of the returns are awarded locally as grants. Once a Community Fund is established it grows forever
Be a part of the live audience as the Orpheum Theatre hosts its holiday tradition radio play Christmas on the Air next week. The radio play brings holiday stories to life as a small cast of actors perform them at an array of old-fashioned microphones with live sound effects, musical underscoring, vintage commercials, and more. Christmas on the Air features a collection of holiday episodes written by Tim Holmes with the audience playing the part of the live studio audience during a Christmas Eve broadcast. Many of the Orpheum's Playhouse Players will perform stories and sketches based on such popular radio shows as "My Favorite Husband", Our Miss Brooks", "The Lone Ranger", and LUX Radio Theater. Christmas on the Air: A Live Radio Play stars: Mandy Balser as film starlet Katherine Brent Erin Glasnovich as stage & screen's Lana Sherwin Tim Holmes as pianist & producer BJ Brolin Hunter Karns as boy in blue Teddy Driscoll Ross McIntire as loveable
Prairie Players Civic Theatre invites you to its upcoming production of "Deathtrap," taking the stage beginning Friday, Feb. 11. A thriller in two acts, "Deathtrap" tells the story of Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers, who is struggling to overcome a dry spell that has resulted in a string of failures and a shortage of funds. Erin Glasnovich who is making her directorial debut, Tim Holmes and Mandy Balser, who plays Sidney and Myra Bruhl, joined Galesburg's Morning News to talk about the upcoming production. "Deathtrap" runs two weekends: Feb. 11, 12 & 13; 18, 19 & 20. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are $16 for adults and $9 for students. Tickets can be purchased online at www.prairieplayers.com.