COMMUNITY CALENDAR

The public is invited to stop by the Dement-Zinser House (105 Zinser Place) during the hours of 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, November 9th.  Visit with your local vets, thank them for their service, and view our collection of uniforms and patriotic memorabilia.  Doughnuts and coffee will be served. Your historical society hopes to welcome a variety of ages of veterans who have current or past military service. 

The 25th Annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast is set for Thursday, November 21st from 6:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. at the Countryside Banquet Facility.   Doors open at 6:15 a.m. with a buffet breakfast.  All seats are reserved.

Ticket prices are $27 for a single seat or $216 for a table of eight and can be purchased at the Washington Chamber of Commerce at 309-444-9921.  The reservation deadline is November 11th.

The featured speaker is Dr. Elizabeth Stewart, Assistant Member, Department of Oncology at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.

The Washington Square Specialty Shops Holiday Open House is set for November 2nd and 3rd as businesses will start their holiday hours with most being open on Sundays from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.  

Bring a canned good or non-perishable food item to any of the participating Specialty Shops to be donated to WHIP (Washington Helps Its People) and enter to win our gift basket drawing. It is a $300+ value basket filled with products and items from participating stores and businesses. You could win the prize basket and help us stock the WHIP food pantry. We will draw the winner at our Thankful Thursday night on November 21st.

In addition, Santa’s Mailbox arrives outside The Blacksmith Restaurant for letters to Santa. Include a return address and drop them off early and you will get a reply from Santa! 

More Open House details forthcoming in the November issue of Connected Magazine, or visit https://www.facebook.com/WashingtonSpecialtyShops for more details.

The Kevin Brown Memorial Tournament of Champions kicks off five days of action-packed games on Tuesday, November 26th.  Tickets can be purchased as single-session, eight-session, or as one-day passes on Wednesday the 27th, Friday the 29th, and Saturday the 30th.

Visit https://washingtontofc.org for the 2019 schedule, exciting videos of past performances by TOC alumni now in the NBA, records, and check in on scores during this year’s tournament.

The Washington Historical Society will host Jeff Saulsbery, a history graduate from SIU-Carbondale, on Tuesday, November 5th at 6:30 p.m. in the Five Points Library meeting room. Saulsbery has worked for over 20 years at the David Davis Mansion as the  curator and now the site manager. Mr. Saulsbery will share information about Sen. David Davis who nominated Lincoln for president and managed his campaign.  

Davis’ mansion in Bloomington is currently overseen by the Illinois Department of Natural  Resources and is one of the 150 greatest buildings in Illinois, according to the Illinois Council of the American Institute of Architects. It is also a National Historic Landmark. The Garden was chosen as a 2011 Finalist for the Governor’s hometown award.

The Washington Historical Society is sponsoring a “Vintage Book Sale” on Saturday, November 23rd, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.  Browse special books offered for a reasonable price at the WHS headquarters, the Dement-Zinser House, 105 Zinser Place (one block north of the square off N. Main St.). Call 309-635-3016 with any questions.

The Taylor Masonic Lodge #98 at 119 N. Wilmor Road will serve an all-you-can-eat breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 16th. 

Breakfast includes biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, fruit cocktail, grits, pancakes (regular or blueberry), French toast and beverages. Cost is $7 per adult and $3.50 for kids 6-12 years old.  Kids under six eat free.

Donations raised go to numerous local events and charities.

The Tournament of Champions Youth Basketball Clinics will be held Wednesday, November 27th at Washington Middle School.  The clinic is open to boys and girls 1st - 8th grades.  Participants will receive one hour of six instructional stations led by local coaches with the assistance of players and coaches from the National Classic Division of the Tournament of Champions. 

Sign up in person at the Washington Park District at 105 S. Spruce St. or online at www.washingtonparkdistrict.com.  For more details and to print the registration form, visit https://www.washingtonparkdistrict.com/images/Tournament_of_Champions_Clinic_November_27.pdf

 November 8th - 18th

Grab a blanket, stay warm, and enjoy an 11-day FREE Preview of all STARZ® channels on digiMAX!  The free preview starts at 6 a.m. on Friday, November 8th and ends at midnight on Monday, November 18th.  STARZ® offers a variety of genres for the entire family, including STARZ® Cinema, STARZ® Comedy, and STARZ® Kids & Family.

 People have been nervous about Windows 10  feature updates that come out every six months because the last two have been far from trouble-free.  The November 2019 update, version 1909, is scheduled for November 20th.  It appears this version will only take a few minutes to install, and it is likely to be the smoothest update in recent history.

Here are two articles to give you more details on what to expect:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-to-expect-from-windows-10-november-2019-update-a-pleasant-surprise/

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/windows-10-nov-2019-update-everything-you-need-to-know/

 TikiTunes is an award winning, one-of-a-kind, indoor/outdoor Bluetooth speaker that looks like a tiki torch, but cooler!

It’s made from the highest quality materials, packs an impressive sound and is a great conversation piece that’s sure to have your friends say “Wow! Where did you get that?!”

And it’s not just a pretty speaker, the sound quality is impressive with surprisingly punchy bass for its size and you can easily pair two speakers together for true stereo sound.

The warm LED light flickers just like real flames and it works with or without music.