Latest / WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio / Talk Line 11-11-2026: Janna Groharring on Sterling Main Street holiday events

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Talk Line 11-11-2026: Janna Groharring on Sterling Main Street holiday events · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Good morning, Sog Valley.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: Welcome back to The Waking Crew here on FM 95.1
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: and AM 1460 WIXN. The clock just rolling over to
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: 815 on your Wednesday, Veterans Day morning. Thank you to
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: all of our veterans for their service and sacrifice. We
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: certainly appreciate it. And it's once again time for Talk Line.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: I'm joined at the booth once more by our good
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: friends from Sterling Main Street, Jana Grohering here, the lady
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: with all the fun for the Sterling side of the
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Sauk Valley's entertainment, here to let you know what we've
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: got ahead in community events. And it never stops for
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Sterling Main Street.
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: No, it doesn't. I always keep saying I'm waiting for it.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: We'll get to this whole period of the year where
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: I can catch up on everything. And it just, it
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: used to happen. It I haven't seen it for a while. No.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: We just keep going.
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: It keeps rolling in from one thing to the next.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: And planning and staying ahead. Yeah.
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: I mean, we're already planning. The day after Street Fest
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: this summer, we started planning next year's event a few
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: weeks later. So it's a never-ending cycle. You just keep
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: going right into event after event after event. And you
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: also do all the other things that you need to do, too.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: So always a busy time at Strolling Main Street.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Just means there's always something to do, as I always
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: tell you folks.
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah. This is the perfect time of year to remind folks,
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: as a lot of the farmer's markets in the areas
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: are winding down for the season and are going into
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: the winter mode, and they'll do occasional pop-ups here and there.
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: Our Twin City Farmer's Market in Sterling is open year-round.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: The outdoor section of the market may be done for
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: the season, but indoor, we go steady year-round. We've got
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: 25 vendors inside. Um, we've still got a couple that are, uh,
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: like Gomer family farms was there last week outside cause
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: they still had some produce and it wasn't too bad.
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: So they still set up some tables on the deck. Um,
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: so farmer's market going strong and sterling year round. So, um,
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: every Saturday morning, 8 AM till noon, you can find
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: all sorts of good stuff there. Um, still the same year.
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: So that is one reminder we like to get out,
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: even though that mark our market's been there for 20 years,
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: over 20 years now.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: It's still that question I get every year. When does
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: the farmer's market open or close for the season?
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: We don't.
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: 52 weeks a year, we're there.
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I was that same person who had that same
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: belief until I think the first time I had talked
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: to you about the farmer's market, you know, with reporting.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: And I was like, oh.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: I wasn't aware of that, and I've lived here. But
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: sometimes you just assume you know, and so you don't
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: think to ever ask until maybe you're like, oh, okay,
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: so when's the official close time? And then, like you said,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: it's like, no, just so you know.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: And I know now's the perfect time of year. We've
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: got a lot of our bakers and stuff like that.
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: They'll take pre-orders for your Thanksgiving pies, dinner rolls, all
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: that stuff. So stop by the market today, visit with
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: our vendors, get your orders in for anything you're going
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: to need for the upcoming holidays. A lot of them
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: do specialty ordering things. uh, custom things for those holidays.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: So it's always good to check out the farmer's market.
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: It's got its own Facebook page, twin city farmer, uh,
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: the twin city farmer's market. It's got its own website. All,
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: all our vendor contact information is there. If you need
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: to reach out to a specific vendor about a product or, um,
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: you know, a product or to order some baked goods
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: and things like that. Um, you know, Holly, uh, Gummer
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: family farms, it's got all sorts of cheeses and things
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: like that. So great for, you know, if you've got
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: to take a, an appetizer or something like that, get
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: some fresh cheese, um, all sorts of stuff. I mean,
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: I know Sterling gardens has still got all your squashes
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: and stuff like that. So if you want to do
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: a little butternut squash or something with your, uh, and
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: Brussels sprouts are still popular. So you've got all sorts
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: of great fall vegetables still available at our market.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: And, you know, getting ahead on some order, having some
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: baked goods. I mean, Thanksgiving coming up. Thankfully, I don't
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: belong in the kitchen except to be my wife's sous
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: chef because it's not going to taste good for me.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: So I follow behind and try to straighten things up. But,
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: you know, take a little stress off you for the holiday.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: Go shop local, support local, and then just not have
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: to worry about that part of it.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it makes it so much easier. I mean, dinner
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: rolls and stuff, you know, they're fresh, they're home-baked, they're
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: locally made, locally sourced. It's a great way to shop
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  Speaker 3: local support, local, you know, not your traditional gift giving way,
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: but just kind of give back to your family. It
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: just make the holidays easier. If you've got to take
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: a dish to pass, but you're crazy busy with work. Hey,
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: I'll bring the dinner rolls. Just order them at the market,
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: heat them up, take them, take them as your dish
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: to pass, whatever the case may be.
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  Speaker 2: Plus there's so many different cool products and things that,
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: that those folks have in there. Um, my wife and
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: I actually use, uh, speaking of Gomer farms, they have this, uh, um,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: wood treatment.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: I love that stuff.
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we treat it on all the wood that
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: we bring in for our store because, I mean, it
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: literally drinks it up and you get these old wood
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: pieces and it's fantastic. It is.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: And, I mean, he freezes his own bees. He makes
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: that stuff. That little magic, I don't know, I can't
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: remember what it's called off the top of my head,
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: but it's just this magic sauce. They advertise this for
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: cutting boards or any of your wood needs. It's fabulous stuff.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: You put it in, you let it sit for a little,
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: it soaks it up, and it's great.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: I could go on about that. It makes your cutting
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  Speaker 1: board so much easier just.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: To clean off and rinse. That's a great little stocking
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: stuffer if you need a tip. Go see Garmer Family
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: Farms and get their little wood magic stuff for your
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  Speaker 3: cutting boards or any of your wood products that you use.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: It's great.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: There you go, Charlie.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Where do we want to go? Do we want to
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: go sites or do we want to go shops?
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: We'll touch base on the shops because they've got stuff
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: coming up first. The shops at Grand Plaza, we've got
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: some stuff going on there. As a lot of people know,
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: Amber and Smoke kind of winded her operations down this month.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: We're happy to say... So Sarah, who was the owner
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: of Amber and Smoke, has been our shops manager for
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: the last year through Main Street, kind of wearing a
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: dual hat. It wasn't because she was a tenant at
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: the shops that she had that manager role. It's because...
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: She was kind of already doing those manager duties anyway,
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  Speaker 3: so we just brought her on officially. So she's actually
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: staying on with Main Street as our shop's manager to
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: help continue to grow that incubator program and recruit our
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: new tenants and things like that. She works really closely
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: with our Economic Fatality Committee. But she's also expanding her
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: role a little bit and taking on some other business
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  Speaker 3: outreach duties with Main Street. So hoping to kind of
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: grow that position a little bit while she grows her
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: other business that she's working on. But anyways, we've got
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: a new tenant coming into that space to fill her space.
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  Speaker 3: So Tiffany's coming in with Arlene's Boutique and Home.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: Okay.
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  Speaker 3: So she got the keys last weekend, and she's been
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: setting up fast and furiously. She's hoping to do a
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: little soft opening this Friday. So she should be open
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: Friday and Saturday from 10 to 2, along with many
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: of our other tenants. Everybody should be there on Saturday.
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: But they've got some fun events coming up at the
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: shops for all your holiday shopping needs. They've got some
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: fun things planned for Friday. Pink Friday.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: I just learned about that last year. Actually, one of
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: our tenants at the time kind of brought it to
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: our attention, like, hey, there's this thing going on called
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  Speaker 3: Pink Friday to get you out there before Black Friday.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: It's just kind of a trendy little boutique thing, small
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: business boutique stuff. They really got on board with that.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: So we've got all sorts of fun stuff planned for
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: Pink Friday coming up. I believe it's the 21st, I think,
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: not this Friday, next Friday.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Okay. No, 19th.
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  Speaker 2: 20th. 20th.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: I'll be at the main street.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: It's okay. I've got to pull out my phone every time.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: I'm terrible with it.
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm just trying to do the math because I'm like, okay,
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: I'll be at the main street conference down in Springfield.
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: What's the day I get back? Yeah. So that 20th
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  Speaker 3: is Pink Friday at the shops. And then the following week,
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: we've got on the 27th, obviously they'll be doing some
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: fun things for Black Friday and then also turn around
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: the next day and do some fun stuff for Small
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: Business Saturday.
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  Speaker 1: Okay. Great.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: It's just a nice way to get out and support local,
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  Speaker 2: be a part of that shopping time of the season.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it really is, right?
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  Speaker 2: Christmas so close and Thanksgiving, Black Friday. It really is
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: the kind of time of season to gear towards that.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: And most people, if you're not as irresponsible as me,
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: but again, my wife is just so much better with
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: this stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Thinking ahead.
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  Speaker 2: It's a great way to go out, get a head
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: start on your holiday shopping while supporting these new and
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: upcoming businesses.
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: Exactly. We agree if you want to come all three days,
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: that'd be fabulous, but obviously lots of opportunities to be
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: able to get there over the course of leading the
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: shopping season up to the holidays. So lots of opportunities
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: for you to get out and visit these businesses. Again,
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: we've got Still Story Kitchen. You can order your Thanksgiving
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: baked goods through her as well. Lots of great shops,
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: you know, Bond Baby Boutique's got kids, you know, kids stuff,
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: some toys, all your squishy needs for stocking stuffers, things
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: like that. Soap, Pirate Mom Soapworks. She's got great stuff. Again, those,
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: you know, those, you know, handmade soaps, custom soaps. She's
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: got lots of fragrance, things like that. Those are great
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: little stocking stuffers and white elephant gifts. You know, if
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: you've got to bring a gift basket, a gift to exchange,
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: and you really don't have any idea what to get
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: this person, you don't know who's going to get the
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: gift kind of thing. You know, custom soaps, those kind
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: of things, something that smells good to you. You know,
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: you can get those kind of in a unisex way
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: because you don't know if it's going to go to
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: a guy or gal. You know, those are great little,
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: you know, gift ideas. If you, for all those random
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: little gifts you got to give. Yeah.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: You know, this would be great because my wife wants
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: to do this and I've, I don't know the name
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: of the activity because you said white elephant. So I'm
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: not even sure what that is, but the one where
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: you take a bunch of little gifts and you start
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: wrapping them in cellophane until there's this big ball and
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: you pass it around and you stop wearing it and
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: you get the gift that kind of comes out as
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: you're unwrapping it. That would be really cool to do
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: with a lot of these different small and grab a
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: couple different things and that would be really fun.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we do one with a group of friends of ours.
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: It's like you can steal. It's a little dice game
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: and you get a certain gift and you can grab
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: a gift and if you... somebody else rolls a certain number,
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: they can steal from you if they want what you've
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: already got.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Oh, we might have to introduce that. We play board
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: games that are as big, you know, so that would
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: be cool.
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: It's just like everybody can bring a gift and you just,
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: it's a dice game to see who gets what and
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: you can steal from other people and yeah, it's kind
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: of fun.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: No, I love that. That's awesome. It's all part of
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: getting into the holiday spirit, right?
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: You know, the festivities, the traditions, the sights, the sounds. Oh,
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: we see what I did there.
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: Very subtle. Very subtle.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: Sights and sounds. Great little lead up to our downtown
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: Sterling holiday festivities coming up on Friday, December 4th. Always
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: the first Friday of December is our holiday festivities in Sterling.
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: The main major event runs from 5 until 8 p.m.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: We've got all sorts of stuff going on downtown that day.
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: So the primary Christmas walk will be from 5 to
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: 8 p.m. Um, this year we brought back the lighted
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: holiday parade, so that will stop off at five 30.
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: So while the events are going on around it, you know,
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: kind of take a little pause, watch the parade come
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: through downtown. Um, the parade will end in front of
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: the library Plaza Christmas tree. Um, I don't, I mean,
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: we're still taking entries for the parade, so you can
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: still get signed up for that if you want, but it's,
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: it's a short route, so it won't be a super lengthy,
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: long time wise parade because it is a short route.
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: So Santa will be pulling up the end of the
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: parade with us this year. He'll be coming in at
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: the tail end of the parade. So he will stop
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: at the Library Plaza Christmas tree, meet up with the
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: mayor and some musical entertainment that we've got. And they
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: will light the Christmas tree. We're anticipating that to take
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: place around 6 o'clock. We'll flip the theater light tower
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: over to the red and green for the holiday season
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: that we do to go along with that. And then
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: the rest of the downtown festivities will continue until 8
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: o'clock at night.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: That's awesome. You know, this is.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: So some people are very diehard Halloween fans. Other Christmas,
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: my oldest boy falls on the Christmas side. He's already
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: talking about his Christmas movie list because we do the
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: same thing, you know.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: Right, October you do your Halloween movie.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: So I'm going to ask you, and I hope to
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: remember to ask everybody over the next month, top three
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: Christmas movies.
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: My go-to is the original Miracle on 34th Street.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: Classic.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: That's one of my go-tos. That is one of my
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: go-tos for sure. What else do I have? That's really my,
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: that is probably my biggest go-to. The other one I
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: like that I usually watch every year, I'm a sucker
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: for the oldies, is White Christmas.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: That's one of the ones I watch every year. And
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: the newer, probably, I mean, it's not a movie, it's classic.
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: I mean, the other two would be Charlie Brown Christmas.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: Oh, yes. I'm a big Charlie. Ever since I was
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: a kid, I was a Charlie Brown fan.
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so like the Charlie Brown in the original Grinch cartoon.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah.
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: Those are kind of my four got to see at
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: some point during the holiday season.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Oh, my list is way too big.
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: I'm a big traditionalist.
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: So I'll just quick rapid fire some that I know
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: I always get. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Just I'm a
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: big comedy fan.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Yep. So that one. Grinch, both the original animated and
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: Jim Carrey. I love Mr. Carrey. Klaus. It's an animated one.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: It's a different one. Have you ever seen that?
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: I don't know if I've seen it, but I've heard
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: of it.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: You should watch it. We've been watching it for the
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: past five years and I probably watch it more than
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: the kids do. And here's where some people get in
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: the woods with me. I'm sorry. Gremlins.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: Gremlins.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: I honestly have not seen that probably since it first
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: came out.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: It takes place during Christmas.
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: It takes place during Christmas, so I get to argue
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: with all the fans of the Die Hard movies, who.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: Also call Die Hard a Christmas movie. So we're there
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: with that.
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: Also, you said Klaus, which makes me think of Mr.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: Klaus.
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: And that, like, the year without a Santa Claus, the
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: Heat Miser, Cold Miser.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: That's one of my favorites, too.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: Segwaying back to Sights and Sounds a little bit, the
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: two movies you mentioned, in addition to the Sights and
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: Sounds stuff we've got going on on the 4th, we've
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: got the community concert at the Big Red Church on
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: the 3rd, and our downtown Sterling Theater is doing a
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: couple holiday movie specials as well. So on Wednesday, December 2nd,
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: you can watch The Grinch.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: Awesome.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: The 2018 version of it. You're encouraged to wear green.
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: Everybody's going to wear green. They'll have some contests and
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: some prizes and stuff like that. One night only showing
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: of the Grinch. And then on Thursday the 10th is
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: their big National Lampoon's ugly sweater party. So the ugly
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: sweaty party on Thursday, December 10th for the big showing
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: on the big screen of the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: They do that every year. It's a fun time.
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: I can't utter out my favorite National Anthem line, so
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: we're just going to save it.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: If you know, you know.
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: That's awesome, though. There is something really cool.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: I love that Sterling doesn't stop this just because the
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: weather gets cold. I mean, obviously to a certain point.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: I mean, but you bring a blanket, you bring a
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: thermos with some hot chocolate, or usually me with some coffee, right,
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: because I'm a nut for it. But it's really cool
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: to be out there just in the cold, kind of
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: bundle up with the exhibit, and then watching the movie
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: with everybody.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah. But yeah, you know, I mean, it's at the
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: Sterling Theater, so it's actually inside.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Oh, is it? I thought you were talking about like
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: they were going to project it.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: No, no.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, hey, they're already warmer. Sterling Theater. This is
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: just me. I would be outside. Okay, you know what?
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: I must admit, I was too excited for it.
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: That's a kind of a fun idea, but I'm not
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: sure that.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: The equipment would perform.
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: Correctly depending on the weather. But either way, the Sterling
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: Theater downtown is actually doing those two special movie nights.
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: So you can go watch it inside.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: I got too excited to my head jump there.
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: It's also at Bruin View. You can order a pizza.
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: You can get their chicken strips.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: Well, see, that's even better. That's even better. I couldn't
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: sit there at the band shell and order chicken strips.
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: I don't know if anyone would want a DoorDash to me, but... Oh, okay, cool.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so you can watch it indoors in the heat.
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: You can still get a blanket because they do have
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: Sterling Theater blankets because they've got the recliner seats now.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: I'd probably fall. Nobody wants to see with my mouth
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: hanging open. My wife's got to see that too many times.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: Are you falling? I'm like, no, no, just resting my eyes.
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: Yes, but so, no, yeah, December 4th, the big Christmas walk,
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: Santa's workshop activities. We've got a bingo game going on,
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: so pick up your bingo card either at the Main
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: Street office or any of the... We've got, I think,
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: 30 or so businesses participating in that bingo game right now,
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: so go get your card stamped. We're going to have
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: over $ 500 in a prize package put together for you
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: to win. The parade, the tree lighting, Santa, open houses,
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: all sorts of stuff going on with the businesses around
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: the downtown.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: Um.
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: Santa's Workshop free activities. After Santa's in the parade and
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: lights the tree, he'll wander over. We've got an RV
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: for him from Jeff Bright over in the Santa's Workshop area.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: So he'll be nice and toasty warm. You can walk
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: through the camper and visit with Santa and give him
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: all your wish lists for the year. Those are the
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: big things.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: I mean... How much more do you want to pack
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: in you a month, right?
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: That's a lot to do in three hours. I mean,
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: we've got the Gateway Trolley is going to be there,
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: so you can get around to all of the downtown.
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: There'll be four different spots for you to hop on
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: and hop off of it as you go around the downtown.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: So easy to make sure you get around to all
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: the spots that we've got going on.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Super cool. Love hearing that. And then before you know it,
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: I mean, we're in the next year.
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we're already in big planning. Actually, our monthly board
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: meeting is tomorrow morning, and we'll be kind of hopefully
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: finalizing a little bit of our 2027 schedule. So we'll
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: be dropping that probably sometime in mid-December.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: Oh, you hear that?
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: We might break some breaking news next time Janet comes in.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: Anything else you want to share while we had a minute?
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: Oh, my goodness.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: I don't know. Yeah.
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: I just, you know, happy Veterans Day because, you know,
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: that's one of me. I guess it's a great holiday.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: I'm glad we do this. You know, we got all
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: sorts of stuff coming up. Don't forget to shop at
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: the farmer's market. Don't forget to shop local this holiday season.
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: I know Amazon is so easy these days. But we've got,
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: you know, even Sterling, Dixon, Rock Falls. We've got so
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: many great stores.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: So shop in person. Shop local.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: It really is important and it does make a difference
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: because these people, you know, not just own these businesses,
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: but they're employees. They work there. This is their livelihood.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: And this season is really important to all of them.
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: So really, you know, it's giving back to your community.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: Shopping local is an important thing to do.
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: And honestly, you're going to end up giving a gift
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: that's more than just the 500 items lined on your
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: coals and bags. I'm not downing your coals. You guys
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: don't need my support. And nobody needs the 500th thing
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: that they came out there. Get something that reflects your
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: love and attention for somebody by somebody else's passion that
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: was put into there right here in the Sauk Valley
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: that you're not going to find anywhere else.
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: Correct.
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: Great message. But yeah, shop local, shop unique, shop small.
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: Enjoy the holidays. Take some time. This whole year has
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: just gone by so fast. So, you know, take a beat.
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: Take a breath. Just enjoy your time with family and friends.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: And, of course, if anybody wants to find out anything
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: more about Sterling Main Street, these events, or anything else
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: you have going on, best way.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: To do it?
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: Probably our website, sterlingmainstreet.org. That's where everything lives. Or our
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: social media page, Sterling Main Street. We're on Facebook and
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: on Instagram. We are on TikTok. I don't put a
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: whole lot out there, but Facebook is where we're strongest.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: But I know the algorithms are always wonky, so if
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: it doesn't pop up in your news feed, Just search
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: us out. It's just at Sterling Main Street or go
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: to the website because everything is there.
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: There you go. Go online. Find out.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: Janet, thank you so much for coming in here in
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: person every time.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: We appreciate it.
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: No problem. I'm glad you have us.