Elgin -based Nothing Special Productions holding open mic night
Got a new lick on your guitar that you want to try out?
Itching to express some poetry in somewhere other than your bedroom?
Or just want to be creative and have a good time?
The Elgin-based Nothing Special Productions will host its first-ever open mic night beginning at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, at Mad Maggies', 51 S. Grove Ave.
"We really like the downtown Elgin area in general. We like a lot of the venues there," explained NSP co-founder Nick Cardiff.
The nonprofit group started in 2005 when Cardiff and three others were in high school and wanted to find a way to entertain, inspire people and promote local charities such as Easter Seals.
NSP is primarily a theater group and has performed at the Elgin Professional Building and during the Walkabout Theatre on your Feet this past August.
In addition to the obvious microphone, NSP also will provide a guitar and bass amp for musicians to plug into on Wednesday.
Cardiff doesn't have a set schedule for a second open mic night, but definitely hopes it will continue.
"We've been wanting to do an open mic night for a while. There's s lot of young talent around here that would love a place to perform and Mad Maggie's has a great stage," he said.
Admission is free for performers and audience members alike.
A Taste of Italy: The Elgin O.P.E.R.A. has been hard at work on its gala concert, "A Taste of Italy."
The 50-piece New Millennium Orchestra, along with the 40-person opera chorus and nine other soloists, will perform at 8 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45, Symphony Way, Elgin.
The evening, organizers say, will capture the essence of Italy in an environment enjoyable for the whole family.
Tickets are $20 to $40 for adults and $15 to $35 for seniors and students. For more information, call (847) 695-5014 or visit hemmens.org.
Lego letdown: Any parent can relate to the pressure of assembling toys on Christmas morning or shortly thereafter.
Well, I didn't have much to put together this holiday, but my 9-year-old son Evan had problems with his Lego Star Wars Magnaguard Starfighter.
It was missing a key piece for its wing.
This has happened before - a key gun turret was missing from the 1,034-piece Star Wars Republic Gunship. But we didn't want to take it back after spending an afternoon of assembly.
This new ship, which I bought online, only had 431 pieces. But it was lacking a pretty important one.
Good grief - how hard is it to put all the Lego pieces in the package? Most are in little plastic bags anyway? Were people asleep in the Lego factory?
Has anyone out there had a similar experience? If so, I'd love to hear about it at (847) 608-2719 or hhitzeman@dailyherald.com.