Good News Sunday: Long Grove provides perfect setting for new Hulu rom-com
This is Good News Sunday, a compilation of some of the more upbeat and inspiring stories published recently by the Daily Herald:
From the moment producers Chris Charles and John W. Bosher read Buffalo Grove screenwriter Adam Rockoff's holiday romance, they knew "Reporting for Christmas" would be their next film.
And they knew exactly where they would film it: Long Grove.
"We knew from get-go we were coming back to Long Grove," said Charles, an Arlington Heights native. "In addition to being known for Christmas cheer, Long Grove looks like a town straight out of a Hallmark movie."
Having filmed 2021's "Christmas with Felicity" there, Charles and Bosher, a Mundelein resident, were familiar with the picturesque burg and its environs.
Long Grove's historic Village Tavern and its famed covered bridge proved ideal backdrops for Rockoff's tale of a TV reporter (played by "Gossip Girl's" Tamara Feldman) who falls for a toymaker (Matt Trudeau of "Chicago Fire") after she's assigned to do a puff piece about his family's business.
Bosher describes "Reporting for Christmas" (streaming on Hulu) as television's equivalent of comfort food that viewers embrace for its predictability and nostalgia.
For the full story, click here.
Glen Ellyn family gives hundreds of hot dogs to trick-or-treaters
It's not the spooky decorations in their yard or the creepy music that has carloads of children showing up to their Glen Ellyn home on Halloween.
Susan Woods and her husband, Tyler, give out candy, but that's not why the neighborhood kids line up on their front steps and down the street.
In their matching skeleton aprons, the husband-and-wife team cook and serve 350 hot dogs - all placed in buns and wrapped individually in foil - for trick-or-treaters.
"It's absolutely bonkers. Hundreds of people come," neighbor Tracy Mehr said.
The Woods family has been turning out Halloween hot dogs from their hillside Glen Ellyn home for the past 14 years. Around town, it's known as the "hot dog house." A separate condiment table is set up on the lawn so trick-or-treaters can help themselves to whatever toppings they want.
"It's just so darn fun that we just have to keep doing it," Susan Woods said. "It's worth it. And it's a fun memory for our family."
For the full story, click here.
Got leftover Halloween candy? Donate it
That leftover Halloween candy can wreak havoc on dental cavities and blood sugar levels.
But don't fret, there are people and places happy to take them off your hands.
Texas-based Soldiers' Angels has a Treats for Troops program explicitly for leftover Halloween candy. Soldiers' Angels offers a searchable map of drop-off sites on its website, soldiersangels.org.
From Addison to Woodstock, Naperville to Wauconda, 13 locations - dental offices, businesses, park districts - are collecting candy now.
Veterans and military personnel are prime recipients of leftover treats. Operation Support Our Troops, (630) 971-1150, has two drop-off locations for Halloween candy donations in Lisle and Naperville.
Also, food pantries are a good resource as long as the candy is not past its expiration date.
For the full story, and more donation locations, click here.
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