2013 Mother’s Day Events All Around America

Mother’s Day is a time for cherished family gatherings and the celebration of women everywhere. With a history more unique than many people may be aware of, the authentic American Mother’s Day holiday got its true start back in 1870, with Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation. This proclamation was meant for mothers everywhere, and called upon them to join together and protest the carnage of the Civil War.

Howe called for an international celebration of peace and motherhood, but it wasn’t until 1908 that a US Senator from Nebraska proposed making Mother’s Day a national holiday, as requested by the YMCA.

In 1914, Woodrow Wilson designated the 2^nd Sunday in May officially as Mother’s Day. From then on, the holiday gained steam and traditionally became a day to celebrate mothers across the nation, often by presenting them with flowers.

Mother’s Day Event Ideas

Dinners, brunches, and picnics, oh my! These are some of the most popular types of Mother’s Day celebrations in America. Those who shop in advance might present Mom with clothing, jewelry or a beautiful bouquet of flowers. But Mother’s Day doesn’t necessarily mean buying presents.

Often, the most important thing to Moms everywhere is simply spending time with their loved ones and families on Mother’s Day. Instead of taking Mom out, you can make a delicious dinner at her house.

Or, gather up your friends and their mothers, and start a community Mother’s Day picnic.

The idea is simple, but the rewards for making Mom feel appreciated and special on this day will be more than ample.

Events across the Nation

Mother’s Day events are taking place all over the country on May 12th. Now is the perfect time to plan your own event, or sign up to join one of the incredible events that we’ve listed here for you.

• Mother’s Day Brunch – Henry Ford’s private ballroom in Lovett Hall (Dearborn, MI)
• Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea – on the Veranda and in the Ballroom of the Jean Ellen DuPont Shehan Visitor Center (Coral Gables, FL)
• Mother’s Day Lunch or Dinner – at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab (Chicago, IL)
• Mother’s Day Cruise – the Hornblower Yacht Champagne Brunch Cruise OR the Flagship Brunch Cruise (San Diego, CA)
• Mother’s Day Weekend Garden Party – New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, New York)

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Popular Gospel and Christian Music Performer Plays Successful Concert

The rich tradition of southern gospel music visited central Illinois recently when singer Guy Penrod appeared in concert at Calvary Baptist Church in Normal, IL.

The show was organized by GospelFest Ministries of Metamora, IL. Formed in spring 2009 by Shawn and Anne Degenhart , GospelFest seeks “to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ through music” via gospel music education, music publishing, a weekly radio show which is syndicated to over 130 stations around the world, and gospel music events such as their yearly Summertime GospelFest show and the Penrod concert.

A Celebrated Career

Penrod has been performing for decades. In the early ‘90s he was a successful session singer in Nashville where he provided background vocals for other artists in the recording studio and during live shows.

“I got to sing behind some of the great legends of country music who I grew up listening to, as well as backing new artists like Kenny Chesney and Shania Twain at a point when their careers were just launching,” Penrod says of his early career.

The artist, who has performed all over the world, is probably best known for the fourteen years he spent as the lead singer of the Gaither Vocal Band, where his strong voice and wide range helped bring the contemporary Christian and southern gospel band success in releasing popular albums. Penrod left the band in 2008 to pursue his solo career, and shortly thereafter released Breathe Deep, an album whose overall feel remained true to his Christian roots but that presented a greater focus on the sound of country music. He also hosts the Gospel Music Showcase program on the Daystar Television Network.

Organizing Great Gospel

Shawn Degenhart, Board of Directors President for GospelFest, says their main goal in organizing the show was to “provide central Illinois with some great gospel music.”

Degenhart, who’s also an instructor at Ben Speer’s Stamps-Baxter School of Music in Nashville, TN,  believes that planning ahead is the most important part of coordinating an affair of this scope. They promoted the concert through a 1,000 piece postcard mailing, radio announcements and interviews, Facebook and e-mail blasts.

Penrod puts his heart and soul into every show, and Degenhart says he gave his all at their event as well, providing a night to remember for an appreciative crowd.

“[It was a] wonderful concert,” Degenhart recalls. “He sang for two straight hours with no intermission.”

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Classic Rock Concert Helps Raise Funds For Homeless Pets

Anyone who’s ever owned a pet knows that caring for an animal can be expensive. Those costs are especially heavy for animal shelters, including the Humane Society of Calvert County (HSCC) in Sunderland, MD. They recently hosted their fourth annual Rock-n-Roll For Rescues event to raise money that will help them in caring for the animals in their facility.

The fundraiser brought in almost $16,000.

The HSCC, a non-profit and no-kill shelter which opened in 1975, is completely run by volunteers and is currently home to dozens of animals looking for forever homes.

Gail Prisel, a volunteer dog walker who’s also on the HSCC fundraising committee, says that a group of 12 volunteers did the majority of the planning and legwork for the event.

Food and drink were available for attendees to purchase, while the function featured entertainment from The Fabulous Hubcaps and Rockin’ Elvis Jim Godbold. A slideshow of their current adoptable animals was shown, and participants also had a photo booth at their disposal. Volunteers also arranged raffles and a silent auction, which Prisel called “the best and most difficult” part of planning the event.

Prizes for the auction and raffles were varied enough to appeal to as many attendees as possible. Sports memorabilia was up for grabs, including an autographed Tony Dorsett helmet from the Dallas Cowboys and a Super Bowl MVP football signed by Baltimore Ravens player Ray Lewis.

Other prizes included jewelry, trips, pet supplies, art, liquor baskets, beauty products, games, gift certificates from a variety of hotels, restaurants and spas, tools and a guitar autographed by the rock band Van Halen.

Local papers, flyers and social networking were used to promote the fundraiser, and while Prisel advises other event organizers “to have a dedicated team work with you,” she also notes the importance of having an accommodating venue.

“We have held this event all four years in the Chesapeake Ballroom [of the Holiday Inn Solomons Conference Center and Marina]. They are always very gracious and let us use their venue at no cost,” Prisel says.

“It takes months of planning and everyone is always very helpful and answers our e-mails quickly. Whatever we need, they provide for us, and [even gave] our patrons a special room rate for the evening. They allowed us to come the day before to decorate and prepare our auction. I cannot say enough about how nice everyone is; they have already offered to host our event next year.”

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National Volunteer Week 2013 Inspires Community Involvement

For many people, volunteering is a way to help others who are in need, as well as a chance to contribute to the community and promote positive change and general human kindness. National Volunteer Week takes it a step further, and during the week of April 21^st – 27^th, 2013, HandsOn Network Action Centers will lead a variety of projects that put volunteers at the center of change in a nation-wide initiative.

In addition to promoting volunteerism during National Volunteer Week, the HandsOn Network plans to host award ceremonies for recognition and explore other unconventional ways to celebrate the positive effect that volunteer service has had in communities across America.

Why Should I Volunteer?

HandsOn Network’s mission is to provide people with the opportunity to take action and help make a difference in the world.

With National Volunteer Week, the goal is to demonstrate to the country that through cooperation, we as people have the wherewithal to overcome challenges and reach real objectives.

Non-profits and charitable organizations everywhere can take this opportunity to share the national attention that Volunteer Week will receive, and can also take advantage of the chance to advance their own noble causes and promote a commitment to volunteerism that will help enrich the general community.

National Volunteer Week is the perfect time to get out there and motivate people in your community to look for unique and innovative ways to participate in positive change.

How to Participate in Volunteer Week

Here are just a couple of events that are scheduled in April during National Volunteer Week:

• Volunteer Milwaukee hosts their 31^st annual Inspire By Example award ceremony on April 18^th. Help honor the spirit of dedicated volunteerism in Milwaukee County by celebrating the winners of this year’s awards. You can register online or call (414) 344-3933 for more information.
• HandsOn Jacksonville is proud to host Celebrate!GOOD on April 18^th at 6:00pm in the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. This event will help celebrate the good deeds that honorable people do every day on the ‘First Coast.’

Whether or not there is an official National Volunteer Week event taking place near you, this is a great time to plan your own event to help celebrate and pay tribute to volunteers everywhere.

It’s important to promote change in our communities and support those who lead the initiative, so don’t wait! Start planning your volunteer celebration today.

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Up-Stage Entertainment Concepts Celebrates Retro Rock and Disco

Up-Stage Entertainment Concepts put on a fantastic show the 23^rd of February. The show, called Retro Revival featuring Rockin’ Out not only had awesome songs, but also great crowd interaction.

According to the official site, Up-Stage Entertainment Concepts provides shows catering to all occasions. Types of shows include artist tributes, bands, DJs, solo performers, karaoke, and more.

Up-Stage Entertainment Concepts has produced local performers into professional entertainers for the past 10 years or so. Some of their tribute acts include Meatloaf, Pink, Shania Twain, Joe Cocker, Chrissy Amplette, Amy Lee, Alice Cooper, Pat Benatar, Kenny Rogers, Allison Moyet, Gene Pitney, Marilyn Monroe, Aretha Franklin, and Anastacia. Some of their concept outfits include Howyagarn: A Tribute to Aussie Rock, Justice for All-Australia’s Premier Metallica Tribute Show, 33⅓, The Rock N Roll Show, and their newest show, Rockin’ Out.

Watto Isboss of Up-Stage Entertainment Concepts explained more about Rockin’ Out. “The Retro Revival Concert was an expansion Show to a one set production we did in December,” he said. “Rockin’ Out is a name we gave to the line up, of which there were four of us, myself and three ladies on stage,  performing live, the Retro Revival, which consisted of three sets including, 70s rock, disco, and 80s rock.”

Isboss talked about what Up-Stage Entertainment Concepts used to get the word out about the event. “[We used] posters at the venue, Facebook, texts, posters at local businesses, etc.,” he said. Their primary objective, he said, was “for the punters to have a wonderful night experiencing the themes we deliver. I’m happy to say that we achieved that goal quite convincingly.”

Isboss talked about what made the show a success. “[The best part] [w]ould without a doubt be the crowd interaction… The dance floor was never empty,” he said. “The on stage highlight would definitely be the crowd response we got for delivering an awesome a capella start to ‘Carry on My Wayward Son.’”

Isboss said for anyone else putting on an event like this, planning and practice are key. He said that Retro Revival turned out, for the most part, how he expected it to go. “I don’t leave anything to chance with my productions, due to a very anal planning process of mine,” he said. “All in all, a very successful evening.”

You can learn more about UEC from their official site as well as the company’s Facebook and MySpace pages.

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Gumbo Cook-Off Supports Premature Babies

Preparing for the arrival of a newborn baby is stressful enough. And, when a baby is delivered premature, Mom and Dad can feel overwhelmed.

Lafayette, LA non-profit Heartstrings & Angel Wings held their 5th Annual Gumbo Cookout Raffle to fund their mission of assisting micro-preemie babies (one to five pounds) and their parents. The organization has volunteers who meet once a month to hand-craft clothes and accessories for those tiniest of tots. Those items are then donated to local neonatal intensive care units.

It’s a mission that means a lot to founder Jennifer Patin.

“We donate the clothing because the babies are born from emergencies, and the parents do not often know where to find clothing so small,” she says. “Also, [a typical preemie] shirt costs anywhere from $15 to $20, so we save the families a little money.”

“It’s also good for uplifting the spirits of the family members because [the newborns] are viewed more as babies, instead of hospital patients with tubes and wires coming from their little bodies.

“Our family had two preemie babies: one born 15 weeks early and another born seven weeks early,” Patin adds. “The seven-week one was mine, and I feel the purpose of my having a premature baby was to start this organization.”

Forty-six cook-off teams assembled this year to prepare all-you-can-eat gumbo (seafood, or chicken and sausage) for attendees. Their event also featured a raffle, silent auction, two live bands, a magician, and music provided by a DJ.

This event helped them raise around $35,000.

Patin used every means at her disposal to get the word out, including print and Internet advertising, social networking, and media interviews. She believes that their Facebook page, and several features on a local news program prior to the event, helped them out the most.

One of the highlights this year: several of the group’s beneficiaries were able to attend.

“Our family participation was at an all-time high,” Patin says. “It’s hard to say how many families were there, because some cooked and some only attended. Out of the teams we had, I think 18 were families we’ve helped. [They] got involved in order to help [others] that will be in that situation. It’s a great feeling knowing that everyone wants to continue the mission and help others, just as we do.”

While Patin says that preparation for this event “is always stressful and hectic”, she thinks organization and flexibility are two keys to running a fundraiser like this.

“We plan and prepare as much as possible before the event and roll with the punches on the day of the event. The best advice I can offer is to delegate small tasks to others, and not to panic when things do not go as planned.”

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Egg Tapping [image © Superbass / CC-BY-SA-3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons) ]

Easter is arguably one of the most celebrated holidays of the modern Christian community. No one has been able to determine exactly how this festival and traditional feast day came about, but the 8^th century historian, St. Bede, claimed that the name Easter evolved from Eostre, the Teutonic (or old Germanic) goddess of fertility and spring.

Also sometimes called, “the moveable feast,” Easter is a holiday that falls on a different day (and possibly a different month) every year. The Western World’s Christian churches celebrate Easter on the Sunday after the full moon that follows the vernal (or spring) equinox on March 21^st.

While Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar to mark the Easter holiday, Western Christians go by the Gregorian calendar, which means Easter will fall anywhere from March 22^nd to April 25^th.

What Does Easter Represent?

In Christianity, Easter is celebrated in remembrance of the day Jesus Christ was resurrected. The 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday are known as Lent, and are meant to be spent in observance of the 40 days Jesus wandered alone before starting his spiritual leadership.

The week before Easter Sunday includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, all dedicated to honoring Jesus’s last supper, crucifixion, and resurrection.

After the 40-day period of Lent, where Christians are meant to give up the worldly item they love the most, and after abstaining from meat on Good Friday, Easter Sunday is the perfect opportunity to celebrate with a feast or a festival.

Where Did Easter Eggs Come From?

For thousands of years, eggs have been a mythological symbol of birth, and life-giving egg yolk historically came to represent the resurrection of Christ. Around the 13^th century, Christians began painting eggs red to represent the blood of Christ.

The fertile rabbit has long been a symbol of new life in pagan history. Around the 16^th century, parents started telling children on the day before Easter that if they behaved, the “Osterhaus” would come and lay colorful eggs.

In order to entice the “Osterhaus,” or Easter Bunny, into laying eggs, children would build nests around their homes. Thus began the tradition of Easter baskets, and infamous Easter eggs hunts.

Today, Easter has become more commercialized by greeting card companies and consumer markets. However, families and friends still celebrate by getting together to share food and rejoice in the coming season of spring, and church attendance soars on this holiday.

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This weekend’s Super Bowl broadcast was the third most watched television show of all time. In the history of TV, three Super Bowl broadcasts have made the top three spots of the most watched shows list. Last year’s Super Bowl reigns supreme, with a record 111 million Americans tuning in for the showdown. This year, the Super Bowl hosted 108 million Americans, only losing some of the crowd when half the lights of the Superdome went down.

But not everybody tunes in for the sport. It is widely known that a huge chunk of those millions and millions of people only tune in to the 3-4 hour program, for the 30 second intervals of entertainment that comes between the touchdowns and field goals. Some people even like to celebrate Super Bowl Sundays like it is a national holiday. Which isn’t too absurd considering Super Bowl Sunday comes only behind Thanksgiving Day in terms of American food consumption.

The Super Bowl wasn’t always a national pastime though. It only came to conception in 1967, after the 1966 regular season, and was originally called the “AFL-NFL Championship Game.” This name was used for the first three years of the matchup between the NFL organization and the newly formed AFL organization, until their merger in 1970 became official. The two joined forces when the AFL threatened to pull away fans and sponsors. The matchup, Super Bowl, game between the two leagues was part of the merger agreement. It was Kansas City Chiefs owner, Lamar Hunt, who first coined the title, “Super Bowl.” While the organization stuck to their original title, “AFL-NFL Championship Game”, it was only after the media caught wind of the Super Bowl phrase and ran with it, that the organization changed their title.

After 1970, and the official merger between the AFL and the NFL, the organization split the league into two conferences. Most of the AFL, plus three original NFL teams would make up the new American Football Conference (AFC); the remaining original NFL teams would make the National Football Conference (NFC). The Super Bowl would now be played the best team from each conference.

The grand prize of the greatest game in American football is the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Vince Lombardi was the coach of the Green Bay Packers, leading the team to two consecutive Super Bowl wins, the first two in the history of the game. Lombardi also led the Packers to three of the five preceding NFL championships in 1961, 1962, and 1965. After his death in 1970, the trophy of the Super Bowl was named for him.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the record for the most Super Bowl games won, with six titles under their belt. The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have five victories each; and both the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have four Super Bowl championships. My hometown team, the Detroit Lions, unfortunately have not made a Super Bowl appearance, along with three other teams: the Cleveland Browns, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Houston Texans. There is always next year though. Maybe a fresh team, some new commercials, and a ton of chips and beer.

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And The Holidays Just Keep Coming 

Now that the glitter has been swept away, and the garland has been wrapped up, it’s time for me to drop another bomb on you. There are more holidays ahead. I know, I know. I can hear the unison groan from all of you out there. But I have good news as well, I promise. January has plenty of fun, interesting and even weird holidays ahead. I have dug deep beyond the world wide holidays and found some of the strangest, most obscure, holidays that are celebrated here in the good ole U. S. of A. in the month of January.

The first and oddest holiday I have found is World Penguin Day and Penguin Awareness Day. World Penguin Day always falls on April 25^th and Penguin Awareness Day is always January 20^th. April is the annual northward migration of penguins, thus why World Penguin Day is celebrated then. No word on why Penguin Awareness Day is celebrated January 20^th.  Penguin Awareness Day, and World Penguin Day are great opportunities to learn about and appreciate one of the few natives of Antarctica. It is customary to learn more about the feathered natives on these days. You can also watch a documentary of these cute and popular, grounded birds. To celebrate, most don their best black and white attire, although tuxedos are optional. It is also popular today to tell a penguin joke or two. Fun fact: penguins can only be found naturally in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, the Falkland Islands, and the Galapagos Islands. They can only be found in zoos everywhere else.

Another holiday that no one knows about is Squirrel Appreciation Day. Created by Christy Hargrove from Asheville, North Carolina. Hargrove is a wildlife rehabilitator and wanted to create a day in which everyone enjoyed and appreciated our tree climbing, nut loving friends. Squirrel Appreciation Day is celebrated on January 21^st every year; a mid-winter event when our squirrel neighbors are searching for scarce food. A way to celebrate is to give them an extra treat because the variety and quantity of food is scarce. While not everyone loves squirrels, according to Christy Hargrove, the founder, “Celebration of the event itself is up to the individual or group—anything from putting out extra food for the squirrels to learning something new about the species.”

My favorite holiday I have found is National Handwriting Day. Celebrated on January 23^rd every year, National Handwriting Day was started  “by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association  in 1977. January 23rd was chosen because this is the birthday of John Hancock. John Hancock was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.” A national holiday requires an act of Congress, so National Handwriting Day is therefore not technically a national holiday, in name only. To celebrate National Handwriting Day is a chance to pick up a pen or pencil and a piece of paper. In this day of computers, more and more information, notes, and letters are sent back and forth via a keyboard and cyberspace. According to the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) website “The purpose of National Handwriting Day is to alert the public to the importance of handwriting. According to WIMA, National Handwriting Day is a chance for all of us to re-explore the purity and power of handwriting.” Participate in National Handwriting Day by writing a note or letter to someone.

Visit this webpage to see some of the more obscure holidays throughout the year.

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Journalist and Theater Critic Praises the Power of Arts and Education

Let it not be said that Solange De Santis fears getting her hands dirty, plunging into a story, or taking a risk for a cause in which she believes. She may be a writer by trade, but her love of knowledge and education marks her as a modern Renaissance woman. An accomplished journalist and theater critic who once took a job to assembling cars in a doomed GM factory in order to learn, first-hand, the plight of the blue-collar worker, she is also a dedicated educational booster, volunteering her time to support the arts in schools.

“The arts are my passion,” De Santis explains. In addition to directing and running sound for community and school theater, “I play the piano, I sing in the choir at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Mamaroneck, I’m a judge in the Theatre Starts playwriting competition in Ontario, Canada, I am doing communications consulting for Westchester’s St. Thomas Orchestra.” Plus, she finds time to help organize dances and other arts-related activities at Hommocks Middle School in Mamaroneck, New York.

Arts, Communication, Education, and Tickets

A firm believer in the power of education, De Santis attributes her accomplishments to formal schooling: “I explored the worlds of literature and drama in my undergraduate study at Barnard College and journalism at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Much later in life, I went to NYU for an M.A. in educational theater, graduating in May 2011.” Communication, she believes, is the key to success, and the arts are the most profound way to communicate. True communication, she feels, “leads to understanding and that means a lot less conflict in the world.”

In the past, De Santis has used TicketPrinting.com to produce tickets for Hommocks’ 8^th grade dance and “found the service to be fairly easy to use…and very reasonably priced.” Rather than choosing “small, flimsy raffle tickets you can get for $11 in a roll,” which had been used in the past, she “was able to design a much larger ticket with a raffle stub and heavier-weight cardboard with wording customized for our event” for about $80. She found the numbering made “management of the ticket list and the raffle…a breeze. It was an excellent solution.”

$500 in Free Printing and a Warm Emotional Glow

Having recently won $500 in free printing from TicketPrinting.com, De Santis is exploring her options and will most likely dedicate the prize to St. Thomas Orchestra’s May concert. Since the orchestra does “not yet have a digital purchase option,” she is also considering Ticket River’s online box office as a solution for Internet sales. She likes the idea of “total solutions,” offered in Event Kits “such as the tickets-poster-flyer package in the classical music section” and finds the service “so useful for schools or amateur/community organizations with limited budgets and people like myself who are not necessarily ticket management professionals.”

In spreading a love of art and music, ticketing options become an important part of creating access. De Santis recognizes how all the details come together create results, and sees that, “the easier the process, the better you can focus on the event itself and [the] better your relations are with your audience.” To her, “a ticket is an essential print product that is part of the overall communications environment.” It’s not merely a way to count heads or push an audience through a gate, but rather, a “little representation of your event,” that can be held in the hand. “Ticket stubs are often saved as souvenirs, pasted into scrapbooks…even in the digital age,” she reminds us, and, “A nice-looking ticket creates a warm emotional glow.”

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