🅿️Summer Street Concerts, Mary Poppins, and Golf

Sponsored by

Book Amazing Hotels

The hotel booking platform where every trip helps pay for the next. Safara curates the world's best hotels and rewards you with cashback on every booking. 

From your first Safara booking, you start earning cashback to put towards future trips. And, the more you travel with Safara, the more you earn.

Cashback can be used on Safara bookings worldwide, with no restrictions. It’s available instantly — so use it as you earn it, or let the savings add up to pay for the trip of a lifetime.

Sign up with this link to get $100 towards your first booking.

Happy Easter Weekend, Princeton! If you don’t have a place to go for Sunday services, we’d love to have you at Princeton Bible Church. 8am Sunrise Service, followed by breakfast, followed by our worship service at 10:15am. Also, go Illini.

Let’s get started.

—Justin Bullington

📬IN THIS ISSUE

💡What You Should Know
☀️Princeton Weather
⛽️Princeton Gas Prices
👨Princeton Person of the Week
💼Princeton Businesses
🔗Top Links This Week
👷‍♂️Princeton Job Openings
☂️Mary Poppins
🧱Letter from Lori

💡WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Happy Birthday, Alanna Warren 🎂

• Princeton Tourism announced the 2024 Lineup for the Down on Main Summer Street Concert Series:

  • June 7th: Barracuda-America’s Heart Tribute

  • July 12th: Mike and Joe

  • August 9th: Dillon Carmichael

  • September 5th: World Turning Band

  • October 5th: Mae Estes

• BCR Player of the Year: “With Grady Thompson and Teegan Davis graduating, [Noah] LaPorte stepped up his game to become the man for the Tigers this year. He averaged 21.5 points and 12.0 rebounds, earning unanimous All-Three Rivers East and IBCA and Illinois Media Class 2A All State honorable mention.”

• The Bureau County Historical Society is hosting a series of events including a free 1958 movie about the Titanic at the Princeton Public Library on April 8, and a showing of the 1997 movie "Titanic" on April 20th at the Apollo Theater, where tickets come with a drink and popcorn. They are also offering raffle tickets for a necklace valued at $1,995 and memberships or donations to support their efforts, with details available at www.bureaohistory.org.

• Friends of Strays is looking for volunteers to assist with cleaning cat rooms and supporting their cat care team. They're open every day and offer flexible scheduling. They're specifically looking for help between 8 am and 12 pm and would appreciate a commitment of 3 hours. Given rising costs, they're hoping to alleviate some of the burden with additional volunteer support. If interested, you can visit the shelter to fill out an application and discuss further.

• “Of Illinois’ 102 counties, only two surpass Bureau, La Salle, and Putnam counties in terms of unemployment rates. Bureau County recorded a 7.6% jobless rate in February, marking an increase of almost 2 percentage points from the previous year.”

• Princeton NOW+ subscribers also receive City Council meeting summaries — along with local obituaries, arrests, and property transfers, ad free. Join 102 others and upgrade today.

⛅️PRINCETON WEATHER

Today: The morning will have cloudy skies, which will clear up partially as the day progresses. Expect a high near 60°F, with west-northwest winds at 10 to 20 mph. The evening will continue to be cloudy early on, then it will partially clear up later with a low around 38°F. Northeast winds will slow to 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday: There will be a few showers in the morning, which will become a steady light rain in the afternoon. Thunder is also possible. The high will be around 50°F, with east winds at 10 to 15 mph. The chance of rain is 70%. Steady light rain will continue into the evening, with possible thunder. The low will be near 41°F, with winds from the east-northeast at the same speed, and the chance of rain will remain at 70%.

Monday: Expect periods of rain throughout the day, with the possibility of thunder. The high will be around 53°F, with east-northeast winds at 10 to 20 mph, and an 80% chance of rain. Rain is likely to continue into the evening, with a low of 38°F. Northeast winds will persist at 10 to 20 mph, and the chance of rain will increase to 90%. The rainfall could be around a half-inch.

⛽️PRINCETON GAS PRICES

Regular

Amoco, 720 N Main St: $3.69
Sullivan’s Foods: $3.76
Casey’s West/North: $3.79
Beck’s West/North: $3.79
Road Ranger, N Main St: $3.79
Shell, 2225 N Main St: $3.79

Diesel

Beck’s West/North: $3.99
Road Ranger, N Main St.: $4.09
Casey’s West/North: $3.99
Amoco, N Main St: $3.99
Sullivan’s: $3.89
Road Ranger: $4.05

👨PRINCETON PERSON OF THE WEEK

🏅Pam Lasier

Reason for Nomination: “Pam has recently moved back to Princeton. While she has been used to working in a larger city, she is sharing her wealth of knowledge about wellness by working at the Metro Center. Those of us in her classes are so excited to have her leading us to health and wellness! The Metro Center has struggled to find instructors, and Pam is filling that void in our community.”

Great job, Pam. You’ve won the illustrious Princeton Person of the Week.

Okay, everyone. It’s time for you to nominate someone for next week’s Princeton Person of the Week here.

💼PRINCETON BUSINESSES

• Today is your last chance to get 50% off of all in-stock carpet remnants at Wyanet Carpet, vinyl and carpet.

• The Boek-el-ZOO is now booking parties. Message to schedule a date and customize your experience.

• Taylor's Way is running an Arbor Day T-Shirt design contest with a few days left to submit designs. Participants can email or drop off their designs at the office by March 31st. The winning design will be featured on the team's shirts for Arbor Day, and the winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift card.

• "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" will show at the Apollo Theater today at 4:15 PM and 7:00 PM; Sunday at 1:30 PM, 4:15 PM, and 7:00 PM; Monday at 1:00 PM; Tuesday through Thursday at 4:15 PM and 7:00 PM. "Arthur the King" has showtimes today at 4:30 PM and 7:15 PM; Sunday at 1:45 PM, 4:30 PM, and 7:15 PM; Monday at 1:15 PM; and Tuesday through Thursday at 4:30 PM and 7:15 PM.

• Hornbaker Gardens is hosting a free workshop on Saturday, April 27, 2024, from 10 AM to 11 AM. The workshop will focus on new plant varieties for 2024, including hostas, perennials, trees, and shrubs, with growing tips and advice on how to utilize them in different spaces. Those interested can also browse their online catalog for more information.

• All Jim Shore Easter pieces are 30% off at Hoffman’s Patterns of the Past, today and Monday.

• Dairy Queen is offering a limited time Mix & Match deal Monday through Friday from 11 am to 4 pm, where you can get any two of the following items for $5: Small Sundae, Chili Dog, Pretzel Sticks with Zesty Queso, Any size fountain drink.

• Hoppy-Go-Lucky Hollands Rabbitry has two 8 week old baby bunnies available.

• Anytime Fitness Princeton members now have free access to Apple Fitness+, which means you'll have thousands of workout options right at your fingertips! Add variety with 12 workout types including yoga, cycling, rowing, and more — activate your subscription in the Anytime Fitness app today.

• Chapel Hill Golf Course officially opens April 1st at 10am.

• Wild Ginger Bistro and Wine Bar is excited to announce that Sisler's Ice Cream has created exclusive flavors just for them. They're gearing up to open soon and will announce their opening date next Wednesday. They're also preparing for a Father's Day dinner featuring a four-course meal, and you can email them to get on the reservation list: [email protected].

• Sayler's General Store is selling bread mixes for any Easter meal. They're featuring a lemon blueberry swirl quick bread mix and a cheesy garlic beer bread mix, great for Easter breakfast or dinner.

• Eclectic Joy offers seed ball kits, suitable for ages 3 to 99, perfect for gifting, enhancing Easter baskets, or as a personal treat. The kits include everything needed to create a vibrant wildflower garden, with non-invasive and non-GMO seeds, aiming to beautify spaces and provide habitats for pollinators. The process is simple: roll, plant, and pollinate, with detailed instructions provided.

• Little Blue Dress now has Birkenstock sandals, wedges, and sneakers in store.

• There is a collection of garden chairs on sale at Corner Chair Market. These chairs are suitable for enhancing the beauty of porches, decks, or front door areas. Some chairs are designed to be planted in, while others are equipped to hold flower pots, adding a decorative and functional touch to outdoor spaces.

• The Studio Boutique now has tanning beds up and running.

• Wild Honey Boutique in Princeton is offering ideas for last-minute Easter basket gifts, selling a variety of items like lip balms and jewelry.

• The band Miles Over Mountains is playing at The Barrel Society May 24th at 7pm.

• The Knack in the Princeton Art District has special hours for spring break, open from noon to 5 PM, Tuesday to Sunday, April 2nd through April 7th, with no reservation required. They encourage visitors to come and enjoy their art offerings during this time.

🔗TOP LINKS THIS WEEK

• Don’t forget to register for the 2024 Bureau County Fair Queen Golf Outing. Early registration is until April 12th.

• Please consider joining this Meal Train for the Matlick family. Erin is a Princeton mother of two who has an ultra-rare degenerative genetic disease.

• This listing shows a spacious 3-bedroom, 2-bath manufactured home in The Grove, featuring a quality 2-car carport, a large side yard, and a covered patio. Offered at $47,000, it includes a stick-built outbuilding and boasts a new furnace and central air system installed in 2023, ensuring comfort in an excellent location.

☂️MARY POPPINS AT PRINCETON HIGH SCHOOL

Princeton High School is proud to announce the spring show, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins, the Broadway Musical April 19 at 7PM and April 21 at 2PM. Tickets can be ordered via an online form on the PHS website: www.phs-il.org, or by calling (815) 875-3308. All tickets are $10 with reserved seating. PHS student tickets are free.

One of the most popular Disney movies of all time is capturing hearts in a whole new way: as a practically perfect musical! Based on the books by P.L. Travers and the classic Walt Disney film, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins delighted Broadway audiences for over 2,500 performances and received nominations for nine Olivier and seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

The jack-of-all trades, Bert, introduces us to England in 1910 and the troubled Banks family. Young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family members how to value each other again. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures, but Jane and Michael aren't the only ones upon whom she has a profound effect. Even grown-ups can learn a lesson or two from the nanny who advises that "Anything can happen if you let it."

The PHS production features Brennan Roden as Mary Poppins, Phillip Goodale as Bert, Bianka Nickelsen as Jane Banks, Onne Adams as Michael Banks, Mark Kirkpatrick as George Banks, and Jordan VandeVenter as Winifred Banks. Our supporting cast includes PHS students Alyssa Stewart, Cameran Adkisson, Mia Sluis, Meghan Smith, Kimmie Imsland, Addison Compton, Wesley Shofner, Anna Boughton, Tricia Kloepping, Elin Workman, and Kit Lawrence. This year we are featuring Abi Freeman and Jeremiah Bauer from Princeton Christian Academy and Millie Arteaga, Sayge Compton, Lily Simpson, Levi VandeVenter, Logan Walters, and Piper Wempe from Logan Junior High School, and Main Street Dance Academy dancers Patsy Bystry, Leila Acker, Madison Shaw, Libby Sierens, and Emma Dye.

👷PRINCETON JOB OPENINGS

• General Laborers | Empire Acoustical Systems | 815-261-0072

• Help Needed | KS Lawn & Snow | 815-878-6126

• Material Handler | Ingersoll Rand | Full-time

• Server | Pizza Hut | Full-time

• Food and Grocery | Walmart | Full and Part-time

• Dietary Aide | Liberty Village | Full and Part-time

• Team Member | Culver’s | Full and Part-time

• Delivery Driver | FedEx Express | Full, Part, and Temp-work

• General Labor | Advanced Services | Full-time

• Post Office Handler | Postal Service | Full-time

• Driver | Republic Services | Full-time

• Retail Manager | RP Lumber | Full-time

🧱LETTER FROM LORI

This weekend, I spent time with my grandchildren, who are the joy of my life. I purchased some building toys for Hayden, who is two and a half years old. He gleefully engaged in constructing towers and wands with them. Embracing my role as 'Crazy Grammy,' I fueled the chaos, applauding him as he demolished his creations only to rebuild them.

With each crash, I exclaimed, "Broken!" and upon reconstruction, I would shout, "FIXED!" praising his efforts. We repeated this play, and his enthusiasm never waned. Remarkably, each time he reassembled the pieces, he made slight alterations—adding or omitting pieces, or varying the colors for a fresh pattern. Each iteration brought him immense satisfaction. He wasn't disheartened by breakage, knowing it offered an opportunity for improvement, with my encouragement bolstering his confidence in reinvention.

Life often seems fragmented. Faced with the remnants, do we lament what was lost, or do we envision potential anew? Do we enrich the tapestry with new pieces, or remove those that no longer fit our evolving vision? When everything crumbles yet again, do we succumb to despair, or do we seize the chance for renewal?

Reconstruction can be exhausting, challenging our strength and creativity. During such moments, it's vital to find those in our lives who offer encouragement. They might uncover a hidden piece that perfects our creation in unexpected ways or remove a detrimental piece, shaping our future constructively.

Thus, when adversity declares us "BROKEN," let's heed the rallying cry of "FIXED" from our champions, believing in their unwavering support as we endeavor towards triumph. Together, we can celebrate our collective resilience and creativity.

—Lori Boekeloo

Lori owns the Boek-el-ZOO in Princeton. It’s not just a pet shop — it’s an experience!