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at Marengo High School 100 Franks Rd., Marengo, IL (east off Rt. 20)
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Volume 7 Issue 3
JANUARY 12, 2017
Admission: Adults $3, Under 10 Yrs. FREE
269024
Wondertucky New Year’s Eve
By Anne Eickstadt CORRESPONDENT
“
I am tickled pink that the City of Woodstock has taken us in wholeheartedly,” says David Cunningham, owner of Wondertucky Distillery and Bottling. “Everyone has treated us so well. Woodstock in McHenry County is a great place to do business.” “Since we have been open, we have had a great response from the community,” says assistant Jessica Zuba. “Everyone has been very supportive.” Zuba and Cunningham are talking with me even as they assist the late afternoon flow of customers on New Year’s Eve. “We’d like more interaction with people in the community. We would like to get their opinions and see what they think. People can be a part of the creative process.” “If you are coming for a tour,” she continues, “you’ll be able to come in and see us making the mash, running the still, and bottling the product. You will also see the experimental process for flavors and be able to purchase prototype bottles. You can taste the new flavor before it goes to market and give us your opinion.” “As the first distillery in McHenry County, we are fielding questions, even from the McHenry County Liquor Commission, designed more for wineries rather than distilleries,” Cunningham tells me, “We have to educate everyone. We will be offering distilling classes once the Wondertucky Tasting Room has established itself. Right now The Tasting Room is a new business so we will have to get it settled before we start classes again.” “What makes Wondertucky so special is that we go with the highest standard. It is aged in certified American white oak barrels,” Zuba says. “It gives the whiskey a sweet finish – smooth and sweet and a little smoky from the char in the barrel.”
ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTO McHenry County News
David Cunningham with a few customers preparing for their New Year’s Eve parties.
Compared to other woods, white oak has the highest amount of lignin. Lignin is very important, since that’s where vanillin [the vanilla flavor] and spice come from. The more a barrel is charred, the more the lignin yields flavors of spice and smoke. Charring is done to change the nature of the oak itself, to yield the best
possible reaction between wood and whiskey. “Over the course of the past year,” Zuba tells me, “Wondertucky has had a tremendous growth. We are now in over two hundred markets, including the local Jewel.” The new Wondertucky Tasting Room is open Wednesday through
Sunday from 1 p.m. until 10 p.m. A tour schedule of the distillery is being finalized and, if you prefer and call in advance, tours can be made by appointment. The tours will cost $10.00 per person or free with purchase. Future plans for the Wondertucky Tasting Room include classes in
distilling whiskey and tours. Cunningham also plans to apply to the McHenry County Liquor Commission for the licensing from the County to expand the Tasting Room into a bar/tavern. Information on Wondertucky can be found online at www.wondertuckydistillery.com.
Art for the Paws 2017 Begins
By Anne Eickstadt CORRESPONDENT
As of Jan. 2, 2017, artists and people who have artistic tendencies can begin to purchase canvasses for the Art for the Paws annual fundraiser. This will benefit the Helping Paws Animal Shelter in Woodstock, Illinois. These canvasses are to be used to create works of art to be sold at auction. The canvases are six inches square and can be purchased at any of four locations: Helping Paws Animal Shelter located at 2500 Harding Lane, Woodstock 815.338.4400 Material Things Artisan Market, on the Square at 103 E. Van Buren, Woodstock 815.575.9710 Fabric, Fiber & Finds, 37 N. Williams Street, Crystal Lake 815.444.7244 The Studio Art School, 3316 Pearl Street, McHenry 815.385.3990 The canvasses can be purchased for $5.00 apiece. Three hundred canvasses are available for this event. Each artist is allowed to enter a maximum of two pieces of artwork. When completed, the canvases can be returned to any of the four locations by the deadline of February 28. “People do not have to be professional artists,” says Ravelle Schwab, director at Helping Paws. “You can create anything. You can use watercolors or acrylics, make mosaics or use stained glass. You can do three dimensional work, or adhere ceramics or jewelry or
photographs to the canvas.” “The talent is incredible,” she continues. “Susan Galloway, of Blue Eagle Pottery has done ceramic pieces for us.” “In the past, we have had beautiful art. Artists have created animals, dogs, cats, cows, and unicorns. We have had mixed media, jewelry, ceramics, decoupage, acrylics, and professional photography. The art cannot overhang the edges of the canvas, it must fit within the edges and it cannot weigh more than five pounds. Nothing obscene, please.” Once the art has been returned, it will be professionally photographed during the month of March. One of the committee members at Helping Paws will build a custom frame in which to display the artwork. Some of the pieces will go on display at the Woodstock Public Library. The works of art will then be placed at an online auction site, www. charityauctionstoday.com for two weeks. Opening bids are to start at $25.00. “We have high school kids and college students create artwork for this event. We have classrooms collaborating on a piece,” says Schwab. “We already had one woman come in and purchase eleven canvasses for a number of artists.” A formal reception for the Art for the Paws event will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2017 at the Mixin Mingle at 124 Cass Street on the Woodstock Square.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HELPING PAWS ANIMAL SHELTER
This hockey-loving dog is loyal to our Chicago Blackhawks in this 2016 entry into Art for the Paws. See more photos on page 2.
This will be open to all artists who participated and created artwork, as well as the general public. There will be food and wine. The culmination of bidding for the auction will be at 9:00 pm and the bidders can take their new pieces of art home. More information about the Helping Paws Animal Shelter can be found online at www.helpingpaws.net.