Start the weekend off right with the GHS Track Pancake Breakfast at Faith United Methodist Church in Galesburg. The annual event will be Saturday, February 17th from 7:30 am to 11:30 am for $5 and it’s all the pancakes and sausage you can eat. The Sweetheart Fun Run for the Galesburg YMCA steps off Saturday morning at 8:00 am. You and your sweetheart can choose from a one, two, or three mile course that starts and ends at the downtown YMCA location. The run is free and open to the public. Make your way to Monmouth for the 9th Annual Monmouth Home Show at the 1st Street Armoury from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday. Admission is free, and attendees can register to win a $100 gift certificate for groceries. Also on Saturday, a living legend will be visiting Knoxville High School. Andre Dawson will be at KHS starting at 10:00 am signing autographs and helping to raise funds for the KHS Press box Project. A meet and greet with The Hawk will be Friday, February 16th at Soangetaha Country Club. KHS will also be hosting a Prom Dress Resale Event from 12:30 to 4:00 Saturday in the main entrance and from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm on Sunday in the auditorium. For $5, you can hang a prom dress for sale and keep 100% of the sale price. Proceeds from the event will go towards a water bottle filler for the school. Saturday evening is the Knoxville Fire Department Soup Supper from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The cost is $7 featuring ham and beans, chili, potato soup, and cornbread.
A couple of multi-day events make up the rest of your weekend. The 32nd annual Chocolate Fest is Saturday, February 17th and Sunday, February 18th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Prairie Players Civic Theater on South Seminary Street. Tickets are $10 at the door and it’s all the chocolate you can eat – buffet style. Debbie Sugia says the Chocolate Fest benefits the Galesburg Historical Society. “We have donations from almost every restaurant here in Galesburg,” Sugia said. “Coney Island makes chocolate chili, chocolate-covered bacon – we got a wonderful donation from Farmland in Monmouth. Kitchen Cooked has donated chips and pretzels, so they will be dipped in chocolate. You’d be amazed what people do to chocolate. Coffee from Innkeeper’s….we get ice cream from The Landmark….and it’s wonderful. The Maple City is hosting a series of Amateur Karaoke Contests to benefit Easter Seals of central Illinois. The contest continues Friday, February 16th at Four Star in Monmouth from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am and again Saturday night at Market Alley from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am. It’s $5 to enter, and 1st place wins $500 – 2nd wins $200 and 3rd place wins $100. The finals will be held March 24th at the Rivoli Theatre in Monmouth.
