VLC Holiday Celebration Wrap-up
and Thank Yous

Over 80 guests from the hospitality industry and local communities gathered to celebrate the holidays together at The Barrel Room. Lake County's newest music and event venue is located inside the Harbor Brewing and 9th Hour Brewing Cos. taproom in downtown Lake Villa. Aside from festive music, food and drinks, it was also a night of surprise recognition for VLC President Maureen Riedy as she celebrates her 20th year as leader of the county's tourism organization. Continue here to view the county proclamation provided by Lake County Board District 7 Board Member and VLC Board Member Carissa Casbon.

Presentations also included an introduction to A Safe Place, a not-for-profit agency providing 24-hour support, housing and services for families after domestic violence and human trafficking in Lake County. Guests arrived to donate toys and other necessities for families in need at ASafePlaceForHelp.org. (Contacts: Aiyana Emsun and Demaris Lorta).

Thanks to:

• Harbor Brewing Co. and staff, thank you for allowing us a complimentary tour of the venue.
• Lake Villa Mayor James MacDonald, thank you for providing opening remarks.
• Timothy O'Toole's Pub Lake Villa provided appetizers for the event and conducted an employee toy drive to support our holiday charity, A Safe Place.
• Bill's Pub North in Third Lake donated pizzas.
• Lovin' Ovens in Antioch and Round Lake Beach provided sweet treats and coffee.
• The Chapin Jazz X-tet played holiday music and created a soothing background ambiance.
• Janelle Rominski Photography for the wonderful imagery.
• The raffle drawing prize donors like American Place Casino in Waukegan, Six Flags Great America and World of Illumination: Arctic Adventure in Gurnee, Timberjaxe Axe Lounge in Libertyville and Birch Beverages of Gurnee.

To view the full gallery of photos captured by Rominski, click the button below. If you receive a message asking for a password, type in "JOHN" (case-sensitive). Also, continue scrolling to view a short video of the event compliments of Bob Dion of DHD Chicago (VLC's advertising agency). Thank you again to the aforementioned partners for help in throwing a festive holiday celebration. We couldn't have done it without you!

Photo Captions: The first image is the VLC staff (sans Jeff Randolph), while the second image is Harbor Brewing Co. and The Barrel Room Owner Kyle Wenzel. The third image is a shot of A Safe Place Education and Outreach Coordinator Aiyana Emsun and O'Toole's Regional Manager Nicole Elliott, and the fourth picture is of The Chapin Jazz X-Tet.