The 618 Now

Housing price or Nicks Christmas gift...

In this episode, we discuss:

• Avg housing prices 
• Chamber by the numbers
• Shoutout to listener Janelle!
• Sat, Dec 10th 8am-11am is O'Fallon Police Department's Breakfast with Santa 
• Sat, Dec 10th 11am-3pm Tinsel Around Town and free gift wrapping at The Medicine Shoppe inside the Schwarz Center in the Downtown District 
• Sat, Dec 10th, 3:30pm-7:30pm Winter Market at O'Fallon Station

Have an idea for a podcast topic? Submit it here! Follow us on Instagram @The618Now.

Why did over 12,000 IL residents dial 211 last year?

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why over 12,000 people in IL called 211 last year
• How the United Way serves as community dispatchers to help connect people in need with services that can help them
• How the United Way distributes over $1,000,000/week in the St. Louis/Metro East area
• Wed, Dec 7th 8:30-4pm is collection day at the Chamber office for the  Annual Cookie Drop for the airmen at Scott Air Force Base.
• Thurs, Dec 8th @ 6pm is Pub table Historian at Gears inside Bike Surgeon
• Sat, Dec 10th 8am-11am is O'Fallon Police Dept's Breakfast with Santa. Admission is free. 
• Sat, Dec 10th 9am-noon is Shiloh's Breakfast with Santa. $5 admission. 
• Sat, Dec 10th 3:30-7:30pm Winter Market @ Ofallon Station

Have an idea for a podcast topic? Submit it here! Follow us on Instagram @The618Now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

We've taken this week off, but cover some upcoming events:

• Sat, Nov 26 is Small Business Saturday!
• Sat, Nov 26 @ 6pm is the Illuminated Holiday Parade in Downtown O'Fallon
• Dec 2-4 is the OTHS Madrigal Dinner @ the Milburn Campus. Pre-event ticket sales have ended but you can show up at each performance and purchase tickets at will-call.  
• Win cash in the Snowman Selfie Contest. Runs now thru Dec 19th. Over 30 snowmen are around town. Snap a selfie with them, share the photo in the comments of this FB post and be entered to win CASH! 
• Win cash in the It Pays to Buy Local contest which runs now thru Dec 19th. Shop participating stores, submit your receipt and receive 1 entry for every $10 spent ($55 receipt = 5 entries). 

 

The holiday season is so Madrigal!

In this episode, we discuss:

• Residential developments
• Tomorrow, Sat, Nov 19th is Scouting For Food
• Thanksgiving options
  • Thanksgiving meals to-go from The Regency 
  • Annual Community Thanksgiving Meal @ Faith Lutheran Church 11am-1:30pm
• Interview with OTHS Madrigal students about the upcoming Madrigal Dinner and Beggar's Feast 
• Friday & Sat Nov 18 & 19th @ 7:30pm  Radium Girls theater production at OTHS (Milburn campus)
• Sunday, Nov 20 @ 3pm Radium Girls production at OTHS Milburn
• Sunday, Nov 20 11am-4pm Kids' Craft Fair @ VFW
• Sat, Nov 26 Small Business Saturday 
• Sat, Nov 26 @ 6pm Illuminated Holiday Parade

Have an idea for a podcast topic? Submit it here! Follow us on Instagram @The618Now.

The gals who glowed!

In this episode, we discuss:

• the largest, single day food drive in the nation started here in St. Louis
• Scouting for Food is coming up! "Hey Siri... remind me to set out the food donations!" 
• Donate food OR donate money by texting "ScoutFood" to 91999. Every $1 donated provides up to 4 meals. 
• Radium Girls! We interviewed several of the student actors from the upcoming theater production at OTHS. Shows are Thurs, Nov 17 - Sunday Nov 20th.
• Tues, Nov 16 @ 5:30pm in the Fairfield Inn lobby (1180 Central Park Drive) is the Chamber's Book Club- we're discussing Give and Take by Adam Grant.
• Fri - Sun, Dec 2-4th is the OTHS Madrigal Dinner and Beggars' Feast. Deadline to purchase tickets is Nov 18th, so get them now!  

Have an idea for a podcast topic? Submit it here! Follow us on Instagram @The618Now.

Honor others by understanding them

In this episode, we discuss:

• the history of Veterans Day and how it's evolved over the years to honor all military, including those who serve in war time and peace time
• Friday, Nov 11th @ 11am Veterans Day observance ceremony @ First Baptist Church with Major General Vincent Barker, USA, Chief of Staff, US TRANSCOM speaking.
• Friday, Nov 11 @ 2pm Veterans Day parade in Downtown O'Fallon. Kicks off at the corner of South Hilgard and E Third Street, heads West down Third Street towards Lincoln, turns R (north) onto Lincoln, passing in front of City Hall, then turns L (west) onto First Street, ending at the VFW.
• We Love Our Military signs are still for sale (only a handful are left). 
• The Regency Catering To Go is offering Thanksgiving Day family-style meals. These are a listener favorite! Deadline to order is Nov 21; pick up on Wed (for uncooked turkeys) or on Thurs (Thanksgiving Day for cooked turkeys).
• Sat, Nov 5 and Sunday, Nov 6 is the OTHS Band Boosters Art and Craft Fair at the Smiley Campus. 
• Sat, Nov 5 and Sunday Nov 6 are the Holiday Open Houses for several downtown businesses. Fezziwig's  Steven Mueller Florist
• Lead In applications for the Class of 2023 are open! Candidates must be under age 40 (before January 25, 2023) and live or work in O'Fallon/Shiloh. Deadline to apply is Dec 5th. 
• Sat, Nov 26th @ 6pm is the Illuminated Holiday Parade in the Downtown District- Save the date! 

Have an idea for a podcast topic? Submit it here! Follow us on Instagram @The618Now.

You can’t build that here!

In this episode, we discuss:

• the reason it took the old Dairy Queen on Highway 50 a while to develop into something else....
• the opening of Hawaiian Brothers Island Grill!
• upcoming events for people with a variety of interests:
  • Sat & Sun Nov 5-6 O'Fallon Band Boosters Art and Craft Fair, or O-town Etsy as we like to call it! 
  • Nov 20 11am-4pm Kids Craft Market 20th 11am-4pm @ The VFW... where kids are the markers and vendors! 
  • Nov 17 - 20th Radium Girls, the OTHS Theatre Production @ Milburn Campus
  • Dec 2-4th OTHS Madrigal Dinner, tickets are on sale now
  • Nov 5 @ 7pm, Trivia Night hosted by The Friends of the Library  
  • Nov 10 @ 6pm, Pub Table Historian @ Gears (inside The Bike Surgeon)
  • Nov 16th @ 5:30pm, the Chamber's Book Club moderated by Justin Ward with First National Bank of Waterloo- open to Chamber members
  • Now thru Nov 5th, the O'Fallon Police are teaming up with Warners' Warm Up to collect new or gently used jackets for local kids- drop off donations in the lobby of the Public Safety Building
  • Nov 12, 10am-2pm Blood Drive hosted by the VFW. Sign up here. 
  • Sat, Oct 29 @ 8am Howling for Habitat 5k race Listen to our episode where we highlighted the fantastic work habitat does for our community
  • Sat, Oct 29 @ 12-3 Rotary Halloween Parade and trick-or-treating in the Downtown District
  • Sat, Oct 29 @ 5pm Halloween Hunt Pub Crawl in the Downtown District
  • Mon, Oct 31 6-9pm O'Fallon and Shiloh Trick-or-treating
  • Mon, Oct 31 @ 6-8pm VFW Kids Safe Halloween @ the VFW- candy, games and hayrides to the American Legion and Firehouse. Great alternative to neighborhood trick-or-treating!
  • Nov 16 @ 11:30am- Restaurant Roulette hosted by the Chamber, open to Chamber members 

Have an idea for a podcast topic? Submit it here! Follow us on Instagram @The618Now.

Local experiences that get you out and about!

In this episode, we discuss:

• The Coffee Trail and the Jingle Hike- two local experiences that get you out and exploring Southern Illinois! The Coffee Trail include Sweet Katie Bee's and June's in Shiloh and the Jingle Hike includes Rock Springs Rotary Park in O'Fallon! 
• O'Fallon Hometown Heroes Banner Project- deadline to order military and first responder banners is 10/31/22.
• The O'Fallon Public Library is seeking community input to help develop their 20-year strategic plan. The survey takes just a few minutes to complete.
• Sat, Oct 22 @ 9am is the Downtown Dog Days in the Downtown District
• Sun, Oct 23 @ 4pm Four Paws Animal Hospital Trunk or Treat 
• Sun, Oct 23 @ 4pm Bach in the Community: Voices of Praise free choral concert @ St. Clare Church, registration is required
• Sat, Oct 29 @ 8am Howling for Habitat 5k race Listen to our episode where we highlighted the fantastic work habitat does for our community
• Sat, Oct 29 @ 12-3 Rotary Halloween Parade and trick-or-treating in the Downtown District
• Sat, Oct 29 @ 5pm Halloween Hunt Pub Crawl in the Downtown District
• Mon, Oct 31 6-9pm O'Fallon and Shiloh Trick-or-treating
• Mon, Oct 21 @ 6-8pm VFW Kids Safe Halloween @ the VFW- candy, games and hayrides to the American Legion and Firehouse. Great alternative to neighborhood trick-or-treating!
• Early voting for the November elections is now open. Click here for locals and times.

Have an idea for a podcast topic? Submit it here! Follow us on Instagram @The618Now.

Reimagining Highway 50 plus tax rebates!

In this episode, we discuss:

• a $500k plan to study Highway 50 from Exit 14 all the way through to Scott-Troy Rd
• Illinois' plan to rebate 6.2M tax payers funds over the next 6-8 weeks
• why OTHS students already received information on registering for classes for NEXT year. Seems so early, but we learned the reasons why and it makes so much sense! 
• our ongoing love for the O'Fallon Public Library and the Friends of the Library's upcoming trivia night in support of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Trivia night is Nov 5 from 7-10pm.
• Sat, Oct 15 @ 8am Vine Street Market at O'Fallon Station- the final market of the year!
• Sat, Oct 15 @ 6:30pm Be a Kid for a Night in support of Caritas Family Solutions at the Gateway Center in Collinsville  
• Sun, Oct 16 is Bosses' Day!
• Sat, Oct 22 @ 9am Four Legged Running 5k hosted by Furchild
• Sat, Oct 22 9am-3pm Shiloh Treasures in the Park - over 40 vendors, Twilight Band from noon-3pm and food from the PTO
• Mon, Oct 31 6-9pm Trick or Treating in O'Fallon and Shiloh

Have an idea for a podcast topic? Submit it here! Follow us on Instagram @The618Now.

Upscale dining in downtown

In this episode, we discuss:

• ground is breaking on the $93M apartment and commercial complex on Central Park drive! 
• Le Ono has been announced as downtown's newest restaurant!
• Free tutoring for Kindergarten - 8th grade is available through the O'Fallon Public Library. 
• Friday, Oct 7 @ dusk is Sing 2 in the Community Park
• Sat, Oct 8 @ 8am Vine Street Market at OFallon Station
• Sat, Oct 8 4-8pm Fall Festival at Rock Springs Rotary Park 
• Sat, Oct 8 4-10pm Witches and Wizards in the downtown district! 
• Tues Oct 11- Thurs Oct 13 6:30-8:30pm each night Open House hosted by O'Fallon Fire and Rescue at Fire Station 4 (1215 Taylor Rd) honoring Fire Prevention Week
• Sunday, Oct 16th is Bosses' Day! 

Have an idea for a podcast topic? Submit it here! Follow us on Instagram @The618Now.