Get ready to take on the 2014 River North Challenge June 24

Let the games begin! Competitors are eagerly forming teams to compete in the 5^th Annual River North Challenge hosted by the River North Business Association June 24. Teams will spend a memorable evening adventuring through River North hotels, partaking in mental and physical challenges. Each check point presents a new challenge, when accomplished earning competitors “challenge points” towards a grand prize as well as a stamp on their “passport”. A team’s overall point sum, completed passport and the accuracy of their challenge answers will ultimately determine this year’s River North Challenge winner!

The locations along the River North Challenge will keep you fueled for success. This event, which delivers in the fun and games department, is accompanied by complimentary food and beverages at River North’s favorite destinations -- Challenge Stops.

Each Challenge Stop presents teams with the choice of an active challenge, mental challenge or both to gain maximum points. Upon completion of each challenge the team will be provided with the location of their next challenge.  Bonus Checkpoints along the journey will provide competitors with additional opportunities to increase point totals.

Start getting your team together because you won’t want to miss out on these prizes. The winning team will take home a tremendous prize package from the Businesses of River North. All event participants also will be entered in a Door Prize Drawing to further their chances of taking home great prizes such as gift certificates from restaurants, bars, hotels and spa packages.

Teams are encouraged to wear costumes and uniforms, or design their look around a team theme. Go big or go home, because the teams with the most creative attire will win big!

Upon completion of the challenge, enjoy the River North Challenge After Party at Cantina Laredo. While waiting for the Challenge winners to be announced, competitors can relax with food and beverages.

Register as a team of four for $150 or purchase a Single ticket for $40 and be placed on a team. Food and beverage will also be provided at each major hotel stop.

Registration takes place at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza beginning at 5:30 pm. The Challenge takes place from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and is followed by the after party at the Cantina Laredo at 8:30 p.m. June 24.

River North Challenge is presented Comcast Business Services and brought to you by the River North Business Association. Registration Sponsor is  Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza and After Party Sponsor is Cantina Laredo. Hotels involved in the event include Aloft City Center, Residence Inn, Springhill Suites, Fairfield Inn and Suites, Hampton Inn and Suites, Homewood Suites and Hyatt Place.

For questions call the River North Business Associations at 312-645-1047.

River North Business Association represents more than 325 businesses in the area bounded by the Chicago River to the south and west, Division on the north and Wabash on the east. The area boasts the highest concentration of restaurants and entertainment venues and is Chicago’s most exciting neighborhood to live, work, shop, dine and play. For more information, visit www.rivernorthassociation.com.

Momma Cuisine Makes Her Television Debut on My Deal TV on Comcast

Cooking personality Momma Cuisine, is best known for her mission of bringing recipes for Great Everyday Meals to every home using simple ingredients and basic cooking techniques. Momma Cuisine’s series, Great Everyday Meals, showcasing step-by-step instructions of recipes with simple ingredients and basic cooking techniques, as well as her cooking talk show, LIVE! With Momma Cuisine will now make its television debut on Monday, November 11, 2013 on MyDealTV on Comcast Channel 111 throughout Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.

My DealTV is a new “DEAL” network on Comcast channel 111 in Chicago. We are the only interactive network created exclusively for DEALS in categories such as automotive, real estate, entertainment, and more. My DealTV’s unique platform adds a convenient mobile phone application that interacts with the network offered to cable subscribers, allowing them to access deals on their phone. My DealTV has launched on Comcast, the leading U.S. cable operator, in the Chicago market.

My DealTV is implementing its soft launch of the entertainment category on Monday, November 11, 2013 with the launch of brand new shows and episodes coming in January 2014. The soft launch of entertainment category will include television shows 3 Guys in a Booth with Jerry Azumah, James Rhine, and Orlando Saez, Momma Cuisine with Johanna Cook, The Scott Emo Show with Scott Emo, and Social Chicago with Jillian Conley and Jeff Conway.

Momma Cuisine is a popular cooking personality based in Chicago, Illinois with a national presence. Frequently seen on the nationally syndicated WGN Midday News “Lunchbreak” segment, HuffPost Live and other media, Momma Cuisine’s loyal fans often engage with her and find her on social and traditional media.  “Having my shows syndicated on television is a dream come true. I will always have my foot in social media and will always have content on my channels and website. Crossing over to television is key in expanding my brand to reach a mass audience. I am very excited about being part of MyDealTV’s list of entertainment shows and aligned with other talented show hosts.”  –Johanna M. Cook

Johanna M. Cook is the creator of Momma Cuisine. Her mission is to empower families and individuals to create Great Everyday Meals with simple ingredients and basic cooking techniques. Her popular video series, from recipe show, to talk show, to food travels has earned her regular TV appearances on FOX News Chicago, WGN America, radio shows, countless features and even headlining her own self-titled cooking tour sponsored by Buick in the Summer of 2012 and 2013.

To learn more about MyDealTV visit, http://www.mydealtv.com.

Hall of Famer and former Chicago Cub Andre Dawson draws crowds at Bass Pro Shops Bolingbook

WFN: World Fishing Network, that nation’s only 24-hour fishing lifestyle TV channel, celebrated the launch of its Web site dedicated to finding Chicago’s Best Angler, www.wfnchicago.com, with the help of former Chicago Cub and avid fisherman—and soon to be Hall of Fame inductee—Andre Dawson last night with an autograph signing event at Bass Pro Shops (709 Janes Ave., Bolingbrook; 630-296-2700). More than 200 Chicago area fans and anglers attended the event, where Dawson autographed official WFN photos.

Dawson, an avid fisherman who played six years with the Cubs and won the NL MVP with the club in 1987, will pick the lucky angler for the contest, who will win the “fishing trip of a lifetime” with Dawson to a fishing hole to be determined. The winner and Dawson will have their fishing adventure covered by a WFN crew, and it will air on the network, giving the lucky winner a rare chance to appear on national television. The grand prize also includes $1,000 in cash and WFN merchandise.

Anglers and fans who visited the store during the event met their baseball hero, received a special autographed Dawson photo, and had the opportunity to sign up for the contest, which runs through April 15. Attendees also used laptops at the store to send e-mails to area cable providers Comcast and DirecTV to demand WFN.

Chicago and area fans are encouraged to go to www.wfnchicago.com to enter for their chance to win. To bolster their chances of winning, entrants are encouraged to make sure their friends and family “rate” their entry on the site. Entrants are also encouraged to promote their entry on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, to help garner support. To enter, fans must tell the network and Dawson in 200 words or less what they love about fishing in the Chicago area and why they are Chicago’s best angler. Entrants are also encouraged to include a photo with entry. Dawson will select the winner, to be announced in late April.

The site also includes blogs from local anglers, photos and video content, all relevant to anglers in the area.

“We’d like to thank Bass Pro Shops and of course Andre Dawson for helping WFN celebrate our Chicago Web site launch and our search for Chicago’s Best Angler,” said WFN CEO Mark Rubinstein at the event. “This has been an incredible turnout, and we thank the anglers and fans in the Chicago area for demanding WFN from their providers.”

Fishing in Illinois is big business, and massive participation. More than 873,000 people fish in Illinois each year, spending more than 16 million days fishing total related expenditures at more than $774 million.*

WFN already has become a popular channel in other surrounding fishing markets, launching on Charter in Wisconsin, a popular fishing destination for many Chicagoans, Xfinity (Comcast) has added WFN to its lineup in Michigan markets such as Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Flint.

WFN’s high definition channel, WFN HD, is available in the Chicago area on DISH Network (channel 394) and AT&T U-verse (channel 1679).

WFN is also available nationally on satellite TV provider DISH Network, AT&T U-verse, Charter Communications, Verizon Fios among other distributors.

Photo: World Fishing Network CEO Mark Rubinstein, former Chicago Cub Andre Dawson, and Chris Doyle, vice president of WFN marketing. Photos taken at Bass Pro Shops Bolingbrook store March 19 during a promotion to support the launch of WFN in the Chicago market.
Photo credit: Ernest J. Schweit, Kurman Communications, Inc.
 












Denaer's children from Naperville with baseball great, former Chicago Cub, Hall of Famer and avid angler Andre Dawson at Bass Pro Shops in Bolingbrook for the World Fishing Network.


Photo by: Ernest J. Schweit, Kurman Communications, Inc.

Denaer children of Naperville proudly display their personally signed Andre Dawson photo.
Photo by: Ernest J. Schweit, Kurman Communications, Inc.

WFN: World Fishing Network team with Kurman Communications staff and baseball great Andre Dawson after a full day of media activities and autograph signing at Bass Pro Shops in Bolingbrook, IL yesterday.
Photo by: Ernest J. Schweit, Kurman Communications, Inc.

Chicago's Best Angler Contest & WFN featured in today's Sun-Times

Just in case you haven't heard, the World Fishing Network (WFN) is looking for "Chicago's Best Angler" and Lewis Lazare did an awesome interview with WFN 's president and CEO Mark Rubinstein. The story ran in today's Chicago Sun-Times Here's the link: http://bit.ly/9fSYRI. 
Anglers are encouraged to go to WFN's new Chicago website: www.wfnchicago.com and tell them why you  deserve to be named the "best" here. The winner will get to enjoy a day of fishing with former Chicago Cub and Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, $1,000 and other goodies.

Hawk fans, mark your calendar.  He will be doing an autograph signing at the Bass Pro Shops in Bolingbrook on March 19 in conjunction with this promotion!

Are you familiar with WFN?  It's the only 24 hour television network dedicated to fishing.  WFN’s high definition channel, WFN HD, is available in the Chicago area on DISH Network (channel 394) and AT&T U-verse (channel 1679).  It isn't yet available here on Comcast or DirecTV.

Comcast and DirecTV subscribers, you may want to go to the WFN site as there's a place where you can urge your cable carrier to carry it.

Anglers who like to write and blog?  WFN is also looking for ambassadors to provide content to the website. For more info, check out the website or read today's Sun-Times. 

A big shoutout to Lewis Lazare who wrote an excellent story. Thanks again Lewis!