“A Victorian New Year” to Help Raise Funds for Watseka Community Renewal
This January, Roff Home will host “A Victorian New Year” to benefit Watseka Community Renewal, a new nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing the Watseka area. The event will include tables overflowing with gourmet Italian appetizers and desserts from Chef Valentino, in this restored Victorian home decorated for Christmas and the new year.
The events will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2025, with options of attending from 12:00-2:00 p.m. or 6:00-8:00 p.m.
The mission of Watseka Community Renewal is to “vitalize growth across the greater Watseka community.”
The founding objective of Watseka Community Renewal is to help the City of Watseka save the Stephens Bros Opera House, which was built in 1884 and served as a focal point of the community and an anchor for the commercial downtown area for more than 100 years. It also seeks to take on other revitalization efforts for the Watseka area.
“A new year symbolizes a chance for revitalization and renewal,” says Juanita Muller, president of Watseka Community Renewal. “This event will help us in our efforts to bring renewal to downtown Watseka and to help the City of Watseka save the Stephens Bros Opera House. We also invite you to come to just talk and learn more about our mission.”
In December 2024, Watseka Community Renewal was approved as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It also partnered with the Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley while it was awaiting approval of its 501(c)(3) status.
To donate to Watseka Community Renewal, please go to https://www.cfkrv.org/who-we-support/watseka-community-renewal/.
Chef Valentino’s Menu
Valentino Brito-Whitman, a chef with 25 years of culinary experience from Italy and Spain who today offers private chef services in Illinois and Michigan, will provide appetizers and desserts during each time frame that will include:
Four styles of Italian salamis
Aged Italian cheeses with jams
A wheel of brie with a compote of dates, figs, nuts and syrup
Dried fruits, fresh fruits, and nuts; candied ginger and amarena cherries
Bruschetta with fresh heirloom cherry tomatoes with fresh basil and garlic
Homemade lasagna di Bolognese
Polpette (Italian meatballs) in a homemade marinara sauce
Several types of focaccia and Italian breads
Tiramisu
A selection of panettoni, (traditional Italian holiday dessert breads)
The events will be held from 12:00-2:00 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 11. Tickets are $40 and must be purchased before the event.
Roff Home will feature three Christmas trees, a nearly life-size plaster angel from an abandoned Catholic Church, as well as angel and Santa statues and ceramics. It also includes furniture in a French country style, an original painting of the Virgin Mary with Child in the Cusco style from Peru, as well as several buddha statues from Thailand.
“Watseka Community Renewal and Roff Home have a lot in common. We both care deeply about Watseka’s history and its historic structures,” says John Whitman-Brito, owner of Roff Home. “We are pleased to open our doors to this new organization to help it kick off fundraising for its important projects.”
In 2020, Roff Home won Landmarks Illinois’s annual restoration award, in recognition of the many years of work that went into bringing the home back to life.
WHAT'S THE COST?
$40 per person
Buy early! Only 35 tickets for appetizers and desserts will be sold for each event!
HOW TO BUY TICKETS?
Tickets can be purchased online.
Payment for tickets can also be sent by Venmo, PayPal, or Cash app:
Venmo (@roffhome)
PayPal (reference email roffhome@gmail.com)
Cash app ($roffhome)
if asked, the last four digits of the associated phone number are 6650.
When making payment, include the time you are choosing (noon or 6 p.m.), your name, and your phone number.
How to Donate
If you would like to make a donation directly to Watseka Community Renewal, you can do so through the Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley by donating online at https://www.cfkrv.org/who-we-support/watseka-community-renewal/ or by sending a check to Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley, noting Watseka Community Renewal in the memo line.
CAN I PURCHASE TICKETS AT THE DOOR?
No. We anticipate that tickets will sell out before each event.
about watseka community renewal
Watseka Community Renewal is dedicated to supporting the preservation, protection and restoration of historic structures in the greater Watseka area from the threat of neglect, obsolescence and the pressures of a modern society. To achieve this mission, Watseka Community Renewal will support, encourage, inform and educate the public of the architectural significance, history and heritage of the greater Watseka area.
ABOUT CHEF VALENTINO
Chef Valentino is available to create an unforgettable dining experience in your home in Illinois, Indiana or Michigan; in a luxury condo with wrap-around windows in Chicago, in a haunted Victorian in Watseka, IL; or in a charming A-frame in the woods in Saugatuck, MI.
