Dave Calendine writes:
The Fifth Annual Steam Department Benefit at the Sanfilippo Estate will be held
on Sunday, June 28, 2015 at 1:00pm. The event will feature a concert and silent
film with live accompaniment in the Estate's Music Theater on the world's
largest restored theatre pipe organ. The original theater organ, a 1927
Wurlitzer from the Omaha Theater in Nebraska, has been expanded and now controls
over 8,000 pipes, percussions and sound effects.
Two
special raffle drawings will be held during the event this year. The grand
prize drawing will be for “throttle time” on 1630, the museum’s steam train.
The winner will be given time at the controls to run the historic steam engine
on the museum’s main line, under the guidance of museum personnel. The second
place drawing will be for a cab ride on 1630. The winner will be able to ride
up front and watch how the engine is operated while riding on the museum’s main
line.
The
Sanfilippo Estate, nicknamed “Place de la Musique,” is a 44,000 square foot
private residence filled with magnificent collections of beautifully restored
antique music machines, phonographs, arcade and gambling machines, chandeliers,
art glass, the world's largest theatre pipe organ, street and clock towers,
steam engines and other functional mechanical antiques, displayed within a
breathtaking French Second Empire setting. The Estate, owned by Jasper
Sanfilippo, former CEO of the parent company of Fisher Nuts, hosts charities
holding fundraisers through the Sanfilippo Foundation.
Doors
will open at 1:00 pm on Sunday, June 28, at which time guests will be able to
tour the residence and its collections. The concert on the Wurlitzer theatre
pipe organ will begin at 2:30 pm. The artist will be Dave Calendine, house
organist and organ curator at the famed Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.
This
year’s organ concert will be completely by request from attendees. A silent
movie featuring Buster Keaton in “The Blacksmith” will also be presented with
live accompaniment on the theatre pipe organ. During
intermission, there
will be a 50/50 drawing, door prizes, and the raffles for a cab ride and
“throttle time” on 1630. In addition, brochures from the Estate will be
available for purchase, with 50% of the proceeds being donated to the IRM.
After the concert, the doors to the Carousel House will be open, with many of
the large European fairground organs being played. The Eden Palais Salon
Carousel will be available for rides, and the steam engine building will be open
for viewing.
Tickets,
which must be purchased in advance, are $69.99 per person. No tickets will be
available at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Illinois Railway Museum Steam
Department. Directions to the Private Estate will be included with your
tickets, which will be mailed in mid June. The Estate is about 45 minutes from
Downtown Chicago.
IRM
is a not-for-profit, educational corporation that was organized in 1953. The
mission of the Illinois Railway Museum is to demonstrate the vital role
railroads have played in the growth of the Chicago area as well as the United
States through the preservation and operation of railroad and mass transit
rolling stock in a realistic setting. The museum is supported primarily by
contributions and revenues derived from the visiting public and run mainly by
volunteers.
For
more information about the Steam Department Benefit Concert or the Illinois
Railway Museum, or to purchase tickets, please visit www.irm.org or call the
Museum office at (815) 923-4391.
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