where he’ll be appearing as the World’s Tallest Elf this Saturday has appeared at thousands of events around the Midwest as a comedy juggler By the time he straps drywall stilts to his feet “I go up and down elevators and under tents.” >>> You Better Watch Out, Santa's Coming To The Oak Lawn Village Green In high school Kollum never even considered becoming a variety entertainer when he first joined a juggling club “Back then it was something fun that I did,” he said he saw other stilt walkers at events where he was performing and thought he’d expand his skill set and marketability by taking up the craft Kollum can spark a person’s acrophobia when he starts swinging the stilts one in front of another He doesn’t necessarily believe he’s more coordinated than others “I suppose I've developed strong leg muscles It’s a matter of practicing and feeling comfortable with it," Kollum said you have to be really confident in what you’re doing and be flexible I’ll be in a Fourth of July parade when it’s 95 degrees and a variety of other settings in all kinds of weather.” Most professional stilt walkers use peg stilts that strap to the feet or drywall stilts worn by professional drywallers to reach ceiling heights “It’s one thing to be able to put stilts on but being able to be comfortable with your surroundings and developing a style of entertainment on stilts is really what takes years to develop,” Kollum told Patch He admits to taking a tumble or two over the course of his stilt-walking career “You always have to watch your footing and be careful of everything around you,”Kollum said watching out for kids and adults all around you the ropes that secure the tents to the ground Getting the stilts on is skill unto itself and finding the correct surface to put the stilts on before slipping on the 9-foot length pants “Usually I sit on my van for outdoor events Kollum has been working full-time as a variety entertainer for 16 years He also teaches interactive and participatory classes in juggling balloon twisting and circus arts workshops to adults and kids using a variety of equipment and a special solution to make giant bubbles “A lot of people have never seen a stilt walker before,” Kollum said “I’ve taken pictures with people all over the world Interested in hiring Kollum for a festival, parade, grand opening, summer camp, party or any other community event, visit Jason Variety or email jdkollum@yahoo.com Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Kollum, Noardeast-Fryslân, The Netherlands Farmhouse 3 Name: Jellina Detmar their children Déjan and Melin Location: Kollum the Netherlands Size: 2,422 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years Keep up with our latest house tours each weekday with our House Tour of the Day newsletter By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy It’s hard to believe Jellina and her family moved to this old farmhouse a mere one and a half years ago The former residents had created a drywall box within the house concealing many of the home’s beautiful elements like the big wooden beams She and her husband Jan really wanted to let these original features shine so they had to strip everything bare before they could start building up again especially since they do most of it themselves Jan is extremely handy and has a part-time job in the concrete business (that gives him more time to renovate their home) but in her off hours she loves to style and photograph their interior this couple is a force of nature and the farmhouse— built in 1668—is rapidly transforming into the cozy home of their dreams So far the living area and kitchen are done and the couple is very happy with the results After they tackle the backyard (while the weather’s still agreeable) the bedrooms are on the first floor but these are all temporary This floor will also include a playroom for the kids and a glass floor right on top of the living room especially to countries with great nature like Costa Rica and Indonesia Favorite Element: Rugged pieces like the workbenches The sliding doors in the black steel frame separating the living room from the dining room/kitchen Biggest Challenge: Renovating the entire farmhouse and making it our own We started with the kitchen and dining room we’re working on the yard as well as the second floor where the future bedrooms and a new bathroom will be Impressive how you guys do everything yourselves.” Proudest DIY: Our entire home consists of DIY projects. You can actually find several of them on my website Biggest Indulgence: The sliding doors in the black steel frame Best Advice: Try to choose each element in such a way that all parts will create a cohesive whole Make things functional and within easy reach Dream Sources: Loods 5, De Handelsfabriek DEJAN’S BEDROOM Bed — Self-made Black cabinet — Self-made FRONTYARD Outdoor dining set — Hartman ⇒ House Tour & House Call Submission Form See More: ⇒ Recent House Tours ⇒ House Tours on Pinterest Read the comments The home you love starts here The home you love starts here Apartment TherapyThe wordmark for the Apartment Therapy brand.More From Us By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. A yearly highlight of the Libertyville Days festival took place Saturday as its parade featuring marching bands clowns and other attractions kicked off at 10 a.m from the Metra commuter station on Milwaukee Avenue Sunday with a carnival at the Civic Center parking lot and Sunrise Rotary Park featuring games and food by North American Midway Entertainment — Astro Amusement There will be more food at Church Street Eats (formally Taste of Libertyville) on Church Street between Milwaukee Avenue and Brainerd Street Participating restaurants include A Taste of Chicago Prime; Big Irb’s Southern BBQ; Brothers Ribs; Domino’s Pizza; El Barrio; Family Affair; Jet’s Pizza; Jethro’s Corn & Spuds; Luke’s of Mundelein; Lee Concessions; Maggie Moos Ice Cream; Something Sweet Lemonade; and The Amigos Grill Other activities Sunday include an arts and crafts fair from 1 to 5 p.m in Cook Park and a beer garden in the Civic Center parking lot from 1 to 6 p.m Sign In Subscribe Now 2017 at 77 years of age after a short illness Al is survived by his loving wife of 55 years Alice Vissia (Theo) and sister-in-law Rinnie Hoekstra He enjoyed more than 60 years living in Port Alberni while working at BC Hydro for 30+ years and spending quality time with his grandchildren A memorial service will be held at Cornerstone CRC of Chilliwack Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Sign In Register .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Myron Kukla | grnews@mlive.comMark Copier | The Grand Rapids PressHolland bakery owner Jakob de Boer 30.HOLLAND TOWNSHIP -- Jakob de Boer doesn't remember much about his father's bakery in the Netherlands sold it and moved his family to the city of Holland on Lake Michigan's shore in 1956 Business: de Boer Bakkerij and de Boer's Dutch Brothers Restaurant with sons Samuel He said: "I have Kodak moments of my father's bakery in Kollum and how it always smelled of fresh bread "I have Kodak moments of my father's bakery in Kollum and how it always smelled of fresh bread That's what I wanted to create here," said Jakob who learned the craft of Dutch baking from his father Lammert became a part owner of the Hempel's Pastry with Fritz Hoekstra "We have a picture of Pete and me on our tricycles hanging on the wall the 57-year-old Jakob owns and operates the de Boer Bakkerij and the de Boer Dutch Brothers Restaurant at 360 Douglas Ave he ran his father's Hempel's Pastry shop with a partner from 1976 to 1991 then moved to Florida where he took a job as head baker for Publix Super Markets in Sarasota he returned in 1997 and opened de Boer Bakkerij 800-square-foot shop on the outskirts of town "I thought a Dutch bakery with breads made from old family recipes and Dutch pastries like Krakelingen and Banket would do well here," he said referring to the thin sugar cookie made in a figure eight and a buttery puff pastry roll filled with almond paste "I think passing on traditional recipes from generation-to-generation is what ties where you come from to where you are today," he said "We are the family's fourth generation of Dutch bakers Lammert's father trained him and he trained his son and dad trained us," said Samuel de Boer a business partner with his dad and brothers Mitch "While we all have different jobs here we're all bakers at Christmas time," Jacob de Boer said This Christmas the bakery went go through 4,000 pounds of flower 400 pounds of butter and 800 pounds of sugar during the season to make breads and pastries Mitch de Boer came into the business in 2005 and pitched the idea of adding a Dutch restaurant 2,000-square-foot restaurant that became an overnight success "I created some of my own dishes and we took recipes from Oma for Dutch croquettes pea soup and the inspiration for Oma's Way Omelet and everyone seemed to like the food," said Mitch speaking of his 92-year-old grandmother Elizabeth de Boer Peter Hoekstra -- who also came to the U.S from the Netherlands as a child and is now campaigning for governor -- is another regular visitor to the bakery and restaurant "It's great to see a family like the de Boers add their talents and hard work to our country to help make it a better place for all of us," Hoekstra said E-mail the author of this story: localnews@grpress.com Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices He said: \"I have Kodak moments of my father's bakery in Kollum and how it always smelled of fresh bread 2017 at 4:14 pm CT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}CHANNAHON IL - This growing village near Joliet is celebrating its annual Three Rivers Festival over the next four days The annual community festival got underway Wednesday night and concludes Sunday night at the intersection of Bluff Road and Route 6 Here's a dozen we've compiled at the Channahon-Minooka Patch: Little Miss Channahon Contest takes place at 7:15 p.m The Hillbilly Rockstarz play at the Beer Garden Stage from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m ARRA plays at the Beer Garden Stage from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m Food vendors at the Midway are open from 5 to 11 p.m 8. Saturday's Warrior Dash. The day-long competition goes from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There's a 5K obstacle course race and a muddy battleground. You can find more information here Saturday and Jason Kollum Stilt Walker roaming the festival grounds from 4 to 6 p.m Hairbangers Ball plays from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m For complete details of Channahon's Three Rivers Festival visit their website here Images via Channahon's Three Rivers Festival Facebook page Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. An elfish number that slowly takes over in its rendition is an instant hook Siva Ananth's rural rubbed lyrics that call the girl Raasaathi. adds a contrasting charm to the very urban gig kinda tune Sid has made Shakthisree Gopalan joins by the end and goes effortlessly in tune with the mellifluousness of Sid's vocals Another freaky track that holds its limits before breaking into its full power The fusion of genres in the backing vocals by singers MADM Sanjeev T and Tapass Naresh along with the Sid's wavering rendition between freeflow and all enthu is quite something By the time the hook 'Easy Come Easy Go' hits the park. the song goes for one hell of a trip in the lyrical with Sid Sriram's dreamy admiration of life destiny and the impeccable boon that the nature is the number is a philosophical corundum between life The duality in the track underlines also the theme the lyric addresses Siva Ananth's lyric about the resonative phase when the extremity that life pushes one into come across impactfully with Sid's thumping backing vocals Theerpu solla vaanathula yaarum illa!" is certainly not something you hear in your everyday Tamil song is a heartbreaking track that calls out to the dearest The opening that solitudes slowly into the high pitch of Sid Sriram surprisingly lands on a brilliant series of lyricals questioning in a Carnatic hook The simple lyrics gel heartily towards the closure of the song where the beats fuse along with the aalaaps Shakthisree's solo number is all melancholic Siva's lyrics like 'Unnoliyaale ullirul pokkida vaa!" comes with a great feel in Shakthi's rendering The minimalistic music that keeps dropping beneath the pain in the rendition does build beautifully to the collective mood of the song is a vibrant romantic track of a man joyously admiring the lover Siva's fragmented lyrics that abstractly paints the moments of a relationship syncs brilliantly with Sid's music with imageries like 'Uchchiyile thodangum neer. Malai kadandha pin kaattaaru!' shining here and there Sid Sriram's debut soundtrack for a feature film promises a solid arrival here With each track bringing a mood on its own. 'Vaanam Kottattum' is that album you pick when you want music to take over. Sobhita Dhulipala’s 5 Mesmerizing Bridal Looks from ‘Love Rukmini Maitra to Rani Mukerji: Beauty secrets of Bengali actresses 10 inspiring quotes by the tennis great Rafael Nadal Pics; TV celebs celebrate Durga Puja with joy Europe in November: 8 must-visit countries for nature lovers Aamir Khan to Saif Ali Khan: Dhoti outings of B-town men which are perfect for Durga Puja 9 traditional curd-based gut-friendly South Indian dishes Malaika Arora sheds festive ethnic fashion goals in a dazzlingivory and gold lehenga Our Privacy Policy has been revised. Please review updated ';P+='Privacy Policy Here';P+='