Apparently there are still some fortune cookies to be found at Illinois Beach State Park…
if you’re willing to face the weather!

From Adam…
“Wow Gary, great hiding of the cookies this year! I spent 6 hours between the North and South Units yesterday on my bike and only found the one on the Poplar tree. Thanks for that, I knew I rarely saw that species there, so once I found the only grove of Poplars in the South Unit I was confident I’d find that one and did. Then last weekend Mom, the kids and I were out there with no luck until we finally tuned our senses & vision to that green moss/lichen and we found the one on the Willow Tree at the North Unit. I’m loving the ever-building excitement and attention your annual tradition is getting and the competition with other passionate hunters as a result! We will stick with our two for 2025, but always hoping to stumble upon one that remained unfound from a past year as well! Thanks as always for this annual thrill! Can’t wait for my birdhouse to be inhabited come Spring time! And if I do go for another fortune cookie hunt, I gotta locate that damned birds nest, it’s evading me so far and it’s killing me!”

Thanks Adam – glad you and the kids had a great time!!!
And now for that bird’s nest one…

Towards the end of this week’s Lillstreet Throwdown class, the students received their MASTER CHALLENGE. A long-term project for them to work on throughout the session. The goal is for all of them to bring their finished masterpieces to our final class for critique & judging. And you know I love a good theme.. . so each of them had the chance to choose which Fairy Tale they would base their final pieces on. But what are they making?… it was a surprise to them, so I think maybe I’ll keep it a surprise for you too!!! More to come… once upon a time…

This week in my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class, the students brought back their “finished” mug… from their first “perfect” prototype cylinder from the first challenge. Always fun to see where they have taken their vision with some trimming, refining & handles!. But then they were tasked with another challenge of throwing a saucer to go along with that mug… similar in design, finish & function. After just 45 minutes, they brought both pieces back to the table for critique & judging. Another fun challenge!

Last night was the kick-off of my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class!! With a great new group of potters ready to take on my silly games, races, projects & challenges!

Last night they started off throwing one “perfectly” mug shaped cylinder in their own style. Only to be followed up by a challenge to throw more cylinders that MATCHED… but not theirs, they had to match everyone else’s!!! Matching pots are tough enough, let alone matching someone else’s shape & style!!! Lots of pots, lots of fun!!! And we’re just getting started…

One of my students Melanie braved the chill for a winter hike out at Illinois Beach State Park… and found herself a ceramic fortune cookie! I love that people are out there enjoying nature, breathing the fresh air & playing my silly reindeer games!!!

My cousin Kim went hiking at Illinois Beach State Park and found a couple fortune cookies along the way! Braving the bitter breeze & bone-chilling temperatures to play along with my silly little game. So fun to see people enjoying the scavenger hunt & kicking off their New Year searching for fortune… cookies!!!

Looks like the fortune cookie search has begun!!!
Allison & Michael were out at Illinois Beach State Park today searching in the bitter cold.
Let the fortune cookies be found!!!

From Allison…
“Don’t be mad at us!!! We found FOUR fortune cookies this morning but only took THREE. Decided to leave the fourth one even though my body had trouble resisting! Figured one for me, one for Michael, and the third one for Mamma Molloy. My Dad plans on going on a hike tomorrow morning with Ricky if they can tolerate the cold. It was bitter WINDY from the west and DARN cold!! My face was beet red in the end but I persisted. Decided to check out both the northerly route and main beach space.”

“Pretty sure I saw a fellow scavenger hunter in a white coat who likely got the little birdhouse one & one you may have put at a pavilion in the northern sand dunes area. Pretty sure she must know you directly!! We didn’t converse though because she was far off from where I was but I saw her inspecting things only like a fortune cookie hunter would!!!“

“And I had to take the third one we found because it was on the back post of a turtle crossing sign and my spirit animal has been a turtle since high school!!! I’ll likely make a post about it, too! Hope you’ve heard from others! One of my favorite traditions I’ve the last, what 4 or 5 years now?“

“Apollo was checking them out when I returned from delivering artwork to a shop! He was a VERY curious cat indeed.”

So that’s three down… twenty-two more to go!

Has anyone else been out there searching yet???
Send me photos when you find’ em!!!

“Gotta keep searchin’ searchin’… find a place to hide… searchin’ searchin’!!!”
Let the games begin… and WELCOME TO 2025!!!

To celebrate, I’ve hidden 25 ceramic fortune cookies for people to find!!! Twenty-five for 2025… get it?! Anyway, they’re hidden all over Illinois Beach State Park. An annual tradition that started during the pandemic. And now every year, more & more people are starting to search for their fortune… cookies!

So new this year, I’m also asking that you find all you can, take pictures & selfies along the way… but try to limit yourself to taking one per person home for your collection. Let’s leave some there so more people can experience the fun of the search! Use the photos in this Reel for your clues… and let the searchin’ searchin’ begin!!!

Last night was another night of BINGO-fun at IKEA! Holiday lights, kitschy outfits & festive prizes. But for me, and my table of friends… it was Bingo-Bubkis!!! Came close a couple times… but no BINGO’s for me!!!

Making mugs again… but this time they’re part of the class challenge I gave my Intermediate Wheel students. They’re all working on sets of four MATCHING MUGS for our final class of the session! So I’ve got to step it up and make mine too! As I told them, I would never “stress out” over making just four that match perfectly… measuring, refining, stressing. Instead I’m making a lot of cylinders that are very similar, and then I’ll pick out the closest “matching” ones later!