FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Go buy a bunch of wine, beer and other spirits at Corkscrew Urbana, all weekend, let’s be real — you’ll probably spend a bunch
Sadly, this post is a bittersweet one, as A. Corkscrew is moving to a new home and needs to get rid of a bunch of their inventory and B. Booze is a great thing to have over Valentine’s Day weekend (regardless of whether or not you have a Valentine, too). Seriously — go buy something, as you were most likely going to purchase some wine or something for this weekend. You can save a bit of cash while you do it, and shop at Corkscrew. It’s OK, friend, you can still have some adult beverages without a Valentine. No one is judging here. Wine, beer, and spirits are 15% off, and wine is 20% off by the case. Get after it. (PS)
Order a pizza, binge on House of Cards, Pizza M, Manolo’s, or Papa Del’s, $13-$30, 5 p.m.–2 a.m.
There might not be any better way to spend this Hallmark holiday than consuming large quantities of pizza and television. Season two of House of Cards is released today and the brilliant thing about Netflix is that you have the entire season available to watch in one sitting. If you and your sweetheart and make it through this sort of elastic-waist pants binge-fest, it’s true love. (JH)
Casablanca, The Art Theater, 5 or 7:30 p.m.
Today is Valentine’s Day and what better way to spend it than watching a depressing classic love story at the Art? Casablanca plays at 5 p.m. ($8) and 7:30 p.m. ($9.50). Humphrey Bogart, will you be my Valentine? (JK)
Adopt a Valentine from the Champaign County Humane Society, all weekend, price varies
Starting Friday and running through the weekend, you can adopt any cat at the Champaign County Humane Society for $10. Want two cats? If they’re under the age of one, they’ll be $14. On top of that, they’re doing their “Luv A Bulls” promotion as well, which means you can adopt any pitbull mix for $14. Pretty reasonable if you’re looking to pick up a furry friend that will definitely love you this Valentine’s Day. (PS)
Sinfonia da Camera: From Russia with Love, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m., free
If you’re feeling romantic but also cheap this Valentine’s Day, Krannert is offering a free program of Russian music. The performance includes Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto for Violin, featuring soloist Andrés Cárdenes. (RP)
Wait Until Dark, Parkland College Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
JW Morrissette directs this production of Frederick Knott’s tense thriller. In it, a blind woman (Cara Maurizi) is set upon by a trio of thieves and killers who want to recover a doll hidden somewhere in her home. The cast includes Parkland regulars David Dillman, Zackary Ross, and Monty Joyce, among others. Why not treat your valentine to a little night at the theater? Sure, you could sit at home and watch theold Audrey Hepburn version (and you probably should afterward), but there’s nothing like a live performance to get the heart pumping. If you know what I mean. (MG)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15
February Middle Market, Lincoln Square Mall, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
This once-a-month market will have a variety of local vendors selling toffee, jam, flowers and wreaths, soap, and other locally made/grown/produced items. You can read Jillian’s preview of the Middle Market for additional information. (JH)
Sketch Club, Pixo offices, 1-5 p.m., $5
CUDO and the User Experience (UX) Book Club of Champaign-Urbana are co-hosting a Saturday afternoon workshop designed to introduce anyone how to use simple sketching techniques to explore and communicate ideas. Participants will be asked to read 1 of 4 books ahead time, and workshop leaders will guide each of the 4 groups in trying the techniques discussed in their book. The books are: Sketching User Experiences: The Workbook by Bill Buxton et al., See What I Mean by Kevin Cheng, Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels by Scott McCloud, and The Sketchnote Handbook by Mike Rohde. (RP)
Rebecca Rego and the Trainmen, Cafeteria & Company, 8 p.m., $5-10+
On Saturday night, Rebecca Rego and the Trainmen will be performing in the Pizza M/Flying Machine Coffee space, better known as Cafeteria & Company. In addition to drinking great coffee and pizza (plus booze — they sell booze there!), you can catch some solid tunes from Rego and her band. We ran a piece yesterday about Rego and the process of creating their new album, Tolono, which you can read to prepare. Check out the album itself, which you can stream free of charge at their Bandcamp page as well. (PS)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16
CUDO plays: board game design competition, Landmark Hotel, Noon-7 p.m., free
Board game design project CUDO, along with Volition and the Champaign-Urbana Design Organization, will be hosting their Grand Exhibition this Sunday. Local gamers and makers will be releasing a variety of unique board games for the C-U community to try out. The exhibition is from 12-7 p.m. and will be held at the Landmark Hotel in Urbana. Food and drink will be provided throughout the day. (JK)
Romeo and Juliet, Carmike 13, $20
Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the greatest love story of all time. In its first Broadway staging in 36 years, this production stars Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad. The stunningly modern stage production was directed on stage by five-time Tony nominee David Leveaux. The cinematic release is directed by Don Roy King. The acclaimed cast of 25 includes Tony Award winners Brent Carver (Kiss of the Spider Women), Chuck Cooper (The Life), two-time nominee Jayne Houdyshell (Follies) and Christian Camargo (Twilight: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2). On the weekend following V-Day, do I even have to explain why this might be a good idea…? (MG)
———
All event information is accurate to the best of our abilities, but sometimes we make mistakes and sometimes event information, times, prices, etc., change after we look them up. Whenever possible, we’ve provided a link to the original event page; you should always double-check the source before you make any firm plans. Thanks for your understanding.