In this past Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, a familiar face and name to this community was featured for a brief portion of the segement about concert and live entertainment ticketing. Irving Azoff is …
Electro-pop group Mermaid Heaven have just shared their submission for NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, a new track titled “You.” The gorgeous live performance features the three members of the band in a living room, surrounded …
Today, March 14th (3/14) is Pi Day, a worldwide celebration of the Greek letter π, the symbol used in math to represent a constant measuring approximately 3.14. It is a delicious opportunity to eat pie, and …
On March 29th, from 12 to 6 p.m., C-U Public Health District, at 201 W. Kenyon, is hosting a Maternal and Child Health open house. It’s open to all, and attendees can learn about all …
It’s been an exciting season for Illini basketball, and a riled up fan base always comes with a fair amount of trash talking directed at opposing players. There have been a few instances this season …
On March 17th, at 5 p.m., join City of Urbana representatives for a Zoom webinar discussing the Annual Action Plan for housing grants. Hear about the proposed plan, and bring your questions and input. From …
If you’ve shopped at Market at the Square, you’ve come across Meyer Produce. The farm provides a huge amount of veggies and herbs to C-U consumers, and this year you can (again) buy some plants …
Urbana Arts and Culture Program’s 2022 Arts Grants cycle is now complete, with 30 projects funded and $90,000 distributed. The entire list of awardees is available on the Arts and Culture Program website. Some highlights …
The Urbana Champaign Books to Prisoners project collects and donates books to incarcerated people. The biannual book sale benefits the project, which also runs two county jail libraries. This spring’s sale is Saturday, April 9th …
After being open for less than a year, Fyrefly Grill and Subs on University Avenue is permanently closed. The restaurant served grilled meats and bánh mì sandwiches. We reviewed it last year and thought it was …
Each year, Illini Hillel puts on a drag show in celebration of Purim, a Jewish holiday based on the story of Esther, a Jewish queen who saved her people from being murdered. After going virtual …
Champaign County Clerk and Recorder Aaron Ammons shared the arrival of a new machine that will help make the vote by mail process more efficient on the back end. It’s kind of mesmerizing to watch …
Small Island Big Song, which features eight Indigenous musicians from Taiwan, Madagascar, Mauritius, Marshall Islands, and Papua New Guinea, employs music, spoken word, and cinema, to take its audience on “a musical journey across the …
Tea ceremonies are wonderful way to learn about the history of Japan House, and experience “Chado”, or the way of tea. After a long hiatus, the public can now reserve tickets for Wednesday evening tea …
Ebertfest returns to the Virginia Theater April 20-23, 2022 with an impressive roster of directors. Guillermo del Toro will visit with his latest film, Nightmare Alley, which will be shown in black and white on …
Dick Butkus, THE Dick Butkus of the Chicago Bears and famous sports commentator, tweeted that he wants a super burrito from Maize. Here’s his tweet after the U of I earned their Big Ten Title: …
Yesterday was “opening day” for candidate filing in Illinois, and for the first time in forever we will not see Rodney Davis on the ballot in IL-13. Those of you in IL-15 get to watch …
These crispy rice balls are a must have appetizer at the Italian trattoria in Downtown Champaign. The arancini app ($14) came with two balls of saffron rice, each with different fillings. One was filled with …
Denim Icarus — a project from Champaign-Urbana’s own Teddy Lerch — has just released their new album titled Jean Dreams. It’s 9 tracks of psychedelic, reverbed out rock, with some synthesizers, sick guitar licks, and also features some …
Harvest Moon will open for it’s 68th season of drive-in movies March 25th. On the 25th and 26th, they will be showing The Lost City on Screen 1, and Spiderman: No Way Home on Screen 2. Online sales …
This morning Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen and Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin gathered with representatives from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, University of Illinois, and Interfaith Alliance C-U to honor those in our community who have …
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, along with Champaign County, City of Champaign, City of Urbana, and Village of Savoy is hosting a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event on April 9th from 8 a.m. to 3 …
I mean, it’s a share of the title, but it is an absolutely massive accomplishment considering what they lost to the NBA and graduation, and how hard the team got screwed over last year. The …
After thousands of FBI documents were declassified to the Freedom of Information Act, historian Lerone A. Martin, an Associate Professor of Religious Studies, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Chair and Director of the Martin …
Natalia Łastowiecka is an undergraduate student at the U of I — double majoring in vocal performance and speach and hearing science — conducting research into how a singer’s vocal performance can change depending on the …
Smile Politely Arts Editor, Debra Domal, has a creative endeavor called The Numbers Story Project. The Numbers Story Project was born from her book, Confessions by Number, and seeks to “[flip] the script on late …
“You don’t like the road I’m down, it’s not yours to understand…I’ll settle all my demons when I’m dead and gone.” The Bashful Youngens aren’t here to bend to standards. Their new track “When I’m …
I’m not buying chopsticks on Amazon, so I stopped by Far East Grocery to get my chopsticks — and I found so much more. Photo by Alyssa Buckley. It was my first time visiting the …
Champaign Center Partnership and One Main Management are partnering with Living Yoga Center and mLAB Fitness for three free fitness sessions in the month of March. From the press release: Every Saturday in downtown Champaign, …
Until earlier this week, it had been a very long time since I’d been to Bab Plus, the fast casual Korean restaurant on Gregory in Urbana. (We reviewed it in 2018.) My spouse and I …
A group of med students from the Carle Illinois College of Medicine are organizing a collection of supplies for Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Two of the project leaders have a personal connection to the country: …
Time to bust out those lawn bags and get your yard prepped for spring and summer. If you are a Champaign resident, here are the dates for your spring yard waste pick up: Blue Zone: …
The University of Illinois’ Engineering Open House is April 8th and 9th. The very popular event offers visitors a chance to check out what the Engineering students are up to, and to reacquaint themselves with …
Allerton Park and Retreat Center has announced the selection of five artists for its Spring 2022 In-Residence program. Nicole Anderson-Cobb, L Barber, Latrelle Bright, Jose Gobbo, and Simiya Sudduth will embody the goals of the …
Dance at Illinois will present Studiodance Spring 2022 on March 3rd-5th at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. As the program announcement states, Studiodance Spring 2022 features keystone projects of Dance at Illinois graduate students …
Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week is March 7-11. Throughout the week there will be both virtual and in-person events focused on the intersection of agriculture and technology in C-U, sponsored by Research Park, the Champaign County Economic …
Champaign-Urbana DIY punks Nectar have released a new cover of Hoku’s “Perfect Day.” The song was first heard in 2001’s Legally Blonde. Nectar’s cover captures the fun, energetic, youthful spirit that the original track offers, while …
JT Walker’s announced on Facebook this week that they will be re-opening their taproom in the JT Walker’s Brewery, Thursdays-Saturdays from 5 to 10 p.m. After closing both the restaurant and brewery in December 2020, …
I am a 70s baby and 80s child, and these toys are pulling at my heartstrings. Champaign County ReStore has a Sesame Street playset ($60) with apartments and Mr. Hooper’s store and an E.T. toy, complete with …
Our next installment in our Instagram Story Takeover series takes place this Thursday, March 3rd. Plant Mode‘s Matthis Helmick will be taking the controls to show us a day in the life at his shop, …
The City of Champaign will be releasing a draft of their 2022-2023 Annual Action Plan on March 15th, and there will be multiple opportunities for public comment. The Annual Action Plan outlines housing and community …
You may recall that Gibson City’s German restaurant, Bayern Stube, closed at the end of August last year. You may also be wondering what happened to all the stuff inside the restaurant, like the boar’s …
Community members of all ages are invited to participate WA! A Project for Peace, a community art installation that will be on display during the Boneyard Arts Festival in April. “Wa” is a Japanese concept …
Monical’s Pizza tweeted their condolences yesterday upon learning of their namesake’s passing. Ralph Monical graduated from Unity High School and attended the University of Illinois. He sold his first crispy thin crust pizza in Tolono …
Da Shark is a restaurant that opened last October in Champaign. On the menu, find fried chicken by the piece, saucy bone-in and boneless wings, catfish, perch, tilapia, jerk salmon, and Chicago style sandwiches. There …
In photojournalism, Loyola Marymount University professor Tara Pixley feels that it’s contemporary practices create an imperialistic world view at both individual and institutional levels. In her upcoming lecture at the Knight Auditorium in the Spurlock …
The babies are here! Baby goat birthing season has started at Prairie Fruits Farm, with the first kids arriving yesterday (a single buck and triplets). View this post on Instagram …
We don’t normally share petitions here at Smile Politely. However, we had to share the news of a petition to rename a street in Urbana after the late, great, beloved, Angie Heaton. Heaton passed away …
Whoops. I recently had lunch with a friend at La Mixteca, and we hadn’t seen each other in a while, we were busy chatting and catching up when our server came to take our orders. …
