SPlog

Visit the historic Springer Cultural Center in downtown Champaign to see award-winning art on display at the State Town & Country Amateur Art Show. The free, public exhibit runs September 14-28, with a public Juror’s …

Following Tom Pauly’s article this morning entitled “Shame on you, Drew’s Pizzeria”, the lowly Campustown pizza joint has shut down their Twitter account. Read about why that happened in the article linked above. It’s gone. Try …

Per the News-Gazette, a campaign to raise donors to erect a statue of Roger Ebert outside the Virginia Theater will be announced later today. The idea comes from Donna and Scott Anderson, a local travel …

While the North Race Street Bridge was opened to local traffic on September 3, North Race Street will remain closed to through traffic as construction proceeds on the next phase of the street reconstruction project. …

Brian Dolinar, whose accolades include writing for Smile Politely, has just published an edited collection about the African American experience in this state. The Negro in Illinois: the WPA Papers, forthcoming from the University of Illinois …

The Wife and I landed here in Chambana in May, and the first place we stopped for a bite was Houlihan’s in the iHotel at 1900 S. First St. in Champaign. Food was good, music was …

50 USD watermelon salad, pickled green tomatoes, black pepper chevre, spicy orange puree fried okra, lemon marscapone, fresh cayenne peppers scallop and bacon creole prairie fruits farm huckleberry blue, local honey buttermilk biscuit dessert course

The Champaign Park District is a proud recipient of the 2013 Arts in the Park Award selected by Arts Alliance Illinois and given by the Illinois Association of Park Districts. The award is part of …

The Dulak Pilates Center is set to celebrate its 10 year anniversary with an open house from 11-1 p.m. today.  Anyone is invited to attend the event. The open house will feature a tour of …

Here are some more local tracks to round out your week. Check out some of the past weeks here. The Living Blue: “Murderous Youth” [[mp3 living_blue_murderous_youth]] National Skyline: “Tropical Depression” [[mp3 national_skyline_tropical_depression]] Withershins: “Falling Waltz” [[mp3 withershins_falling_waltz]] Headlights: …

I’m no collector of cassette tapes, but this format has been making a bit of a comeback. Tomorrow, Saturday, September 7th, Exile on Main Street will participate in the inaugural International Cassette Store Day. Pretty …

Last night marked a finish line for local artist and muralist Langston Allston. After a grueling summer of breathing in spray paint fumes and the aroma of thai peanut oil, the U of I senior …

School spirit. Where am I?

Tonight on SP Radio we’re running down select tracks from local acts to get you in the mood for Pygmalion Music Festival, coming up later this month. Listen in for some details on the upcoming …

Parked in front of the News-Gazette building today was Pop Stop, a new “drink” truck serving up all sorts of great stuff like Cream Soda, Lime Rickey, shaved ice, and home made popcorn. Owner Matthew …

Inline. In line. Where am I?

The rumors are true! You can read the details in the News-Gazette article, but the quick and dirty is that Black Dog will open another location in Downtown Champaign sometime in 2014 (we hope). They’re …

You might need a panel to figure this one out…get it? Where am I?

Have you ever wanted to give your opinion about bicycling in our community?  If so, now is your chance!  Complete a travel mode choice survey! Bicycling is becoming a primary mode of transportation here in C-U. …

On September 20, the Art Theater Co-op will start a week-long celebration of Latin American film! This event, presented by the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, has become very popular in recent years, …

Where: University YMCA, Latzer Hall When: Friday, September 6, 2013 at 12 noon In 1983, Darrell Cannon was tortured by Jon Burge of the Chicago Police Department in 1983 and forced him to confess to …

Exhibition Opening Thursday, September 5, 5:00-7:00pm Curator’s comments by Dr. Ian Wang, 5:30pm Music by Jasmine Field Chinese Music Group Exhibition on view in Murphy Gallery at the University YMCA through November 8, 2013 Exhibition …

Sitara Indian Restaurant & Lounge is now open at 114 S Race Street, Urbana. They serve North Indian cuisine and Indian beer. We haven’t been yet, but we will indeed pay a visit soon and let …

Yellow. Where am I?

Illinois Pioneers returns to WILL-TV this month, with retired WILL-AM host David Inge coming back to conduct engaging interviews with former Illini basketball coach Lou Henson (Sept. 5), University of Illinois early childhood education pioneer …

From the Virginia’s website: “Walk back in time to 1921 with a tour of the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign! Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Virginia is now proud to offer …

Looks like those eight free-per-month reads at the News-Gazette website now come with an asterisk of their own — you basically need to share the link or provide marketing data before you can even read those links.

Earlier this week we told you about Crane Alley’s 10th anniversary birthday bash today at 3 p.m. Here’s the official menu, per their Facebook page: Sliders dirtbomb 2oz burger, triple s porkbelly, smoked gouda, hard boiled egg, …

Happy Labor Day weekend, folks. Here’s your dose of past and present C-U tracks. The Beauty Shop: “The Love I Could Not Save” [[mp3 the_beauty_shop_the_love_i_could_not_save]] Gazelle: “Jets” [[mp3 gazelle_jets]] The Dirty Feathers: “If Your Love Is A …

I’m spinning. Where am I?

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is collaborating with several local sponsors to offer a series of moon events this fall. An exhibition and event series dedicated to …

Where am I?

Where golden trees grow in pots of silver gravel. Where am I?

The University of Illinois announced Wednesday the 2013-14 men’s basketball schedule. Illinois will play 18 games at State Farm Center (16 regular season and two exhibition), and 14 games against teams that participated in the …

Short notice, no doubt, but there is a zine reading over at Error Records today, August 28, at 4 p.m. Check out some information about the readers below, and check out the Facebook post as …

Local author Amy Hassinger will be offering a ten-week writers’ workshop for writers of fiction and non-fiction starting mid-September. This is a great opportunity ifyou’ve got a manuscript in progress on which you’d like to get feedback, …

You can read the account in the News-Gazette, but get the more complete story here. The public portion may have lasted only 30 minutes, but it was a lively — if sometimes intemperate — session.

Prairie Fruits Farm, Sugar Shack Antiques, and Sleepy Creek Vineyard have teamed up for another Fork in the Road Trail tasting tour on Sunday, September 22.  To purchase tickets go to Showclix, our ticket sales …

Despite an announcement of an “early separation” from director Deb Lissak and the appointment of an interim director to run the library at the last bpard meeting (8/13), staff report that the soon-to-be-former director continues …

Black Dog Smoke & Ale House will be closed Sunday, September 1 through Tuesday, September 3. Get your BBQ fix before then! 

Look up. Where am I?

Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I’m not a fool. Where am I?

The Big Ten football season is finally here, so before conference play begins, Motovo thought it would be fun to rank the Big Ten college towns for football fans. Urbana-Champaign came in 8th beating their …

Local artist Deke Weaver, the playwright/performer of Monkey and Elephant, is about to conclude a Kickstarter campaign to help fund his most recent effort, WOLF. From the Kickstarter page: “WOLF: 3rd performance in The Unreliable …

MENU 50 USD arugula salad, cucumber, baby bell pepper, shaved carrot, spicy watermelon vinaigrette, parmesan house made macaroni, summer vegetable ragu roasted goat shoulder, oven roasted cherry tomatoes, dragon beans, shiitake mushrooms, harissa fourme d’ambert, …

Another week of past and present C-U music. Check out the past couple here and here. Absinthe Blind: “The Break (It’s Been There All This Time)” [[mp3 absinthe_blind_the_break]] Common Loon: “A Moment of Energy Transfers” …