SPlog

I’m not saying that you did, but if you maybe did a little bit, let me remind you that they are super delicious. I was pleased to find Mid Summer Lounge on GrubHub, and one …

In case you missed the recent email reminder from 40 North Executive Director Kelly White, there are some important arts submission deadlines coming up and you artists out there won’t want to miss them.  The …

The organizers of 8 to Create have announced that the 6th Annual Spring Art Show will be  launched  virtually on March 27th. A “non-profit student organization at the University of Illinois,” 8 to Create works …

I took myself out for a drink in Downtown Champaign, and it was the highlight of my pandemic. I put on a jacket and wandered around, looking for a good outdoor table to enjoy an …

Harvest Market is now on the list of places you can find Page Roasting Company coffee beans for your brewing needs. This is an exciting development, as I have become a regular user of the …

The New American Welcome Center at the University YMCA is highlighting immigrant-owned businesses in an Immigrant Business Showcase this week. Recommendations include Mr. Crab, Top Food Restaurant, Grand Cravings, and Kung Fu Tea. Photo from New …

No Board Left Behind CU is a “community maintained, open donation basket” at Spalding Skatepark where local skaters can find refurbished skateboards to use. They are hosting a Spring Cleaning Skateboard Drive to collect used, broken, …

Former Illinois men’s basketball player Meyers Leonard, who currently plays for the Miami Heat, is under fire for dropping an anti-Semitic slur during a streaming session of the video game Call of Duty. Leonard, who went …

Paxton’s Silver Tree Spirits is working with the University of Illinois Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL) “to distill whiskey from heirloom corn varieties and analyze flavor and other characteristics.” The brothers Glazik, the owners of …

Champaign City Council has a study session on the books tonight at 7 p.m., which you can tune in for here, and they’ll be discussing food insecurity and the local efforts surrounding this issue in …

Originally posted in the Champaign Urbana History Facebook group, WEFT pointed out a local legend, Chef Ra, in this photo from the September 1970 issue of Playboy. Of course, the familiar backdrop of Krannert Center is pretty …

Lyric Theatre’s co-director and Swanlund Chair, Professor Nathan Gunn will be among the three world-class opera stars performing in the premiere of Hershey Felder’s new work Puccini. Puccini is “the story of a young musician …

Early voting is now happening for the consolidated election on April 6th. However, a lot of you should be waiting to cast your ballot.  If you live in the city limits of Champaign or Urbana, …

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, with Carle Health, OSF Health Care, Christie Clinic, Promise Healthcare, and the University of Illinois will have a COVID vaccine clinic for eligible people this week. Eligible populations are those …

March 8-15 is International Womens Build Week, and Habitat of Humanity of Champaign County is joining other Habitat chapters and Lowe’s to “raise awareness of the global need for safe and affordable housing for women.” …

Sophia Byrd is a soprano studying lyric theatre at U of I, and she participated in a 2018 oratorio that is now nominated for two Grammy awards. Place by composer Ted Hearne and poet Saul Williams …

Humanities Research Institute and The Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program are hosting their annual International Women’s Day Celebration at 3:30 p.m. today.  The panel discussion will feature 13 speakers, sharing about the contributions of …

You should read the story about Sampson, the bestest service dog you could probably ever imagine, as he was featured alongside his owner in People magazine on Friday. (The duo made an appearance on Daily Mail as …

NuEra in Urbana, one of the two main dispensaries in Champaign-Urbana alongside Sunnyside in Champaign, will now expand to have two locations in town. The News-Gazette is reporting that NuEra will open their second location at …

This weekend, The Station Theater is hosting (on Facebook Live) TOGETHER/APART, a variety show “tribute to the one-year anniversary of sheltering-in-place.” Hosted by Jake Fava, this event will feature scenes, poems, songs, and monologues from …

The photos, shared on Twitter by U of I Civil Engineering grad Jacob Rajlich, are from the BusTalk U.S. Surface Transportation Galleries. Photo from BusTalk U.S. Surface Transportation Galleries. Photo from BusTalk U.S. Surface Transportation Galleries. Photo from BusTalk …

Mermaid Heaven has released another new song, “Nightbloom”, by way of their gorgeous new video embedded below. You can listen/download the song on Bandcamp as well. The band released another great song, “The Thorn”, towards the end …

The Education Justice Project (EJP) will be holding their 2021 Impact Gala virtually on April 10th from 5 to 7 p.m. The featured speaker, renowned activist Angela Davis, will be joining live, and Uni High …

The YES (Youth Employment Services) Program is headed into its 10th year of connecting Unit 4 high school students with employment opportunities, and they are looking for employers that are interested in accepting students this …

Champaign-Urbana has a new screen printing and embroidery shop. Madelyn Witruk (of ohok.studio), is the force behind Middle of Nowhere Press, a woman owned and operated, water-based screenprinting shop. Check out Middle of Nowhere’s Instagram for …

Remember the sunflower field in Urbana last summer? If you have any social media, I’m sure you saw all the selfies of everyone you’ve ever met in C-U in the field of sunflowers, happy to …

If you need help with basic needs such as housing, food, transportation, and health care, United Way has a 211 service that will connect you with local resources. If you call that number at any time …

When this measure first came before the board in 2019, it was voted down 4-2, perhaps because the board members had some weird assumption that movies would now become a sloppy drunken party. This has …

One of Illinois basketball’s absolute all-time-greats, a member of the ’89 Flyin’ Illini, Kendall Gill, is a lot of us following Tuesday’s blowout win against #2 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Collectively, there could not be more …

Multi-instrumentalist and longtime scene musician Luke Bergkoetter has announced the release of a new project, Overachiever, which he recently recorded to a limited run of cassette tapes. His first release, Vol. 1: Man-Bat, is exclusively …

Champaign Center Partnership offers “marketing and promotion opportunities for our members as well as opportunities for collaboration, education, and networking” for businesses in Downtown, Midtown, and Campustown in Champaign.  They are hosting two Partnership 101 …

Today, the Miami Herald reported on a small wealthy enclave of Key Largo residents that all received COVID vaccines in January, while Florida residents age 65 and older across the rest of the state struggled …

Former Editor-in-Chief at The Daily Illini and after that, reporter at The News-Gazette, C-U ex-pat journalist Jonathan Hettinger’s work graced the front page of USA Today today. You might recognize Hettinger’s byline over at Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, …

There is a lot of misinformation out there in the world, especially when it comes to COVID-19 and the vaccine rollout. It seems that there is some misinformation circulating locally from an unnamed doctor out …

Yesterday’s positive announcement about COVID-19 vaccine supply from the Biden administration is good news. Here in Champaign County, vaccination rollout has been more streamlined than in other places. As supply goes up and eligible groups …

Champaign-based eco-paper producer Fresh Press Paper wants to hear your ideas for virtual workshops. Share your thoughts here.  Top image from Fresh Press Paper’s Instagram.

Rep. Mary Miller (IL-15), who has already proven herself to be an awful person, has introduced her first bill in Congress. It’s called the Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act. From WAND, the bill would …

Famous for their sandwiches, Baldarotta’s Porketta & Sicilian Sausage is re-opening next week with more than just awesome sammies. After a brief closure that began on February 24th, the Lincoln Square restaurant will re-open for sandwiches …

Yeah, that win last night felt pretty damn good.  LET’S GOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/ZwbUWVzm0F — Illinois Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 3, 2021 Top photo from Illinois Basketball Twitter. 

The Assembly Hall (now State Farm Center) opened to the public on March 2nd, 1963. The Illini Men’s Basketball team played their first game there on March 4th. Here are a couple of photos, from …

Got a young story lover in your life? Sign them up for the next installment of Young Artist’s Studio featuring master storyteller Dawn Blackman. Participants will learn about the elements of good storytelling and what …

Above & Beyond Barbeque, a new venture from Derrick Winfield, will have a regular pop-up restaurant 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every first and third Sunday at Wood N Hog in Downtown Champaign beginning March …

Now you can enjoy both the indoor and outdoor spaces at Lake of the Woods and Homer Lake Forest Preserve. Both locations are requiring reservations, so they can limit the number of people in the …

Tom Ackerman, longtime contributor to Smile Politely (please spend some time reading his column “A Building, a Feeling, and a Latrine” as well as his other writing) created a board game that will be published …

Rattle the Stars, an organization with a mission of preventing youth suicide, is hosting a virtual discussion on Friday, March 5th from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on improving the lives of Black girls in our …

EarthSense, the local AgTech company, was featured on BBC News in an article about technology in farming. The company was cofounded by Girish Chowdhary, Professor and Director of the Distributed Autonomous Systems Laboratory (Daslab) at …

Beginning Tuesday, March 2nd, you can once again casually step into Fleurish to admire their beautiful flowers and gifts. It’s not a very large space, so they are allowing four people at a time, and …

Jettie Rhodes Neighborhood Day typically happens in June. Founded by the late Ms. Jettie Rhodes of Urbana, it’s an annual celebration with the aim of bringing people together to meet and serve their neighbors. Because …