SPlog

The Cunningham Township Supervisor’s Office is partnering with H2O Salon and Spa, the Unitarian Universalist Church, and Urbana-Champaign Friends Meeting to offer free haircuts, school supplies, and pizza this Sunday, August 18th, from 2 to …

This is milkshake weather. It’s hot and humid, but not so oppressive that the idea of putting milk into your body makes your stomach curdle. Courier Cafe serves some of my favorite milkshakes in C-U. …

Earlier this year, Chantal gave you a virtual tour of Fress Press and explained their eco-friendly papermaking process. Now you can get an IRL tour of your own. Check out the list of fall workshops …

Crudo is looking add some opportunities to exercise your artistic muscles while enjoying their wine. Their first “Paint and Sip” event will be this Thursday, August 15th, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. $20 will …

ELLNORA | The Guitar Festival returns to Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in September, and in addition to the array of musicians that will be entertaining us with their virtuosity, there will also be …

Bend the Arc: CU is presenting a workshop on August 15th from 6:45 to 9 p.m. featuring Nora Flanagan, a Chicago high school teacher and co-author of Confronting White Nationalism in Schools – A Toolkit, a guide …

To many, caffeine is just as necessary as air. There’s nothing quite as comforting as a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Where in C-U do you go for your favorite cup, …

Attention local actors! Parkland Theatre Productions will be holding auditions for two fall productions, Elephant’s Graveyard, directed by Latrelle Bright, and Peter and the Starcatcher directed by Mathew Green, on Saturday, August 24th Find out more …

Our next installment in our Instagram Story Takeover series takes place this Wednesday, August 14th. Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County/the ReStore  will be taking the controls to show you a day in the life at …

Students will begin moving into University of Illinois campus apartments and residence halls and greek houses this weekend, and the City of Champaign is doing its part to encourage responsible handling of waste and unwanted …

My Thai in Champaign officially closed at the end of July. The Thai restaurant (on Springfield Avenue) was a solid restaurant option in that part of Champaign, and it will be missed by those who …

After July 29th’s “Open Government Night” in Decatur, Rep. Rodney Davis will be holding the next installment of these events on August 19th at Parkland College. The News-Gazette is reporting that this event will be a …

The diavola ($16) is topped with fresh mozzarella, Calabrese salami, Calabrese peppers, fresh arugula, and Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s a little spicy and has an excellent combination of flavors and texutres. It is, hands down, my …

I frequently find myself driving east on University, and my eyes are always drawn to the giant Lee logo on the side of the buildling at 110 E. University. Photo by Patrick Singer Here’s a …

Urbana native Sasha Velour got her start here at C-Street, but is now nationally known thanks to winning season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race. This segment from Good Morning America aired back in June, during Pride, and …

Polyvinyl Records is based right here in Champaign-Urbana, and co-founder Matt Lunsford was featured on Vice‘s Rank Your Records column. Dan Ozzi interviews Lunsford as he goes down the rabbit hole of PV releases, listing …

Sometimes, you just need to eat an absurdly colorful and sugar-soaked treat. Pandamonium Doughnuts has delivered with a new flavor, cotton candy ($3). It’s only available this month, and only in the store. It’s a …

If you love books but not traditional book clubs, Analog’s new Urbana Silent Book Club may open up a whole new chapter in your reading life.  Let’s face it. Books club sound wonderful, and many …

Calling all local actors with a taste for 18th century Spanish history. Claire van Kampen’s Farinelli and the King is a “whimsical and imaginative play is based on the real life encounter between King Philippe …

This will be the 4th annual event, hosted by Champaign County Circuit Clerk Katie Blakeman and co-sponsored by State Representative Carol Ammons and State Senator Scott Bennett. It takes place October 5th from 8:30 a.m. …

Did you know that the Champaign County Humane Society has a working cat adoption program? From their website: Occasionally, we have cats at CCHS that are semi-feral or have lived their lives primarily outdoors. These …

The International and Area Studies Library will be hosting Shri Sudhakar Dalela, the Consul General of India. What is a Consul General? They represent their country within another country, similar to an ambassador, but are often …

Niro’s Gyros will move into the former Krekel’s (and former Vinny’s) restaurant space on Kirby just west of Neil Street. It’s nice to see that the building didn’t sit empty for too long. Niro’s seems …

Each year the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 70 collects backpacks and school supplies for Urbana School District students, and this year’s drive will be for Thomas Paine Elementary. They’ve been collecting since July and …

The Urbana Park District has made a repository of information and photographs of the sculptures that reside in their parks. The newly-launched virtual tour includes maps of sculpture locations so guest can more easily visit …

The newly established Cinderella/Cinderfella Dance Troupe is here to get your young dancers ready to hit the ballroom dance floor. Cinderella/Cinderfella, supported by a grant from the Urbana Arts and Cultural Program, is offering a …

It’s the taco salad at La Mixteca. It’s great because the ingredients are fresh and refreshing, I feel virtuous because I’m eating a salad, but elated because I get to eat that enormous shell bowl. …

The 2019 Art and Design Faculty Exhibition is opening Monday, August 19th at Giertz Gallery, featuring the work of 14 artists. There will be a reception on August 22nd from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with …

Beginning tonight, August 6th, Pour Bros. will be hosting monthly game nights with Titan Games. The first Tuesday of the month, at 7 p.m., Titan will bring some of their games so that you can …

CJ Run is on the move these days, performing a bit in Chicago recently. While they were up in the Windy City recently, they performed for an Audiotree session. That session was released today, and …

Want to do some mixing and matching with Triptych’s beers? They are now giving you the opportunity to do just that.  They’ve started accepting your empty PakTech holders (those plastic things that keep your 4-pack …

Now’s your time to shine! New to the Champaign Park District’s Taste of C-U event this year is the Amateur Backyard BBQ competition, which is open to children and adults. Sign up by August 9th …

Relevator has released a new song, amazingly titled “Marijuana & Chocolate Cake”, for the world to hear. You can listen to it streaming below, and stay tuned for our upcoming feature on the band in …

Local and regional artists set up shop at Crystal Lake Park this Saturday for the inaugural Crystal Lake Park Art Fair. A large variety of artwork was on sale, ranging from cermaics and textiles to …

The Head and The Heart will return to Champaign-Urbana on Saturday, September 14th, State Farm Center announced this morning. The band has performed a few times in C-U in recent memory, though it has been …

The 11th annual C-U Folk & Roots Festival, which takes place in Urbana every fall, has announced their initial lineup featuring Dom Flemons, Lilli Lewis, Veretski Pass, and many more. Check out the list below, and …

If you’re an outdoorsy type person who enjoys the hiking/biking/camping and other activities in nature, perhaps the Flatlanders Club is for you. Champaign Outdoors just launched this opportunity where, according to their website, “you’ll join …

A few weeks ago I visited the Buffalo Trace Prairie to explore some of the trails and plant life, and discovered a lovely expanse of prairie that the Champaign County Forest Preserve has been working …

This steak dish at Miga:   Pastries at Rick’s:   Grilled meat at Hamilton Walker’s:   All of this at Nando Milano:     Top photo from Nando Milano’s Facebook page

C-U La La Noodle is on Green Street in Campustown. It’s a relatively new Asian restaurant serving noodles (obviously), fried rice, and a few other things. I haven’t been yet myself, and am curious to …

“Do Not Submit Chambana,” a new local outpost of the popular Chicagoland “Do Not Submit” storytelling movement, will start a monthly open mic series at Seven Saints on August 27th. As a word nerd and …

The next step is to each pick a dish you’d like to share. This week my friends and I settled on mussaman curry with tofu ($13.99), pad woon sen with tofu ($13.99), and the pad …

Brendt Christensen was sentenced to life in prison a few weeks ago after being found guilty of murdering U of I student Yingying Zhang. Next week, there will be a memorial service held in honor …

The Bashful Youngens have released a new video, recorded live at Wave Upon Wave by James Treicher (you can read about his studio here), wherein they cover the Beastie Boys classic “Fight For Your Right”. …

Rattle the Stars, an organization to mental health support and awareness, is organizing Porrima, an art showcase for understanding mental illness and suicide. Local artists and performers can help by donating their talents and work, …

The second annual Dia De Los Deftones in San Francisco has been announced, which features an outfit from our neck of the woods: HUM. They’ll perform on November 2nd alongside Deftones (of course), CHRVCHES, JPEGMAFIA, …

Have you visited Dewey’s Drive-In yet? It’s in Farmer City, just a 30-minute drive from Champaign-Urbana. We’ve covered Dewey’s before, but it’s worth revisiting, especially because we’ve only talked about the ice cream. My husband …

The prolific Donna Cox, Director of NCSA‘s Advanced Visualization Lab, will be honored at this week’s SIGGRAPH conference for her work throughout her career. Cox has been at the forefront of digital visualization, director of …