SPlog

CU Pridefest is a gem of an event, and not just because of the plentiful tiaras and sparkles. Sure it’s pretty awesome to see Downtown Champaign bathed in rainbow, but what’s even more awesome is …

Lodgic Everyday Community has announced their Grand Opening, which is slated for October 4th. Lodgic is located at 1807 S Neil St. in Champaign, and they’ve been rolling out options for memberships, hosting a few …

After announcing the date for the 2018 installment of Hogchute Harvest on the wall of a public bathroom, Hogchute has announced the lineup for their fall installment at the Kalyx Center in Monticello. Headlined by …

Hopscotch Bakery + Market will have a breakfast menu tomorrow, Saturday, September 15th. There aren’t many details, but the menu is $10, so perhaps that is a few items at $10, or a plated breakfast …

Pumpkin Spice Lattes are out, football has begun, and I wore a jacket a few mornings this week, so that means fall yard work is coming. Sure it’s going to be close to 90 this …

Associate Professor and curator of rare books Travis McDade recently wrote an article for the site Atlas Obscura about Robert Kindred and Richard Green, who in the summer of 1980 embarked on a road trip to …

Earlier this year, I predicted that Nafissa Thompson-Spires, a professor of Creative Writing at UIUC, would become a legendary author, and that her new book Heads of the Colored People would cement her place in …

Fancy yourself a writer? Ninth Letter is accepting fiction, poetry, and nonfiction writing submissions for upcoming print and web editions. For the print, they are looking for “prose and poetry that experiment with form, narrative, …

This weekend, The Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory at the U of I hosts Unnatural Disasters: Climate Change and the Limits of the Knowable, a conference about — you guessed it — climate change and environmental studies.  …

ICYMI, this happened a couple of weeks ago in Mishawaka and South Bend, Indiana. Each year the Carters gather a massive assembly of Habitat volunteers to build homes over the course of a week. Two …

Urbana’s Landmark Hotel has been sold for $1.3M. The auction, which started on Tuesday, has been completed and the reserve of $1.1M by the owner was met. Check out the auction site for the details. …

La Casa begins it’s annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month this Saturday, September 15th, and continues through the middle of October. The timing coincides with several Latin American independence days: the 15th marks the independence …

The Urbana Art Expo, a collaborative effort by the City of Urbana Public Arts Program and 40 North, is coming to the Urbana Civic Center this weekend. The event is free, but you should bring your …

You don’t get many opportunities to sample offerings from a range of local chefs all in one swoop, and this Saturday just happens to be one of those times. The 2018 Artisan Cup & Fork …

Former Champaign-Urbana resident Langston Allston has landed on some merch by Chicago rapper Kweku Collins. Allston is a fairly recognizable artist, his work is amazing — check out his website linked above. You’ve likely seen his artwork …

Bossa Nova Café, a new coffee shop, will open in Downtown Champaign in the space formerly occupied by Snow Meets Coffee.  You can follow on Facebook (linked above), or check out the website for details.  Photos …

Crudo Wine Bar has regular Thursday wine tastings, usually featuring a specific region. This Thursday’s event will be a bit different. It will be a launch party and presale for Orin Swift zinfandel Eight Years …

Last week Obama, next week Tarana Burke. U of I students are getting some amazing opportunities this month. Burke, who began the Me Too movement 10 years ago, well before it became the viral hashtag …

PechaKucha Volume 28 is happening on Friday, October 5th. Event presenters have 20 slides at 20 seconds per slide to tell their stories, making each person’s presentation 6 minutes and 40 seconds, no more, no …

The saga of the Urbana Landmark Hotel continues today: The next auction for the property has begun with a starting bid of $600,000. This auction comes after the previous auction failed to meet the reserve …

The city has been looking at redevelopment possibilities for the stretch of Neil Street that runs from I-74 to Downtown Champaign, and they have created a final plan that will be presented to the Plan …

Although this event is taking place in Springfield, this is an important debate that is relevant to readers in the Champaign-Urbana area.  IL-13 Representative Rodney Davis and his challenger, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, will participate in …

The discussion surrounding the historic Burnham Mansion and the properties that surround it is a highly polarizing one in our community. We wrote about it months back. But now, it appears that demolition of the mansion …

We’re all still on Cloud 9 in C-U after former President Barack Obama made a visit to Foellinger last Friday. You can read all about that here. Afterwards, he made a stop over at Caffe …

Elsinore has been busy as of late, performing a few times around town, and today they released a new song, “In & Out”, as well as a video to go along with it. Clearly this …

I had lunch at Seven Saints today, and was reminded of what I enjoy about their menu — that it allows me to sample all the things. In general, I just like food a lot. …

We’re looking for a new Arts Editor here at Smile Politely. While being an Editor involves actual editing of content — this position requires some organizational and managerial qualities as well. Some components of the …

The Wesley Block Party and Smash Out Hunger Fundraiser is tonight, Monday, September 10th, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Wesley Student Center parking lot.  Here’s what it’s about: Did you read that? You can …

This Friday will be the first of this fall’s Friday Forum series at the University Y. The weekly lecture series gives you the opportunity to spend your lunch hour hearing from local experts about topics …

I’m not sure if I’m intrigued or frightened by this, and it seems the staff is feeling the same way. From their website: This coffee is wild and crazy, even for us. It is a …

Pumpkin-flavor season is apparently August 30th to December 1st. Though I didn’t include anything pumpkin or pumpkin-spice on my list of things you should eat this month, I am sharing this info with you now: …

Interested in watching former President Barack Obama’s speaking appearance on campus at Foellinger Auditorium today? Head here — the stream is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CST. Stay tuned for more from us on this …

Krannert Center officially kicks off it’s 50th anniversary season Friday night with food, activities, and lots of music. It’s an event you need to attend. Here’s a brief look at the artists you can expect …

I posted about Ja’Naea Modest a little while back — she’s the one who was caught on camera by WCIA at a job fair during her lunch break from her other job. Now she’s landed …

Pekara on Springfield has some new weekday specials. Today, Thursday, is the sirloin sandwich (sliced sirloin, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions on toasted brioche). It looks great.  Tomorrow, Friday, is the Champaign Philly (sliced sirloin, provolone, …

The C-U chapter of Human Library is looking for volunteers to share their experiences as a “book” at future events. What does this mean? From the organization: Volunteer books are individuals from all walks of …

Interested in learning more about the benefits of medical cannabis? Phoenix Botanical is hosting a free seminar at the Champaign Public library on September 25th from 6:30 to 8 p.m. They will outline the process …

The Illini Union Board and the Women’s Resource Center have partnered on this exhibit, which according to the event page “challenges the pervasive rape myth that sexual assault is the result of wearing ‘revealing’ clothes, …

The 6th Annual C-U Oktoberfest will take place Saturday, October 6th from 3 p.m. to midnight. The event will be in the same location in Downtown Champaign — outdoors in the parking lot at Neil and …

Set a reminder for 8 a.m on Monday morning so that you can get your ticket for the big collection day, which will happen October 13th at Parkland. This is an excellent opportunity to get …

The midterms are coming. Soon. And while all elections are important, there’s are definitely some races this time around that have some weight to them — including electing a U.S Representative in IL-13, a governor, an attorney general; …

Do you know of a local organization that could benefit from some extra cash, that also align’s with the co-op’s “ends” (which you can look up here)? It’s time to submit nominations for 2019’s Round …

As if you needed another reason to attend one of the best cultural events in our community; Triptych and Japan House have announced two special brews created specifically in honor of the 20th Anniversary of …

The University of Illinois has launched a new website as resource for students, staff, faculty, and community members who want to know about all things bike-related on campus — from purchasing to volunteering to safety and …

The Brazil and Brazilians at UIUC community group is hosting a party to celebrate Brazilian Independence Day on Friday, September 7th at Radio Maria.  The party is a luau (which is not Brazilian), and will …

From the email announcement: 2018-19 Unit One/Allen Hall Guests-in-Residence The Unit One/Allen Hall Guest-in-Residence Program consists of a series of visiting guests who have a diverse range of professions and interests. Guests live in Allen …

Earthholder is a metal/post-rock outfit which released their new record There Will Be a Future just before the holiday weekend on August 28th. This is their follow up to 2016’s Don’t Worry, We Feel It Too — and you …

MTD is partnering with the City of Champaign, City of Urbana, and University of Illinois to provide free bike lights to make bike-riding on campus and beyond safer. Light the Night 2018 will be on …