Gaming your way through C-U: Spring has almost sprung

With spring just around the corner, it’s time to make some plans for places you can go to enjoy the outdoors, spring flowers, and a plethora of Pokestops! There are a few parks and gardens around Champaign-Urbana with the perfect combination of outdoors, art, spring vegetation, historical interest, and gaming locations so you can make up for all those cold days when you couldn’t be outdoors.

The University of Illinois Arboretum, located on Lincoln Avenue in Urbana, is a great place for a spring sojourn. Historically, the Arboretum has supported several programs on campus, serving as a living laboratory for botanical disciplines as well as an inspirational subject for campus art majors, all while remaining open for the public to enjoy the wide range of flowers, trees, and other plants. Events are held on the grounds, ranging from sports events to private weddings to the yearly Matsuri, a Japanese festival sponsored by Japan House. It also hosts the home course for the Illini cross country team.

Originally, the Arboretum was located north of Green Street, in the area now occupied by the College of Engineering. Later, it moved to what is now the South Quad, and finally, in 1990, it settled into its current location at the corner of Lincoln and Florida. Whether you want to stroll through the oaks and watch the ducks in the ponds on the arboretum’s sound end or enjoy the more manicured, planned gardens to the north (where most of the game stops are located), you’re sure to enjoy a pleasant time communing with nature while pursuing your gaming goals.

The history of Japan House goes all the way back to 1964, when artist-in-residence Shozo Sato (now Professor Emeritus in the School of Art and Design) introduced a course series on Japanese culture. He taught many of the classes from an old Victorian house he remodeled to form a uniquely Japanese space. Eventually, this original Japan House was removed as the U of I campus expanded, but in 1998, a new, permanent structure was dedicated south of the Arboretum. With its authentic tea rooms and educational spaces, Japan House provides an atmospheric backdrop for classes, traditional tea ceremonies, and other activities. Though it is not normally open to the public, there are sponsored tours of the building as well as numerous workshops and classes that anyone can take, including Asian cooking, Japanese calligraphy, regular tea ceremonies, flower arranging, Bonsai, and other traditional Japanese arts.

Since 2015, Japan House has hosted a yearly Japanese festival, or Matsuri, where you can visit numerous food trucks with traditional food, sample sake, watch traditional Japanese drummers, or try your hand at Japanese calligraphy. Urbana’s Pandamonium Doughnuts even offers special flavors just for the Matsuri, including red bean, green tea, and black sesame donuts. There is always a great variety of food, crafts, vendors, and entertainment at the Matsuri, so it’s well worth a visit. Traditionally a summertime festival in Japan, it’s held at the beginning of the school year.

Also on the grounds of Japan House is a wooden gazebo and bench produced by the woodshop of Nick Offerman. Offerman, who starred in the sitcom Parks and Recreation, was a student of Shozo Sato during his time at the U of I, and gifted the gazebo to the University in honor of his teacher. Sato is known for adapting Greek and Shakespearean plays for kabuki-style performance; Offerman acted in some of these kabuki plays at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts while he attended the U of I. The gazebo is just north of Japan House, next to one of the lakes, and features a dedication plaque from the Offerman Woodshop.

There is also a tea garden and a dry garden (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a Zen garden) at Japan House. You can tour the gardens on your own using an audio tour available at the Japan House website which explains the layout of the gardens as well as a little of their history.

Not far from the Arboretum, on Race Street, you can find a plethora of game stops at Meadowbrook Park. Part of Meadowbrook is an outdoor sculpture garden, and nearly every sculpture provides a chance to advance your game while admiring work by numerous local artists. In addition to Wandell Sculpture Garden, Meadowbrook includes an 80-acre stretch of tallgrass prairie, sensory and herb gardens, Timpone Ornamental Tree Grove, and a large play area for the kids.

For outdoor gamers, Wandell Sculpture Garden is the main attraction, since it features so many game stops. The sculptures can vary from season to season, but many of them are permanent. Each one has a plaque with information about the artist, and many are even for sale. The garden was dedicated in 1999 and was named for Celia and Willet Wandell, owners of a local plant nursery. The trust they established helped provide trees for local communities. The Wandell family wished to create a place to honor their parents as well as provide an outdoor art venue for Urbana.

As the weather gets warmer, these are great locations to get out into the sun, stretch your legs, and enjoy nature. Leashed pets are welcome in the Arboretum and Meadowbrook Park, and both are both free and open to the public. For information on the schedule for events, classes, and workshops at Japan House, visit their website.