FRIDAY, April 21st
Urbana Public Arts Grant Announcement celebration, Pizza M, 5-7 p.m.
The Urbana Arts Grants Program supports projects that are displayed in Urbana. This is the ninth year the group will be presenting awards for four categories includingindividual, group, non-profit and Urbana festivals. If you support the arts, especially in Urbana, you should head out to this event to meet and talk with some of the folks who are going to be making art in the coming year in Urbana. (SL)
CJ Run, Puzzle Quest, King of the Coast, Chez BonBon, 8:30 p.m., $2
If you’ve ever wanted to check out Urbana’s vibrant house show scene, this would be a great option to showcase what C-U has to offer. I’m not sure the address, but if you follow the link at the Facebook event above, you may be able to get someone to help you. (BH)
Crystal Garden feat. Boyd Tinsley, The Accord, 9 p.m., $10 in advance / $13 at the door
Crystal Garden is a group formed and fronted by accomplished Dave Matthews Band violinist Boyd Tinsley. He and his band make folk-tinged rock music, with influences ranging from pop to blues and more. They released their debut album, Let The Rocks Cry Out, just a few weeks ago, so they’ll have plenty of new stuff to share with the audience for this show. The Accord only has a handful of shows left. Don’t sleep on this. (JTM)
SATURDAY, April 22nd
Donate Blood, Community Blood Services of Illinois, 7:30 a.m. to noon, free (and a free coffee!)
This Saturday is shaping up to be one for the ages: the Illinois marathon, Ebertfest, Record store day, and PFF Spring Open House, for starters. All these do-gooders and their motivation makes me wholly unmotivated, but Hammerhead Coffee is sponsoring a blood drive at Community Blood Services of Illinois and offering a free 12 oz coffee if you donate. Look, you and I might not be running until out skin literally rubs right off, but we can be do-gooders who actually save lives. If you’re able to do so, consider donating blood this weekend. Photo from Facebook. (JH)
Record Store Day 2017 at Exile on Main St./Dandelion, 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Free
If you’ve ever wanted to get exclusive (and wonderfully-priced) music, support the local music scene and support a local business at the exact same time, Record Store Day 2017 at Exile/Dandelion is for you. Live music for 14 hours, great RSD-exclusive music for sale, and a (hopefully) beautiful Saturday. Sounds perfect. (BH)
Record Store Day 2017 at CD See You & Vinyl/Sipyard, 7 a.m.-10 p.m. (or later), free
If you’d rather kick it in Urbana for your Record Store Day, check out the celebration downtown. 2017’s version will be a collaboration between See You CD and Vinyl and the outdoor watering hole across the street, Sipyard. Albums will be available for sale at both locations with many hot specials, and beginning at 4, live music will fill the air at Sipyard (or Pizza/Bar M, if it rains). Support your local music shops and come on out. (JTM)
Mind/Game at Ebertfest, Virginia Theatre, 11 a.m., $15
Two reasons I think you should get up “early” for this: 1) Going to a film you’ve never seen before is more fun with an Ebertfest audience 2) this is the film picked by AIR (Alliance for Inclusion and Respect) who received the dedication for this year’s fest. Take a step toward ending stigma against mental health and watch some incredible basketball footage of the 90s greatest basketball star (hint: it’s not Mike). (RK)
Spring Open House at Japan House, 2000 S. Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., free (Tea Ceremony $6)
This local gem is offering tea ceremonies, garden tours, and tastings of Japanese flavors. Visiting Japanese Chef Suzuko Enomoto will be speaking at 2 p.m. about the true tastes of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. That timing will help you avoid most of the marathon hoopla as you navigate Champaign-Urbana. Admission to the event is free, and reservations for a tea ceremony, which is $6, can be made when you get there. (JEM)
Bourbon, Beer & Bacon Festival, Lead Belly’s Champaign (formerly Fluid Event Center), 601 N Country Fair Dr, Champaign, 2-8 p.m, $5 entry, plus drinks and food
This is the third iteration of this event at the newly renamed Lead Belly’s Champaign. Five bucks gets you in the door, and tickets for samples are $0.75 each. There will be a bunch of bourbon and whiskey samples to try, ranging from commonplace bourbons to small batch fancy ones. Wash down your drinks with some bacon (cash only for food), or if you really hate yourself, participate in a bacon-eating contest. The porky possibilities are endless. For more inspiration, check out SP’s review of the 2015 and 2016 event. Photo by Sam Logan. (JH)
SUNDAY, April 23rd
Watch some Illini Tennis, Atkins Tennis Center, 11am, free
The weather on Saturday looks to be garbage, but Sunday will be glorious. It’s a great chance to catch both the women’s and men’s tennis teams close out their regular seasons. The women take on Michigan at 11am, and the men battle #4 ranked Ohio State beginning at noon. Admission is free AND the promotion that day is free ice cream. (JEM)
Spring Jam on the Quad, U of I Main Quad, 2-4 p.m., free with iCard
Post Malone will be performing on the quad and students get in free. However, if youre not a student I am guessing that you can still hang out and watch the show from a further distance. Not sure who Post Malone is? Check out this quick YouTube video and decide whether or not it is worth you making the trip to campus this Sunday. (SL)
De-Lovely at Ebertfest with the Demers, Virginia Theatre, 11 a.m., $15
While people think of Saturday night as Ebertfest’s wrap, I am a big advocate of finishing up the weekend on Sunday. This show never fails to please, usually with some kind of big performance rather than a panel. This year’s is a perfect complement to Parkland College’s Anything Goes — which also wraps this weekend — a biopic of Cole Porter with a live piano/singer duo: Jimmy and Donnie Demers. If you were there on Wednesday, you heard Jimmy open it up, you should go ahead and hear him sing us out for another year. (RK)
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