FRIDAY, AUGUST 15
Third Friday on the Farm, Prairie Fruits Farm, 5:30-7:30 p.m., food sold a la carte
This month PFF will host Chicago-based Nomad Food Company, which will cook up some wood-fired pizzas. You can have your pick of four different kinds of pizzas, salads, antipasti, Homer Soda Company sodas, and PFF’s gelato. Bring your booze, a blanket, your family, and enjoy a Friday evening on the farm. (JH)
The BARE Project, Indi Go Artist Co-Op, 6:30 p.m., free
From what I’ve seen this is going to be pieces of art in which the subject is naked. It’s point is to encourage people to be comfortable and feel beautiful in thier own skin I think. Anyways, gallery openings at the co-op are usually fun. The art will likely be solid, there will probably be wine and snacks, and you should probably go to support local business and artists. So there. (SL)
Resinater, Woodie, Orator, Ode Vinter, Marathon, Thee Deathtower, 9 p.m., $5
A whole handful of really good local bands have banded together for this show on Friday night. Resinater is a fairly new local outfit made out of some members of Hank. after their disbandment. They play stoner rock, and it’s pretty awesome. Woodie plays some skuzzed-out dream/indie rock, Orator and Ode Vinter bring the guitars to the max, plus Marathon is in the mix as well. Lots of music to see here if you can find it. (PS)
The Neverending Story, The Art Theater Co-op, 10 p.m.
If you’re around my age and you’ve grown up wondering why you couldn’t have a large white flying dog-dragon-thing of you’re very own, then it stands to reason that you saw The Neverending Story as a child. And yes, I know the dog-thing is called a Luck Dragon. I saw this film two or sixty times when I was very young and impressionable, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it’s about (except that it has a classic frame story structure, a “play-within-a-play,” if you will), and that there are parallels between the fantasy world and the real world. That should be enough to get you to buy a ticket, right? Here’s what’s really important: this Jim Henson classic will be the late night show this weekend at the Art. (MG)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 16
Soldering Summer Make-a-tion Workshop, Independent Media Center, 202 S. Broadway #100, Urbana, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., suggested donation $5
The Independent Media Center is offering an introduction to soldering this weekend. You’ll learn the principles of soldering by creating a circuit on a light up LED robot badge. No experience necessary; just a love of melting metals. (RP)
Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity, William M. Staerkel Planetarium, 8 p.m.
Copied from the planetarium’s website, with editorial comments: “There’s a place from which nothing escapes, not even light, where time and space literally come to an end. It’s at this point, inside this fantastic riddle, that black holes exert their sway over the cosmos … and our imaginations. Narrated by actor Liam Neeson [I don’t care how much Episode I sucked: How much do you want to hear Qui-Gon tell you about space?!], this cutting-edge production features high-resolution visualizations of cosmic phenomena, working with data generated by computer simulations, to bring the current science of black holes to the dome screen. Audiences will be dazzled with striking, immersive animations of the formation of the early universe, star birth and death, the collision of giant galaxies, and a simulated flight to a super-massive black hole [Did anybody else just start hearing Muse in their head? If so, I apologize.] lurking at the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy. [Mmmmm. Nougat.] This fulldome show features visualizations created by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois. Adults $5; students, seniors, and kids $4, at the door.” (MG)
Withershins, Neiv, Common Loon, Mike ‘N Molly’s, $7, 9 p.m.
Withershins are releasing their third full-length record on Saturday night after a slew of dates with Italy’s Neiv. They’re bringing things home, performing at Mike ‘N Molly’s, as Mt. Fuji In Blue (that’s the album artwork there — it is quite blue), is out now and on sale at your local record store (Exile and Error Records are both carrying it). If you haven’t listened to it yet, head over and stream it for free. It is an interesting step forward for Withershins, and if you’re unfamiliar with their work, check out Silver Cities and Aeriel to catch up. Common Loon will be opening, which is a treat in and of itself, as they have a ton of new material to play. (PS)
Enjoy campus before the students come back
The students will be back soon and our campus will again be overrun with the future of America. Which is great. But, before they do, go over and enjoy some of the sites and activities available to you, the townie. I would recommend sitting on the back porch of the union with a book or tanning on the quad. Have lunch at Firehouse, White Horse Inn, or try the new sushi place. Go out to Murphys Pub or Legends for a drink. Whatever you like but do it before the stampeed occurs! (SL)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 17
Get tickets for the Triptych/Biaggi’s beer dinner on Monday or Tuesday, call Biaggi’s (217-356-4300), $50
Beer dinners seem to be a dime a dozen of late, and one of the latest is at Biaggi’s with Triptych beer. This local and chain pairing seems interesting, to say the least, and at $50 per person (not including tax and gratutity), it could be worth it for five courses with beer pairings. Dinner is at 6 p.m. on Monday or Tuesday, and reservations are required. (JH)
3rd Annual Ice Cream Social, Common Ground, 300 S. Broadway, Urbana, 2-4 p.m., donation
Stop by Common Ground to build your own sundae with local ice cream from Kilgus Farmstead Creamery and organic toppings, enjoy local music from The Church Street Ramblers, and enjoy face painting and other entertainment. All of the proceeds benefit the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. (RP)
I don’t care if it’s not a local film and I’m feeding the big Disney complex, go see Guardians of the Galaxy, virtually any cineplex, probably $9 or more
You don’t need to know the names of all the characters. Chances are, other than the racoon and the tree, you won’t remember them anyway. That’s not what this is about. You also don’t need to give a crap about Marvel comic books, The Avengers, or Robert Downey Jr. (although HOW DARE YOU). If you enjoy films filled with humor and excitement, this might be the most fun you’ve had all summer, just in time for summer to end. You might not be familiar with the name James Gunn, but he has directed a couple of pretty great subversive popcorn horror flicks (including Slither, which is almost as funny as it is creepy), and he has worked some snarky magic with this collection of misfit toys. Chris Pratt is a doofier Harrison Ford, Dave Bautista gives the best performance by a professional wrestler in a film ever (with apologies to Roddy Piper in They Live), and Zoe Saldana continues her ridiculous streak of being the go-to lady for fierce depictions of women in space. Oh, and the racoon and the tree? They steal it. Plain and simple. Go see it. Have fun. (MG)
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