FRIDAY, JUNE 17
Just because the Champaign Park District can’t seem to figure out what it means to actually offer the community a “taste” of itself, don’t let that stop you from enjoying some of the fabulous local food vendors that will be out this weekend at the Taste of Champaign-Urbana.
Here are some choice recommendations among those of which you should pay attention: Geovantis for the chicken strips (non-local meat, sure, but Yahweh Lord them sonsafellas are good eatin’), Zorbas for a gyro (they aren’t really that great honestly what with the meat being a bit of a mystery, but with all that’s happened recently, I think that you can give them a quick bite in 2011), Manolo’s for an empanada (try the Cheese and Corn, if they have it), Caribbean Grill for whatever they are serving (Despite there being no storefront yet, I ate it last year and it was delish), KoFusion for a hit of sushi rolls, Xinh Xinh Cafe for a noodle bowl, and Mas Amigos for the best tacos you’ll find north of Arcola.
[Begin rant…. now.]
Still though, the fact that a list of 25 vendors is littered with 1/3 corporate or national restaurants is disturbing, not to mention a handful of others that I can’t really classify as being part of the “food scene” here in C-U. The event still doesn’t hold true to the name, and the reasons are simple. Click the link above to read more, I suppose. It’d be such a relatively easy fix, too — but no one at the CPD seems to want to put in the work towards attracting and enticing enough truly local vendors to make this thing genuine. I’ve heard the arguments: there aren’t enough local vendors that can staff a booth; they don’t have the equipment to be up to code; it’s not cost effective, etc etc. On those, I call bullshit. Not on the vendors, of course, but on the organizers. From my view, if those are the problems that the event faces, then fix them. If there are infrastructure issues that surround it that prevent the event from truly being a “Taste of Champaign-Urbana,” make some changes.
Don’t allow Papa fucking Johns to fill the void. At least Bob fucking Evans stayed home this year.
Yeesh…
[End of rant.]
Missing from this year’s event is Junior’s Burgers, who annually had lines longer than anyone. Perhaps there is more of a story there… (SF)
A solid summer show at the Monkey: Every now and again, it seems that bands catch a scheduling break and put together a perfect lineup for a summertime local rock show in downtown Champaign. This Friday night provides a great example, with New Ruins, The Leadership, and Santah all taking the stage at Cowboy Monkey. Assuming the weather holds, this one ought to be out the door. With the addition of local video game programmer / beat maker / noise manipulator, Dave Samuel, New Ruins is starting to truly hit their stride. With an album being recorded by Matt Talbott for his new Earth Analog label, produced by Brian Deck, and set for a late-summer release, the time would be about right to start falling in love with their new material. Doors are at 9 p.m. Read my interview with NR’s Elzie Sexton from yesterday here. (JG)
Acoustic music at Das Cafe
While they’re better known for schnitzel than shows, the downtown Urbana eatery will host an acoustic performance tonight featuring artists still to be determined (think of it as a surprise). Get out and support, because Urbana desperately needs a good acoustic venue, especially if it also has a solid selection of German beer. Hopefully, this turns into a weekly series. (BV)
Retailers Sidewalk SaleFriday–Sunday, June 17–19, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Several retailers will be participating in the sidewalk sale this weekend, and this is where you’ll find the real taste of Champaign.
All music shows are Saturday. Most bands are playing acoustic or in a stripped-down fashion. The music schedule is, of course, subject to change, but this is as close to the last word as I could get. And much thanks to Jeff Brandt for sending me this information. (TN)
50% off all used CDs, LPs, video games, DVDs and all other used merch. Buy 3 get a 4th free on all new items inside and outside of the store. Thousands of items discounted to $1.00 and $2.00.
Live Shows:
12:00 p.m. – Santah
1:00 p.m. – Ryan Groff (Set 1)
2:00 p.m. – Mark Wyman
3:00 p.m. – The Palace Flophouse (Set1)
Posters, photos, and cards $2.00 or less. Select Books, magazines, and games discounted 50% or more. Many other items will be available. On Saturday at 1:00 p.m., there will be a book signing on Saturday for Mark D. Hanson’s Rantoul and Chanute Air Force Base.
Live Shows:
3:00 p.m. – Neoga Blacksmith
4:00 p.m. – The Palace Flophouse (Set 1)
Up to 75% off a large assortment of shoes. Brands include Teva, Vasque, Simple, Timberland, Salomon, Hi-Tec, Columbia, Keen, Asolo, Chaco shoes, Doc Martin, Kayland, Merrell, Mion, Montrail, New Balance, The North Face, and Patagonia. They’re putting them all out inside the store. They’re also giving away a free Alpha baseball cap with every store purchase, while supplies last.
Captain America, Thor, Green Lantern, X-Men books and more on sale at 25%.
Save 10%–60% storewide. Furniture and fixtures are also on sale starting this weekend. Cloth diapering classes will be free of charge at 1:00 p.m.
Carrie’s:
Fun/funky items and clothing on sale. Look for things outside as well as inside the store.
50% and up on select items located inside the store.
Circles Boutique:
Everything on the sidewalk will be $25.00 or $50.00.
50% off all hand drums Saturday, June 18th. Drum Circle @ 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Select racks of clothing discounted 30% to 75% off. Crazy sunglasses clearance sale of 2 for $10.00.
Live Shows:
1:00 p.m. – Curb Service
2:00 p.m. – Ryan Groff (Set 2)
Christopher’s Fine Jewelry Design:
Everything in the store is discounted up to 50% off. Countersketch jewelry design software demonstration. Photo contest.
Select suits $50.00, select sport coats $25.00, select slacks $15.00, select shirts $10.00. All sales final — no alterations included.
Sale on select home furnishings from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.
‘Appy Hour at Silvercreek:
There are a lot of different places you can go for happy hour food and drinks, but someone at Silvercreek made a conscientious decision to drop the “H” from theirs. Sold. Friday, 5:30 PM. (RH)
SATURDAY, JUNE 18
Spend a beautiful summer day inside: Seriously. The lineup at The Art Theater this weekend is bananas. As a CU resident, you should be proud to have a theater like this operating, with no less than a dozen interesting movies playing over the course of the next week. Werner Hergoz is on the level of personal hero for me, and the fact that he was given exclusive access to the Chauvet caves of Southern France in order to document humanity’s earliest art….well, suffice it to say Cave of Forgotten Dreams has the potential to be astounding.
For a ligher take on human history, there’s the classic Monty Python and The Holy Grail, which features so many dynamite individual scenes, it’s hard to choose a teaser. I’m going to go with this one, though, which should be included in every high school Freshman civics class in the country. (RH)
Comedy at the Post: We know how it is, you end up in downtown Urbana in mid-evening with nothing to do. Fortunately, Saturday night at 10 p.m. you can head over to the Iron Post and for a scant five sawbucks, you can be entertained for the remainder of the evening. Comics performing include Andrew Voris, Kyle Scanlan, Drift Roberts, Jason Dockins, Bryan Heine, Mike Garvin and David Sharp, and Steve Katz. (JG)
LA Show: True Colors. On Saturday at 10:30 p.m., The Divas of Emerald City welcome Special Guest, Anjila Cavalier ― the current reigning Miss International Classic. Aurora, Leiloni, and Summer will also be in attendance
I don’t know how many of you realize the fantastic drag entertainment that we have here in Champaign-Urbana, but if you’ve not yet caught these magnificent ladies’ show, try not to miss this night. You won’t be disappointed.
Showtime is 10:30 p.m., with a $3.00 cover after 11:00. The show lasts until 2:00 a.m. Age limit is 21+ to enter.
Drink specials include:
$3.50 Sobieski cocktails
$2.00 Domestic drafts
$3.00 individual Diva shots or a Flight of Three for $7.50
$6.00 Horse of a Different Color *Firecracker* Martini
Link to larger poster image (TN)
SUNDAY, JUNE 19
We’re sure there is something happening here, but not enough Editors at SP.com chimed in this week. We’ll, uh, get on that soon…