FRIDAY, May 8th
The Pygmalion Festival general on-sale, 10 a.m., price varies
We do a couple of other things in this community, one being The Pygmalion Festival, which we’re pretty up front about. This year, year 11, Music, Tech, Lit, and Made return — headlined by RIDE, Purity Ring, Stephen Wolfram, Adrian Matejka, and dozens more for the 2015 installment of the festival. Check out the initial lineup, and grab your tickets as the on sale starts at 10 a.m. Grab your tickets early to save some dough. (PS)
Take a date to Sushi Kame, 132 W Church Street, Champaign, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m., about $15 per person
The interior isn’t all that impressive, but the food is good. And if you are or know a person who likes sushi, you should bring her or him here to eat the sushi. Or chicken teriyaki, or veggie sushi, or tofu steak. There are plenty of options for pescatarians and vegetarians, and omnivores. (JH)
The Doors You Mark Are Your Own and Sobotka Literary Magazine, 6 p.m., Quality Beer, free
Hear Olka Elliot and Raul Clement read from their new novel, The Doors You Mark Are Your Own, the first in the Joshua Tree Trilogy. Praise from the Facebook event: “If Vladimir Nabokov and Phillip K. Dick had mated and produced a genius baby, that baby might well have grown up to write The Doors You Mark Are Your Own.” The event will also be a release party for Sobotka Literary Magazine. (MR)
Illini Baseball vs Rutgers, 6 p.m., Illinois Field, Free
Maybe you heard that the Illini have won 21 games in a row and are poised to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. Well, you have a chance to go cheer them on at Illinois Field Friday night as they take on Rutgers in their second-to-last home weekend of the year. (TP)
The O’My’s, Zaramela, Woo Park, 9 p.m., Canopy Club, $7
These three Chicago bands play modern soul music with youthful energy. Headliners The O’My’s are born from the same scene as Kids These Days, sharing members with the group. (MR)
SATURDAY, May 9th
Plant Sale, 7 a.m., Lincoln Square Mall, free
Stop by this year’s Plant Sale to pick out flowers, herbs, and veggies to grow this summer. The sale features plants that local farmers grow and donate, and 100% of the proceeds go to fund the Food For All program. Blue Moon, PrairiErth Farms, Nature’s Finest, Moore Family Farm, Tomahnous Farm, and Autumn Berry Inspired will contribute plants for this year’s sale! (RP)
Run in 5k or 10k, Forest Reserve Park, Monticello, 8:30 a.m.
This race will take runners through the reserve park and into pretty little town of Monticello. And just because it is a small town doesn’t mean they aren’t doing it big. From the looks of the website and all of the supporting entertainment it looks like this is going to be a fun little race to participate in or cheer for. More information here. (SL)
Buy some strawberries, make a shortcake, Urbana’s Market at the Square + Your House, all day, about $15
The strawberries at the markets have been beautiful, and it’s strawberry shortcake season. So buy some beautiful, locally grown strawberries, swing by the Co-op for some heavy whipping cream. Go home, make a pound cake or shortbread biscuits. Whip your cream. Compile your ingredients, eat. Enjoy. (JH)
Fred Eaglesmith, Rose Bowl Tavern, 3 p.m., $20 advance/$25 door
So, this is kind of awesome. Who doesn’t want to hang out at the Rose Bowl on a Saturday afternoon? Not only that — you can see Fred Eaglesmith perform in a pretty intimate setting. Check out the details at the Facebook event linked above, and grab tickets here or at the door (for a few extra bucks). (PS)
UIUC Fashion Show, 7 p.m., Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, free
Arrive early for the 9th annual UIUC Fashion Show, which will feature creative and sustainable clothing created by students from Susan Becker’s fashion courses. Read more about the show here. (RP)
Appropriate, Station Theatre, 8 p.m., $15
This is your final chance to see the Station Theatre’s final offering of the “regular” theatre season. Directed by Mike Prosise and featuring a cast that mixes Station vets (like David Barkley, Carolyn Kodes-Atkinson, and Aaron Clark) with newcomers, this production is bound to leave you with plenty to talk about on the way home. Per the Station website: “Every estranged member of the Lafayette clan has descended upon the crumbling Arkansas homestead to settle the accounts of the newly-dead patriarch. As his three adult children sort through a lifetime of hoarded mementos and junk, they collide over clutter, debt, and a contentious family history. But after a disturbing discovery surfaces among their father’s possessions, the reunion takes a turn for the explosive, unleashing a series of crackling surprises and confrontations.” (MG)
SUNDAY, May 10th
Go see Avengers: Age of Ultron, Savoy or Carmike, pretty much every hour or so
I don’t want Smile Politely to lose any indie cred when I suggest this, but you should probably go see this. You know you want to. There are some movies, even if they’re not your usual thing, that you need to see to be part of the cultural zeitgeist. It’s why we all read Bret Easton Ellis, once upon a time, but no so much anymore. In this case, the biggest movie to happen to movies in quite some time is kicking off summer movie season like Bruce Lee kicking Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. Joss Whedon makes his final trip behind the camera for the Marvel megamachine, which makes one wonder if he’ll leave it all on the field (as they say). Along for the ride, once again, are RDJ, all the blond guys named Chris, Scarlett Johansson, and the rest of the best company picnic ever. In the last few days, this comic book movie has become a bit of a lightning rod for Twitter hate, so this is your chance to catch up: Is Whedon a faux-feminist? Did he have to kill [deleted for spoilers]? Should all the shippers who hope two fictional characters are screwing just because they looked at each other once take a breath? You be the judge. Regardless, there will still be a lot of superheroing. (MG)
Attend a small business workshop, Champaign County Chamber of Commerce, 303 W. Kirby Ave., 9-11 a.m., $25
This workshop is designed to help people who want to open a small business learn to define their business, identify competition, learn som baiscs of cash flow, and some other tips. If you’re interested in a small business this might be worth your time. Register here. (SL)
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All event information is accurate to the best of our abilities, but sometimes we make mistakes and sometimes event information, times, prices, etc., change after we look them up. Whenever possible, we’ve provided a link to the original event page; you should always double-check the source before you make any firm plans. Thanks for your understanding.