George Sinclair started building skateboard ramps as a bored Petersburg teenager in the 1970s. At 16, the city of Petersburg paid him $300 to build a 10-foot half-pipe for a contest at a citywide event. “I built it, they had the contest, and then they gave the ramp to me,” he said. The young Sinclair’s […]
Scott Faingold
Scott Faingold is a journalist, educator and musician. He has been director of student media at University of Illinois Springfield, founding editor of Activator magazine, a staff reporter for Illinois Times and co-host of Old School Bleep, a music-centered podcast.
Posted inNews
NPR Illinois is on a roll
“NPR is one of the top news sources in the country today,” said Randy Eccles, general manager and publisher for NPR Illinois, the radio station housed at the University of Illinois Springfield and previously branded as WUIS. “It is rated highly and seen as very credible. All the member stations are a part of that, […]
Posted inNews
Imagination reaches for the divine
Launched in 1996 and running alternate years since, this year’s Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield is set to present several days of events at multiple venues around town, all centered around themes of the sacred as experienced in the traditions of various faiths. “Our purpose is to bring together art and music and various media […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Theatrical exorcism
Nearly a century ago, Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello prefigured postmodernism with his then-controversial 1921 play, Six Characters in Search of an Author, which continues its two-week run at the UIS Theatre this weekend. As the title suggests, the play’s content is self-referential, concerning itself as much with philosophical notions about literary creation and performance as […]
Posted inNews
Chickening out
Cavan Sullivan and his family have a grain farm in Petersburg and recently decided to expand their business by opening Petersburg Processing, a poultry processor. As a processor, Sullivan also markets the chickens he processes, having developed relationships with various distributors who then deliver and sell to consumers in Chicago and St. Louis. “One challenge […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Exploring solar systems
“Basically, David beat Goliath.” Michelle Knox, president of Springfield-based renewable energy and efficiency company WindSolarUSA, has reason to feel triumphant. A unanimous decision handed down April 3 by the Illinois Commerce Commission found in favor of a coalition of 12 Illinois solar businesses, including Knox’s. The ICC decision heads off what could have been a […]
Posted inArts & Culture
New director plans changes for Sangamon Auditorium
Bryan Rives took over as director of Sangamon Auditorium in October 2017 and has been busy for the past six months reimagining the 40-year-old, 2,005-seat venue both physically and conceptually. His plans include a revamped approach to booking and some long-overdue renovations as well as an upcoming overall rebranding. “It’s been going fantastic,” said Rives […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Southtown expands its reach with an art show
This Saturday marked the fifth annual Black Sheep Art Show held at the longstanding independent music venue Black Sheep Café, usually associated more with raucous punk rock concerts than visual art. This is the third year Black Sheep Café co-owner Clare Frachey has acted as primary coordinator for the show. “This year is the most […]
Posted inMusic
Organic and excellent
Snow north of Springfield delayed several musicians from arriving at the venue on time, and may have resulted in a quirky flow to “Pipe Dreams,” Saturday’s Illinois Symphony Orchestra concert at Sangamon Auditorium. For example, an overture occurred midway through the first half of the program. But the music bristled with energy and excitement nonetheless. […]
Posted inNews
Teens rally at Capitol for gun control
On Saturday, March 23, a reported 1.2 million people took part in the “March for Our Lives,” a nationwide demonstration demanding changes to existing gun laws. The demonstrations were spearheaded by the young survivors of last month’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which 14 students and three staff members […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The “Quiet Beatle” once made some noise in Illinois
“Whenever you say ‘Beatles’ – that’s the magic word,” said Springfield-based filmmaker and super-Beatle fan Robert Bartel. He would know. His 1999 documentary A Beatle in Benton, Illinois – which details a single fortnight visit to the southern Illinois town in 1963 by 20-year-old George Harrison in order to see his married sister – is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Passport to fine art
On Friday, March 9, the Springfield Art Association, along with the SAA Collective in the Hoogland Center for the Arts, combined forces with independent artist group The Pharmacy Gallery & Art Space to participate in a “Passport Gallery Tour.” Each location had an opening scheduled for that evening, and visitors were encouraged to obtain a “passport” […]
