Marsha Wallace of Greenville, S.C., started the group Dining for Women in 2003 after reading about a group of friends who met for potluck dinners and collected money for needy families. Wallace liked the idea of using the money they would have spent if they had eaten at a restaurant, and founded DFW on the […]
IT Picks
Posted inArts & Culture
Noble humanitarian
A guy who’s climbed mountains literally and figuratively to improve the world, and on top of that carries unbelievably interesting tales about how he got there and what he’s gone through, is humanitarian and New York Times bestselling author Greg Mortenson. He speaks at Sangamon Auditorium March 3. Don’t miss it — one such story […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Springfield Picassos
What makes this month-long installment of three artists impressive is the individual power of each artist’s work and the combination of their unique presentations — each, to use a musical metaphor, sung in a different key. Springfield’s illustrious canvas-sage, Felicia Olin’s pieces are stunning as always, situated on the beautiful sides between haunting and whimsical. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Hard rock
Rock band Hinder comes to the Prairie Capital Convention Center on Monday, Feb. 21. You probably heard these guys on the radio with their hit single, “Lips of an Angel.” The band proclaims their new album, “All American Nightmare,” is harder rock and comes from a more personal place. Members of the band include: Austin […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Girl talk
An off-Broadway and international hit sensation, Menopause the Musical makes its way onto the stage of Sangamon Auditorium, UIS, for two shows, Feb. 22-23. Funnier than funny, the musical takes place at a lingerie sale in New York City’s Bloomingdale’s. Four strangers come together over a black lace bra and some mature girl talk. You’ll […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Moving drama
Matthew T. Dearing (Mitch Albom) and Barry Weiss (Morrie Schwartz) play the leads in the moving drama Tuesdays with Morrie. Tuesdays with Morrie centers on Mitch, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch catches Morrie’s appearance on a television news program and learns […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Poetic playing
Classical guitarist Francois Fowler performs Feb. 19 at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church for the Springfield Classical Guitar Society. He has impressed numerous audiences in Canada, the United States and Mexico with his technically impressive and poetic playing and with his unique and interesting repertoire that combines new and original music, traditional classical guitar music and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Horse play
Your family doesn’t need to be horse lovers to love the prancing, dancing, marching, leaps and maneuvers of the Lipizzans – a rare and unique breed of horse – made even more famous by the Walt Disney movie The Miracle of the White Stallions. The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions current tour features 12 to 14 […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Chicano culture
Though March 23, view a series of large silk-screen prints by artist and writer Carlos Francisco Jackson, assistant professor of Chicana/Chicano Studies at the University of California at Davis, and director of Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer, a community art center in Woodland, Calif. Jackson explores the story that he and others live, or have […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Off-stage stories
Ever wonder what stories and thoughts run through the actors’ heads as you watch them on stage at the Hoogland? Just this curiosity ignited playwright Ken Bradbury to explore and capture the stories, memories, thoughts and desires of central Illinois’ acting community. Bradbury’s script formation began with hundreds of hours of interviews with local actors […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Feminist harmony
Saturday, Feb. 5, the University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience Speakers Series shows the one-hour acclaimed documentary by Director/Producer Jay Rosenstein about Champaign-Urbana’s award-winning lesbian/feminist choir. In their eighteenth year, the group sings folkloric, women-oriented and classical music. Chorus Founder Cristina Boerger speaks following the film. Sunday, February 13, at 4 p.m., don’t […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Mayor candidates
A pre-primary mayoral candidate forum is on the agenda of the Citizens Club of Springfield’s Policy Breakfast at the Hoogland Center for the Arts Friday morning. A coffee reception precedes the 8 a.m. meeting that will include the seven candidates who have filed for the February 22 primary and one write-in candidate. The purpose of […]
