IT Picks

Learn the art of toy making during this free museum experience for families. Crafts, games and artist demonstrations highlight the day, including a view of the collection of silver toys that artist Brent Kington made for his children and assisting a sculptor to make a mural. Art@PlaySaturday, June 26, 11am-3pmIllinois State Museum502 S. Spring St.782-5993Free

Songwriters and brothers Bo and Bear Rinehart, along with childhood friends Joe Stillwell and Seth Bolt, will capture you as fans once you hear and see these Southern alternative rockers from South Carolina. With a new album just released, “The Outsiders,” this band’s national following is sure to grow. Their website, needtobreathe.net, notes their influences […]

Throughout the day, families can create their own art and view artists at work along the garden paths. Artists’ creations and more than 40 juried pieces reflecting the essence of Lincoln Memorial Garden, including Chris Spangler’s “Enjoyment of the Day” (best of show and pictured), will then be available at a reception and public auction […]

The UIS performing arts season kicks off with a Creole dinner and performance by BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, one of the premier Cajun bands in music today. The Grammy-winning group blends country, blues and New Orleans jazz and a myriad of other influences into new pieces and contemporary Creole versions of traditional songs. Since the […]

The Prairie Art Alliance Gallery is hosting “Painters and Poets,” a gallery display where Springfield Poets and Writers will write and read poems inspired by the paintings of the Prairie Art Alliance juried artists. The paintings and poems will be on display and for sale. The artists will also be at the event to discuss […]

Parrots of the Caribbean perform Jimmy Buffet’s biggest hits at the Hoogland Center for the Performing Arts. The band attempts to replicate both the musical stylings and the laid back style Jimmy Buffet has become famous for, with the group’s leader, David Albrecht, often mistaken for Buffet by longtime fans. Albrecht is so similar to […]

General Grierson Days in Jacksonville is a time for visitors to look back at one of the darkest periods in American history and see the largest mounted Civil War reenactment in the Midwest. Visitors can see the lives of soldiers as they drill, prepare meals, practice medicine and prepare for battle. Food, a parade and […]

Friday and Saturday wrap up the International Carillon Festival at Washington Park. Hear the bells swell under the musical touch of carillonists Lynette Geary of Waco, Texas, and Doug Gefvert of Valley Forge, Pa., on Friday, June 11; and Frans Haagen of the Netherlands and Karel Keldermans of Springfield on Saturday, June 12. Fireworks color […]

One of the biggest women’s pro tour golf tournaments hits Springfield’s west side from June 7-13. If you haven’t attended the practice and preliminary rounds earlier in the week, there’s still four full days of classic play through Sunday, June 13. Watch the best names in women’s golf, such as Yani Tseng, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie […]

Mac Warren directs this romp into Dr. Seuss-land where animals and Whoville citizens entertain you with music, dance and silliness. The musical centers on kindhearted Horton the Elephant, played by Sean Michael Butler, who protects and defends his tiny friend Jojo, Jakob Groeteke, (and other invisible Whos). Though ridiculed and challenged time after time, Horton […]

Join military life on the prairie June 11-13 in downtown Springfield. Three days of enactments with special interactive activities for groups and families on Education Day, June 11. Register by phoning 785-7960. Sponsored by Memorial Medical Center, the event’s focus is the practice of medicine during the Civil War. Civil War EncampmentJune11-13, 9am-4pmOld State CapitolFree

The beloved and hilarious Lily Tomlin shines into Springfield to light a huge smile upon your face and ignite laughter from your lungs with more than a dozen of her famous characters, including the infamous youngster Edith Ann and telephone operator Ernestine. Presented by Roxy Entertainment, Tomlin takes questions after the performance. Lily TomlinSunday, June […]