IT Picks

What started out as a neighborhood event is now welcoming people from all over the city. The fall 2022 edition of the popular food truck and vendor festival, Bites on the Boulevard, is ready to roll into the MacArthur Boulevard neighborhood with a whole lot of flavor. Around 40 vendors are expected including many favorite […]

Hey, all of you cerevisaphiles (including hopheads, you know who you are), if you’re looking for a way to round out the summer with good beer and good food, all while helping a good cause, check out the annual Springfield Oyster and Beer Festival at The Inn at 835. Over 50 different craft beer brands […]

“Making Our History: Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies” is the culmination of a yearlong virtual residency project funded by the University of Illinois Presidential Initiative, Expanding the Impact of the Arts and Humanities. Twenty artists, selected from throughout the state, created artworks on Lincoln’s legacies. Their work varies in form, method, concept and perspective, and includes […]

The butter cow has been an unofficial icon of the fair since the 1920s. The life-size figure is hand-sculpted from 500 pounds of unsalted butter – a process that takes about five days, the same way it’s been done for almost 100 years. But, two years ago that tradition came to a screeching halt when […]

It’s on! Lincoln Memorial Garden’s annual photography contest has officially begun. The garden is a woodland and prairie landscape with which Abraham Lincoln would have been familiar while growing up in the Midwest. It contains plants that are native to the three states where he lived – Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. Designed by internationally known […]

Where better to spend the summer than at the park? The Springfield Park District has scheduled some basketball fun each Tuesday evening and family fun nights on Thursday evenings at Comer Cox Park through Aug. 11. The events are free and no pre-registration is required. The basketball nights include free Gatorade and water, while the […]

This weekend, Kidzeum of Health and Science is celebrating its fourth anniversary with free admission and lots of special activities and crafts all day on Saturday, July 16. Check out the live science experiments being performed by the Kidzeum staff. Also, artists from Garvey Tubman Cultural Arts and Research Center will help you create your […]

This week’s calendar is packed with holiday happenings for Independence Day and you will not have to look far for fun ways to celebrate. Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site will have activities on July 1-2 and July 5, with period demonstrations and a reading of the Declaration of Independence each day. The Capital City […]

W.E. Sullivan, owner of a bridge construction company in Roodhouse, visited the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where he marveled at the original Ferris wheel designed by George W. G. Ferris, who also owned a bridge company. Sullivan was determined to build a wheel of his own and debuted his first, Big Eli, in Jacksonville’s […]

The Springfield Art Association (SAA) is again taking over downtown where you can paint the streets and put your artistic talents on public display in a freshly created outdoor gallery. Each registrant will receive a 6×6-foot square to paint solo or with family, co-workers, clubs or sports teams – up to six painters can work […]

Municipal bands are a tradition in many towns and cities nationwide, and Springfield is fortunate to have one. In fact, the Springfield Municipal Band has been providing summer entertainment for devoted followers and fans for over 80 years. The band is managed by Ken Pratt, who has a bachelor’s degree in music theory and jazz […]

At the dawn of a new century, everything is changing and anything is possible. Set in the volatile melting pot of turn-of-the-century New York, three distinctly American tales are woven together – that of a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant and a daring young Harlem musician – united by their courage, compassion and […]