IT Picks

Walk into Lincoln Memorial Gardens’ sugar bush as the garden taps its maples during Maple Syrup Time. Take part in one of multiple demonstrations taking place each Saturday and Sunday. Collect the sap as it flows from the trees and cook it down into pure maple syrup. Kids can help turn the brace and bit […]

Performing on the Sangamon Auditorium stage is the Grammy-award winning singing group with special guest John Hammond presented in cooperation with the Friends of Brookens Library to celebrate Black History Month. Formed some six and a half decades ago, The Blind Boys of Alabama predate Elvis, Little Richard and Al Green, yet even in their […]

Join Sangamon Valley Sierra Club, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Prairie Rivers Network and King Corn movie producers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis who traded their farming combine for a canoe to produce another 30-minute sequel movie entitled Big River. Big River documents how pollution from heartland agriculture is blamed for herbicide and storm water runoff causing […]

Hear and see the unique sounds and costumes of Celtic culture and pageantry as The Band of the Irish Guards and the pipes, drums and highland dancers of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland perform on stage at Sangamon Auditorium in their first U.S. tour. The Band of […]

Several free programs are scheduled this week for Black History Month. Nationally known author/historian Marc Aronson discusses his book, Race: A History Beyond Black and White, and the art of nonfiction Feb. 11, 6 p.m. at the Vachel Lindsay Home. Church leader and retired music teacher La Von Wilson reflects on “Life in Springfield through […]

Get transported to the French Quarter and celebrate Mardi Gras during an evening of hands-on activities for the entire family at the Springfield Art Association. While listening to live entertainment, make a crown, string beads, try your hand at carnival games and get your photo taken on Bourbon Street. All activities and artists’ demonstrations will […]

Looking for something special to synchronize your beating hearts this Valentine’s Day? A scrumptious, intimate candlelight dinner followed by romantic music is planned by Gordon Productions and the Hoogland Center for the Arts. The menu includes mouth-watering juniper and sage brined America’s cut pork chops topped with apricot-tassso sauce, homemade buttercrust rolls and more. Gus […]

Everything including the backdrops, costumes, choreography and sound is expansive and colorful in this production. The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, including a live orchestra, brings the ancient culture of Chinese dance and music to Springfield Tuesday night. The experience promises to leave you in awe. Shen YunTuesday, Feb. 9, 7:30pmSangamon Auditorium, UIS 206-6150$39-$80

Learn to recycle yard and food waste into soil fertilizer whether you’re a backyard gardener or a farmer with a large-scale project in mind. Experts will instruct you on composting organic materials and vermicomposting, reprocessing waste using worms. Sponsored by the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, University of Illinois Extension, City of Springfield’s Division of Waste and […]

Expressions in the Dark celebrates seven years with a special red-night celebration featuring hosts Explicit and Dj76Kid, a surprise guest, prizes and gifts. Since 2003, droves have descended downtown the first Friday of each month to recite their poetry or spoken word, sing, play an instrument or showcase their talent. Open mic soars to a […]

Feb 6, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at Abundant Faith Christian Center, learn little known stories of ethnic group diversity and their roles and achievements in Lincoln-era Springfield. Monday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. in SIU School of Medicine’s south auditorium, Dr. Sonja Boone, M.D., speaks about health disparities among underrepresented minority groups. Feb. 4 through Feb. […]

The facts are sobering. Heart disease kills more women than any other disease. 450,000 women die each year, that’s about one each minute. One in three women have some form of cardiovascular disease. In Illinois, more than 55 percent of women are overweight and obese. But, 80 percent of cardiac events in women could be […]