IT Picks

ART | Masterpieces and more Each Saturday in June, the MacArthur Boulevard Business Association’s Artists Market touts 35 artists displaying their handcrafted wares including fine crafts, original art work, photography, painted furniture, jewelry and ceramics outdoors at the Town and Country Shopping Center on MacArthur Boulevard. The market also features a magician, a caricature artist, […]

THEATER | Outdoor performances If you visit or work downtown, here’s a free noon hour program you should catch at some point during your daily dallying or labor. The Springfield Arts Council hosts several musical, theatrical and performance artists on the Old State Capitol Plaza at various dates during the summer time. Tuesday, the cast […]

MUSIC | Big beautiful bells The Carillon Festival fills the late spring air with the sounds of 67 cast bronze bells in a mixture combining the ambiance of church, heaven and nature. Each night the warm air welcomes in a different musician, visiting from somewhere in the world, who sits atop the tower and plays […]

FESTIVALS |Illinois homegrown Here’s a festival you’ll want to explore if you love vino, bluegrass or country music. For a small admission fee, Hill Prairie Winery will give you a free glass you can take with you in the winery sample room and a full day of music outside under the pavilion. Sunday is slated […]

ART | Street fair with flair Three of Springfield’s downtown streets will be blocked off this weekend to make way for booths of art surrounding the Old Capitol building, featuring more than 150 artists. Their original works, in the form of jewelry, sculpture, photography, glassware, pottery, wood, metalwork, oils, watercolors and other media, are available […]

FEASTIVAL |Run? and fun!raiser Here’s the most enjoyable race you’ll ever enter. Whether you run or walk, stations along the route include donuts, ice cream and beer, as well as other surprises. If you tucker out and cannot complete the entire course, there’s a detour to reduce your route from 3.1 miles into a doable […]

DANCE | Enthusiastic amateurs What does a realtor, a programmer, a banker, a disc jockey, a doctor and a manager have in common? They wear tights and dance ballet Friday night at the Hoogland Center for the Arts for the hilarious production titled “Men in Tights” to raise money for the Springfield Ballet Company. The […]

ART | Library with vision Saturday afternoon plan a two-hour visit to the Chatham library to meet and hear local artists Chris Britt, Louisa Boshardy (Hybiscus pictured above), George Atkisson, Bob Dixon, Jeff Garland and Michael Dunbar speak about their artwork showcased at the opening of the library’s new civic art collection, Promise in Vision. […]

THEATER | Bard comedy Set in France, girl (Rosalind) falls instantly in love with boy (Orlando). The royal family quarrels amongst themselves. Men are exiled. Lovers pine. Girl disguises herself as a man (Ganymede). Confusion and mistaken identity ensues. Lovers are united with their proper mates. Everything works out in the end. You don’t have […]

MUSIC | DiNizio unplugged Pat DiNizio, lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the Smithereens, rolls into Springfield Thursday night as one stop in his second countrywide living room concert tour. Taking to the road years ago in a never-done-before manner for someone with a certain level of national recognition, he performed in people’s homes and […]

THEATER | Poetic performance World renowned St. Louis Black Repertory Company, known as The Black Rep, performs The Strong Men at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum Friday night. The show, also tagged as a choreo-poem, displays powerful voices and delicate humor of African-Americans who have made major contributions to American history. It features selected poems […]

DANCE | Ice skating United States national pewter medalist, Ryan Bradley, performs as guest skater in the Springfield Figure Skating Club’s annual Spotlight on Ice this weekend at the Nelson Center in Lincoln Park. Springfield’s ice show features more than 100 club members performing solo and group skating numbers to musical ice versions of Beauty […]