IT Picks

Sing his glory The Basuah Gospel Festival descends on Springfield to praise the Lord with song and dance. Smokie Norful and Vanessa Bell Armstrong, two of the biggest names in gospel, will come together to usher in the Holy Spirit with powerful vocals. The label mates will perform their hits, “He’s So Good to Me,” […]

The days of Abe Experience the life and times of Abraham Lincoln at the 10th Prairieland Chautauqua “The Age of Lincoln.” The four-day bicentennial celebration will include everything from the music to the food that pleased the palate of “Honest Abe.” Stories and poetry about Lincoln’s life will retell the trials and victories Lincoln faced […]

Rock it If you weren’t buying cassette tapes in the 1980s, then you probably only know the band Poison from lead singer Bret Michaels’ turn on Rock of Love, in which a gaggle of scantily clad liquor-guzzling “ladies”vie for his affections. But Michaels’ band was so much more. The quintessential glam-metal band of the decade, […]

OPPOSITES ATTRACT Since Felix Unger and Oscar Madison hit the boards in Neil Simon’s 1965 production of The Odd Couple, there’s been no better way to describe a friendship of polar opposites than to invoke neat freak Felix and slovenly Oscar. This Saturday, some of Springfield’s favorite actors present a reading of Oscar and Felix: […]

Joy City After retiring the Springfield-based Lincoln Fest, festival promoter Fred Puglia searched for a new location for a community festival. Our neighbor to the east took up the offer, and the Decatur Celebration was born. Considered Illinois’ largest free family street festival, the event — with the theme “Dancing in the Streets — hosts […]

Star treatment There really is no business like show business, and when you add an overly ambitious mother with a talented kid to the mix, well, things can get downright bizarre. Loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, Gypsy chronicles Lee’s mother’s over-the-top efforts to push her children up […]

Untitled Document More than gore Titus Andronicus, one of William Shakespeare’s earliest and bloodiest tragedies, opens this weekend at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Shakespeare paints a grisly picture of politics in this tale of revenge pitting Titus Andronicus, a Roman warrior, against his archenemy, Tamora, queen of the Goths. Titus kills one of Tamora’s sons […]

Untitled Document Taste test Whether you prefer scarfing down a burger or noshing on pecan-encrusted chicken, Downtown Springfield’s Taste of Downtown has the chow to fill the belly of any eater. The annual event features 17 downtown restaurants, including favorites such as Café Brio, Maldaner’s, and the Holy Land Diner, along with relatively new kids […]

Untitled Document Happy birthday! Light up a sparkler and help celebrate America’s birthday at Springfield Jaycees’ annual patriotic party, the Capital City Celebration. At the two-day shindig you can partake of such popular events as the Little Wagon Parade, an ice-cream social hosted by Secretary State Jesse White, and a bicycle rodeo, plus an entertainment […]

Untitled Document Sound of music Music fans flood downtown’s streets this Saturday for an evening of swinging jazz and soulful blues by local and national practitioners of these genres. This year’s lineup, hosted by Springfield Area Arts Council, starts with performances by the Beatniks (6 p.m.) and the Pauline York Band (7 p.m.). Bob Katt […]