There’s something enchanting about the story of Peter Pan and his adventures on the island of Neverland. He was created in 1902 by Scottish playwright and novelist J.M. Barrie. Since then, the mischievous boy who can fly and never ages has starred in many plays, movies and books. Peter Pan, the leader of the Lost […]
IT Picks
Posted inArts & Culture
Tons of fun happening this week at county fairgrounds
School’s out and it’s county fair season! Some good old-fashioned fair fun certainly can be had this week at what has been called the premier county fair of central Illinois. The Sangamon County Fair features entertainment, livestock shows, exhibitors, queen pageant, carnival, rodeo, monster trucks, demolition derby and all the fair food you can imagine. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Step back in time to golden era of rock ’n’ roll
Pasfield House Sock HopSat., June 7, 7-11 p.m. | 525 S. Pasfield St. | info@pasfieldhouse.com DANCE | Step back in time to golden era of rock ‘n’ roll It’s not often one gets a chance to “step back in time and groove to the golden era of rock ‘n’ roll,” but that opportunity is on […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Chautauqua-style event returns to Petersburg
In the 1870s, an educational meeting at Lake Chautauqua, New York, grew into a popular adult education and social movement that swept the U.S. The movement’s events, named after the lake, featured entertainment and culture “with speakers, teachers, musicians, showmen, preachers and specialists of the day.” Illinois had its share of Chautauquas, including one near […]
Posted inArts & Culture
New dates for musical gem
Now in its 63rd year, this popular festival has earned an unsurpassed tradition of presenting the world’s finest carillonneurs on the 67-bell instrument in a tower. While it typically takes place in June, this year it has been moved up to coincide with Memorial Day weekend. This year’s carillonneurs are Jeremy Chesmann of Springfield, Missouri.; […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Presentation to explore how nature influenced architect
Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright once wrote, “I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day’s work.” It surely did influence his designs and motifs. Take, as one example, the sumac in the art glass windows at the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield. In this event, Dr. Rodney B. Dieser, a professor at University […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Annual madcap race raises money for charity
The place to be this weekend is downtown for Springfield’s popular, annual Fat Ass 5K & Street Party for Charity. This hilarious downtown spectacle, born in 2008, just keeps getting better, donating more than $2 million to area charities. The event begins Friday with the Craft Beer and Cigar Festival featuring food, drinks and music […]
Posted inArts & Culture
APL Upscale Collectible Sale
This event is the Animal Protective League’s largest and longest-running fundraiser and offers a chance to find some upscale goods for a good price and also help animals in APL’s care at the same time. For sale will be donated items collected through April 26. The event includes a bake sale, silent auction and prizes […]
Posted inArts & Culture
John O’Connor brings Springfield’s favorite son to life
Local performer John O’Connor stars in this one-person play written by Herbert Mitgang. The show relies heavily on Lincoln’s own words and, according to the Hoogland Center, “features the folksy wisdom of Lincoln’s biography and the transcendent grandeur of his nation-healing words as president, healing that was cut short by an assassin’s bullet.” Mitgang is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Cher Show at the UIS Performing Arts Center
Three women bring icon’s story, songs to the stage Some say superstars come and go but Cher is forever. So it certainly appears. In this Tony Award-winning musical, three women portray different phases of the iconic singer’s life: “the kid starting out, the glam pop star and the icon.” They’ll bring 35 hit songs from […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Musical drama tells story of family coping with crisis
Next to Normal is a musical drama that chronicles how a suburban family copes with the unpredictability of a mother’s worsening bipolar disorder. Written by Brian Yorkey, the play won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama and three 2009 Tony Awards. It takes audiences into the minds and hearts of each character during the crisis, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Arthur Miller’s classic 1949 play hits the stage for one weekend only
In 1949, Death of a Salesman won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and a Tony Award for best play. This weekend, the Spencer Theatre Company brings the classic tale to Springfield. Directed by John Sivak, Death of a Salesman stars Jim Leach as traveling salesman William “Willy” Loman. The play is set in the last […]
