Home for heroes
Untitled Document Do you have a little one who loves to tie on a cape and play Superman? If so, head south to Metropolis for the 30th annual Superman Celebration, which will be held June 12-15 in this otherwise sleepy southern-Illinois town near the Ohio River. The superhero fans in your household will enjoy the…
Bugle boys
Untitled Document Morrisonville is the kind of Midwestern town where a basketball goal stands in every driveway, an American flag adorns every porch, and, residents joke, people can leave the keys in their cars just in case a neighbor needs to borrow one. The Christian County village of 1,068 also boasts three living recipients of…
Walking with ghosts
Untitled Document “We soon found ourselves on the grand prairies of Illinois, under a burning sun and without shade from one camp to another. They are vast as the ocean, and the eye seeks in vain for a tree. Not a drop of water can be found there — it was a veritable torture for…
Green outdoor clothing
Untitled Document Where can one find the best options for green-friendly outdoor clothing, as well as traditional items without the environmental guilt? Outdoor gear and clothing manufacturers are slowly but surely beginning to work materials crafted from recycled, reused, or otherwise sustainable sources into their products. Synthetics such as polyester and nylon have been the…
Double the pleasure
Untitled Document Champaign-Urbana, just about an hour-and-a-half away, has added or upgraded some new attractions that make the twin college towns a great day or weekend trip this summer. • Snack — In fall 2007, a little breakfast diner got a facelift and was transformed into one of Champaign’s most interesting eateries. The only recognizable…
Visiting outdoor Chicago
Untitled Document Once the school bell has rung for the last time, parents are ready to schedule a little summer fun for the family. Try a weekend in Chicago, where it’s easy to plan loads of outdoor fun activities that will thrill and amaze. With gas nearing $4 per gallon, the train may be the…
Summer lovin’
Untitled Document The first summer that Mike Dial went to camp, he spent a lot of time sitting in the administrative office. Plagued by attention-deficit disorder, hyperactivity, and, by his own admission, “a nasty temper,” Mike would become so enraged that staff members still recall the visible manifestations of his fury. “He would get so…
Not sparing Rod
Untitled Document A new statewide poll reveals that 59 percent of Illinois registered voters want the Legislature to begin impeachment hearings against Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The survey of 600 registered voters, conducted May 7-10, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. The Glengariff Group poll found that Blagojevich’s disapproval rating was…
Crack that whip!
Untitled Document Let’s be honest: Bringing back one of the most iconic figures in cinematic history after a 19-year absence is an act fueled by hubris or foolhardiness. Watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, though, I got the sense that director Steven Spielberg, producer George Lucas, and star Harrison Ford just…
Cap City
Untitled Document OUR OWN INFORMANT The best part of getting close to Matt Damon on the movie set for The Informant was — get this — the food. At least that’s the account we get from Jill Egizii, an extra who sat just behind Damon (winner of People magazine’s 2007 “Sexiest Man of the Year,” no…
The trails of Madison County
Untitled Document Having two sons, I’ve done my share of driving around the state on weekends — attending swim meets, soccer games, or cross-country meets over the years. As a spectator rather than a participant at these sporting events limited my cardiovascular activities. Other than carrying the lawn chairs and coolers from the car to…
Burning up the screen
Untitled Document Some of the big sequel guns (Indiana Jones, Narnia) had their releases in May, but plenty of action is left for the more traditional summer months. Release dates are subject to change. JUNE 6 Kung Fu PandaThe title tells the story in this very high concept animated feature from DreamWorks. Jack Black voices…
Some enchanted evening
Untitled Document “If music be the food of love, play on.” — William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night It always enchants me. My first experience with Ravinia was as a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. It’s the oldest outdoor music festival in North America and has been the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since…
The buzz on the Yellowjackets
Untitled Document The Yellowjackets is one of those bands — the kind with a small but almost rabid following. During the nearly 30 years the core of the progressive instrumental jazz band has been together, the group has won a couple of Grammys and has been nominated for several more and has remained in the…
Hot time in the city
Untitled Document Music fans don’t want to hear this reporter wax ecstatic about Loretta Lynn’s classic coo (she’s scheduled to play Sangamon Auditorium on June 28) or the return to the summer stage of Springfield favorite the Micah Walk Band (performing at the SOHO Music Festival on June 7). No, capital-city rockers, Illinois Times knows what…
Letters to the Editor
Untitled Document We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT RENEWABLES After reading William Risse’s letter to the editor “Why I oppose proposed wind farm” [May 1] I…
It’s cool to be in school
Untitled Document It’s funny how we spend our youths feverishly anticipating the end of the school year — and the completion of our educational careers — so we can go on road trips with our friends, laze around on sandy shores, and start earning a living. Then suddenly we become adults and realize that life…
The winding wine road
Untitled Document You’ve just packed up the kids, their favorite stuffed animals, and their Game Boys and shipped them off to Grandma’s house. You’re stoked about staking out the couch, bag of pretzels in one hand and a glass of Chianti in the other. But as you start to settle in, it hits you: You’re…
Summer rolls
Untitled Document Spring’s been cool so far, but we know they’re on their way: hot days, sultry days, days when the combination of heat and humidity makes it impossible to stay completely dry unless the air conditioning is dialed down to environmentally incorrect levels. When I’m not interested in eating anything hot, much less standing…
Gaps in the fence
Untitled Document If good fences make good neighbors, what about bad fences? You could ask local officials and residents along the U.S.-Mexico border about that. They hate the monstrous wall that Bush and the Congress have decreed be erected to separate our countries. Not only is the wall a repugnant blemish on their landscape, severing…
People’s Poetry
Untitled Document poemonpoems #4 in some papers of my grandma from the twenties or thirties I found where she’d apparently been trying to enter a limerick contest extolling the virtues of a product maybe still around but has dropped the old from its name since nobody likes any thing labeled old except maybe cheese…
Picks of the season
Untitled Document Old Capitol Farmers’ Market Through Oct. 29 Asparagus. Strawberries. Green beans. Tomatoes. Peaches. Honey. Jellies. Eggs. Chicken. Cheese. Apples. Pumpkins. Gourds. That’s only the beginning of what you’ll find at the Old Capitol Farmers’ Market. “This event is six months long,” says Ann Frescura, Downtown Springfield Inc. event director. “Anything that can be…
Take a ride
Untitled Document Adlai Stevenson, vice president under Grover Cleveland, once visited the Old Salem Chautauqua just south of Petersburg. So did populist lawyer William Jennings Bryan, African-American educator Booker T. Washington, and firebrand preacher Billy Sunday. The Petersburg-area Chautauqua, part of a national movement of educational assemblies that exposed participants to the great ideas of…
Have yourself a ball
Untitled Document “Most folks just don’t seem to have a taste for testicles no more,” said the waitress who served Chevy Chase’s character the two-year-record-breaking 29th helping of lamb fries in the 1988 film Funny Farm. Though it may be true in many parts of the country that people have lost their appetite for animelles,…
Test your limits
Untitled Document If anyone marks the end of winter’s chill and spring’s fickleness with glee, it’s the capital city’s walkers and runners. They stream out of the woodwork, infiltrating Washington and Lincoln parks, bopping to the beat of their iPods and shaking off the indoor-exercise blues. Many are daytime desk jockeys who crave fresh air…
Recycle your food waste
Untitled Document We’ve all heard of the three R’s — reduce, reuse, and recycle — but many people have added a fourth R: rot, the recycling of food waste and other organic material through composting or vermicomposting. When these products are allowed to rot into compost, they are cycled back to the earth, thereby keeping…
Summer Guide 2008
Untitled Document Welcome to Summer Guide 2008. This is our 25th annual look at the season most associated with play. In addition to our calendar of summer events and special focus on fun activities, we’re including our regular section identifying trips worth taking. Unlike previous years, we’ve decided to stay within the borders of Illinois.…
Summer Guide Calendar 2008
Untitled Document Unless otherwise noted, events are in Springfield and Sangamon County. Information for some event was incomplete at press time. Check upcoming editions of Illinois Times for details. MAY Through Oct. 29 Old Capitol Farmers’ Market Every Wednesday and Saturday, the downtown market features more than 60 vendors selling farm produce, flowers, and food.…
