Colorful cavalcade
This is your day to come out and show your respect and support with other tolerant and loving folks at Springfield PrideFest, May 19, downtown Springfield. Organized by The Phoenix Center, the party takes place on Capitol Avenue between Fourth and Sixth. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community celebration promises to make you laugh…
Pioneering the past
Clayville Spring Festival is May 19-20 at the Clayville Historic Site, just east of Pleasant Plains on Route 125, and not far outside of town following Jefferson Ave. west. The old stage coach stop village comes alive with pioneer artisan and craftsman demonstrations, historic building tours, pony rides, pioneer crafts and games for kids, 40…
Celtic menagerie
Chatham Community Park is transformed into a Celtic venue for the Springfield Area Highland Games and Celtic Festival on Saturday, May 19. The gathering offers ancient athletic, highland dance and bagpipe band competitions, clan info, vendors and public participation events like Ladies Haggis Hurl, Bonniest Knees, Tug of War and Kids Kettle Toss. Rain or…
Fountain of death
How did that song go again? I had it right on the tip of – oh yeah. “I hope I die before I get old.” Apparently you have a good chance to doing just that if you live in Sangamon County. A health research center at the University of Washington in Seattle recently published the…
I get a kickball out of you
My boyfriend of three months is 22, and so am I. He tells me he loves me but is horrible about returning texts and calls and following through with dates. (He seems to ditch me if something better comes along.) He also doesn’t treat me very well around others. Recently, he got really drunk at…
Fare and square
One-of-the-most popular spring soirees in our area, the Old Capitol Art Fair is always a fun and inspiring weekend of fine art and community camaraderie. Head to downtown Springfield Saturday or Sunday to view or purchase original wares by juried artists from around the country. There’s something for everyone — jewelry, sculpture, photography, glassware, pottery,…
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Making chemical giants happy at our expense
Thanks to the blessings of nature and good farmers, you and I can enjoy such scrumptious delights as fresh corn-on-the-cob, popcorn and many other variations of this truly great grain. And now, thanks to Dow Chemical and federal regulators, we can look forward to “Agent Orange Corn.” The chemical giant is in line to gain…
Stand-up humor
Nationally-known comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer performs at The Legacy Theater on Friday, May 18. With appearances on Letterman, HBO, Bravo, Logo, GSN and across the United States, the popular lesbian comedian was the first openly gay comedian to appear on television. Suzanne has new material thanks to several changes in her life, and she quips, “Even…
Illinois vintage
The Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association, Downtown Springfield, Inc. and the Old Capitol Foundation offer a festival featuring 16 Illinois wineries and breweries both Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, in downtown Springfield in conjunction with the Old Capitol Art Fair. Open to anyone 21 years of age or older, the event is held…
Justice for black farmers
The 180-day period for monetary claims by black farmers against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) expires this month. May 11, 2012 was the last day for black farmer claimants to file their claim form. When these farmers filed their class-action lawsuit in the mid-1990s (Pigford vs. Glickman), they were acting on what had…
Powerful message saves this Bully
There’s plenty of blame and shame to go around in Lee Hirsch’s Bully, a flawed yet compelling documentary that puts our nation’s bullying epidemic under the microscope. Shot in 2010, the film opens with a heart-wrenching look at Tyler Long, a boy who was the object of such hate and vitriol that he took his…
PUPPY LOVE (AND CATS, TOO)
Euthanasia rates for stray dogs and cats in Sangamon County are the lowest they’ve ever been, says Mary Ann Morris, president of Friends of Sangamon County Animal Control (SCAC). “Maybe it’s because we’re all working together,” Morris says, referring to cooperation between her nonprofit group of volunteers, SCAC itself and the Springfield-based Animal Protection League,…
Action Now protests federal budget cuts
A group of 15 to 20 individuals and members of Action Now gathered outside Republican headquarters in Springfield May 10 to protest and question the decision making of U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson. Johnson, R-Urbana, who previously had shown support for the recently passed $ 3.6 trillion federal budget chaired by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan,…
NOT SO DANGEROUS?
When Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2010, it left a big pool of money that had previously been used to ensure people charged with capital crimes got fair trials. Totaling almost $17.8 million, the money was rolled over into a new fund that provides services for families of murder victims and training for law…
Weapons of mass deliciousness
It’s performance art. It’s more than a little quirky. It’s fun but also somewhat disconcerting – something that makes you think. And, above all, it’s delicious. It’s the Enemy Food Truck, the inspiration of Chicago-based artist Michael Rakowitz. The Enemy Food Truck is just one element of a current exhibition at the University of Chicago’s…
Chipping away
A review board for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission has rejected a Springfield bankruptcy attorney’s appeal of an ARDC hearing board recommendation that his law license be suspended due to unethical and dishonest conduct. The decision by the review board brings the matter of John Stephen Narmont one step closer to resolution. The…
Run to remember a special veteran
When Brian McMillen walked into her office at Lincoln Land Community College in 2002, Jenny Gietl knew there was something special about him. McMillen had just returned from his second year of active duty in the U.S. Air Force, where he was stationed in Saudi Arabia and Romania, and was looking for a job in…
Curfew canceled. SOHO saved. For now.
Amid the many calamities occurring everywhere all the time, the Springfield music scene recently had our very own crisis to overcome. Mayor Michael Houston announced last Thursday morning on the Jim Leach Show (WMAY 970 AM) during a discussion about downtown and making it “a center of activity,” that certain street music festivals would be…
Letters to the Editor 05/17/12
RETIREMENT SOLUTIONI think I may have come up with the solution for current and future state retirees and our concerns about health insurance and retirement. I think we should just operate under the same principal that our wizened leaders do. Even though you are living on a fixed income or have spent a lifetime planning…
Making downtown lovable
What started as a search for office space has turned into an investment adventure for Springfield architect Larry Quenette. He took a gamble when he decided to turn the three-story Dunn Building at 201 E. Adams St. into high-end loft apartments in Springfield’s downtown, but the gamble appears to be paying off. Six of the…
Always chasing rainbows
Don’t-ask-don’t-tell is gone. Civil unions are the law of the land in Illinois. The president, who three years ago declared June to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month, says gay marriage is fine by him. The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down homophobic sodomy laws. So what’s the point of PrideFest? “We just…
Excellent ales
Join hundreds of other ale aficionados and those looking for a good party at the Springfield Jaycees International Beer Festival held Saturday evening, May 19, at the Illinois Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Sample more than 100 beers with specialty rare beers served on the hour. The first 750 attendees receive a commemorative glass.…
Cullerton may end legislative session May 31
Senate President John Cullerton has been telling some of his members for weeks that he was resigned to an overtime session. The General Assembly likely wouldn’t be able to adjourn by the scheduled May 31 deadline, he said. There was just no getting around it, so people should just accept that fact and move forward.…
