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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 grown in the state of Illinois, you can assume that you might find
it here.”
The 2008 farmers’ market got under way
Wednesday and runs through Oct. 29. More than 60 farmers and growers sell
their produce 8 a.m.-1 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday from stands set up
along Adams Street between Third and Fifth streets. This year they’ll be joined by at least 20
artisans, who will exhibit and sell their artwork on the first and third
Saturdays each month. DSI says that artisans expressed an interest in
becoming part of the farmers’ market in the past, so the organization
called for entries and added juried submissions to the market’s
lineup. Visitors can expect everything from watercolors to pottery to
weaving in the new Artisan Area. “The combination of creating an environment
where you’re mixing local produce and local arts creates a very
positive and fun environment,” Frescura says. “We’re
trying to keep the market new and to add a little something each
year.”
Local musicians will also entertain visitors as they
wander through the market this year.
— Amanda Robert
Old Capitol Blues & BBQ Festival
August 23
As the smell of sizzling pork drifts by and the
twangy soul of blues entertains your ears, you imagine for one minute that
you’ve been transported to Tom Lee Park and Beale Street in Memphis,
Tenn. But then you realize that you’re just steps from home and lucky
enough to be participating in one of the hippest happenings Springfield has
to offer — the Old Capitol Blues & BBQ Festival. For the past four years, as many as 30 teams have set
up shop downtown, grilling pork ribs and shoulders from 11 a.m. to the 4
p.m. deadline. Judges determine the winner on the basis of the meat’s
appearance, tenderness, and taste — but in the meantime hungry
Springfieldians can visit all of the contestants’ booths and judge
for themselves. And because you shouldn’t have barbecue without
the blues, music shares the spotlight at this summer festival. Sonny
Landreth, a Grammy-nominated Cajun bluesman from southwestern Louisiana,
was last year’s headliner. Many other musicians joined in, performing
almost every variety of blues possible, from Chicago to urban to
Mississippi. This year’s lineup hasn’t been confirmed, but
organizers say it will be just as varied and satisfying as those of
previous years’ festivals. The 2008 Old Capitol Blues & BBQ Festival is
scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 23, noon-midnight, at Fifth and Washington
streets downtown. Keep an eye out for more information at
www.downtownspringfield.org.
— Amanda Robert
Illinois Shakespeare Festival
For more than 30 years the Illinois Shakespeare
Festival has hosted nationally known actors, who make the trip to
Bloomington each summer to perform three of the bard’s works or
adaptations. This year’s offerings are the romantic comedy The Taming of the Shrew, the
cruel tragedy Titus Andronicus, and the laugh-out-loud The
Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). Produced by Illinois State University, the festival
sets up shop each year in an outdoor theater on the grounds of Ewing Manor. Forty-five minutes before
curtain, theater novices and those looking to brush up on the play at hand
can watch a brief discussion about the show they are about to see, along
with fight demonstrations, a series of vignettes, and a performance by
madrigal singers.
One of Springfield’s best-known actors — Eric
Thibodeaux-Thompson, director of theater at the University of Illinois at
Springfield — performed at the festival in 2005 and 2006, playing
Duncan in Macbeth and Cicero in Julius Caesar, as well as some minor roles. “[The festival] is a wonderful first-class
operation,” Thibodeaux-Thompson says. “They have wonderful
leadership right now. It’s a rich, very strong program, in my
opinion.”
Theatergoers can make an evening of the event,
starting at 5 p.m. with a picnic on the Great Lawn of Ewing Manor. Pack
your own grub or pick up dinner items from one of the restaurants that fire
up grills on the grounds. “I think it is really important [the festival]
is where it is,” Thibodeaux-Thompson says. “Chicago is
wonderful, but I think it’s important to have high-caliber
professional theater at points in between. I would love for something like
that to be here in Springfield.”
The Illinois Shakespeare Festival runs June 27-Aug.
10. For information, go to www.thefestival.org.
— Marissa Monson
Route 66 Drive-In Knights Action Park & Caribbean
Water Adventure
In 1932, a guy from New Jersey nailed a white sheet
to some trees in his back yard and mounted a movie projector on the hood of
his car, and the drive-in movie theater was born. Drive-ins reached their peak popularity in the late
’50s, when there were about 4,000 outdoor cinemas across the U.S.
Over the years, the advent and evolution of the color TV, family sitcom,
cable television, VCR, cineplex, video-game system, DVD player, and home
movie-delivery service, expanded families’ entertainment options and
put the brakes on the drive-in. Today in most cities the closest thing
you’ll find to a drive-in is the nearest Sonic. Just under 400
drive-in cinemas remain in the U.S., according to the National Association
of Theatre Owners. So, Springfield, thank the heavens, go sit out under
stars, and enjoy your favorite Hollywood luminaries at the Route 66
Drive-In (1700 Recreation Dr., 217-546-8881, www.route66-drivein.com) this
summer. Route 66 shows a double feature each Friday and
Saturday night at dusk, and starting Memorial Day, May 26, you’ll be
able to catch flicks seven nights a week. The Recreation Drive entrance is
closed as a result of construction, so traffic will be diverted to Old
Chatham Road and Prairie Crossing. Adult tickets cost $6; children under 12
pay $3. Check Illinois Times for movie schedules.
Now that the Lake Springfield Beach is closed,
Knight’s Action Park & Caribbean Water Adventure, located right
next door to the drive-in, will be the place for a wet reprieve from the summer sun. Famous for
its 50-tee driving range, batting cages, go-karts, Big Wheel, and Royal
Flush water ride, Knight’s has added three fun features this year:
the Spring Ride, Paratrooper, and Giant Slide. Prices for the different
attractions vary. Go to www.knightsactionpark.com for complete information.
— R.L. Nave
Illinois State Fair
August 8-17
Fifteen years have passed since a magazine writer
described the Illinois State Fair as a “conscious affirmation of real
community, of state solidarity and fellow-feeling and pride” and a
“Xanadu of chintzola.”
We’ll take them both as compliments. This
year’s incarnation of the fair, which was started in 1853 to
celebrate Illinois agriculture, promises as much chintz and statetriotism
as ever before. “The fair is important to Illinois because
it’s a great opportunities for families across Illinois to get
together and embrace a great industry,” says fair manager Amy
Bliefnick. This year’s grandstand lineup of Trace Adkins,
Brooks and Dunn, Fergie, Vanessa Hudgens, Huey Lewis and the News, Weird Al
Yankovic, and ZZ Top was assembled, Bliefnick says, to reflect the
fair’s theme: “A Family Tradition.”
Of course, that means traditional favorites such as
the Butter Cow, arenacross motorcycle racing, truck and tractor pulls,
harness races, the Ethnic Village, Campus Town, livestock competitions,
beer tents, deep-fried victuals impaled on wooden sticks, and carnival
rides. Given the price of gas and the current state of the
economy, the fair’s an excellent bargain. Consider that in 1894
admission cost 50 cents, or $12 in today’s dollars. Today, tickets
for fairgoers over the age of 13 are just $3 — the lowest in the
nation — and kids 12 and under get in free. Check www.agr.state.il.us/isf/ for complete
schedules, event information, and concert-ticket prices. Fair planners are introducing a new ride called the
Freak Out, which works like a bucket of water swinging at high speed. On
this ride, you’re in the bucket, sitting in a seat that also spins.
Manufactured in the Netherlands, the Freak Out reaches a maximum height of
22 meters, roughly 72 feet. We did the math; now go enjoy the fair.
— R.L. Nave
This article appears in May 15-21, 2008.
