IT Picks

From July 23 through 25, aviation enthusiasts will have the opportunity to explore and/or fly aboard extremely-rare vintage WWII aircraft during the 110-city “Wings of Freedom Tour” hosted by The Collings Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit educational foundation devoted to direct audience participation in “living history” events. The tour, which will touch base in Springfield at […]

Don’t miss The Muni’s production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. Based on the Legally Blonde novel by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film by the same name, the musical contains music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin plus a book by Heather Hach. The story follows Elle Woods, the quintessential Valley Girl who has […]

On Saturday, July 14, enjoy a debut concert by Spero Chamber Chorale, a new, Springfield-based choral ensemble founded as an outlet for local music teachers and professional singers. According to Dr. Abby Musgrove, the Chorale’s founder and conductor, spero is the Latin word for hope, and the choir’s mission is to bring hope and joy […]

On Tuesday, July 10, attend a book signing and presentation featuring author and former assistant of 10 years to Ronald Reagan, Peggy Grande. Peggy’s book, titled The President Will See You Now: My Stories and Lessons from Reagan’s Final Years, offers a candid look at Reagan’s post-presidential years as the former president met with world […]

Anybody’s Story: 200 Years of Illinoisans and Their Stuff is a series of vignettes inspired by the “Bicentennial and Beyond” exhibition at the Illinois State Museum, which features rare and rarely-seen artifacts from the museum’s 13.5 million-object Illinois Legacy Collection. During this two-hour performance, a lost tourist stumbles into the back room of an Illinois […]

When it comes to getting the most bang for your buck, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more extensive small-town festival than Assumption Fest. This epic three-day festival with free parking and free admission meets all the standards for old-fashioned family fun, with pork chop dinners, car cruises and car shows, kiddie and adult tractor […]

Don’t miss Beatles vs Stones, a high-energy musical showdown on Friday, June 29 at 8 p.m. at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. During this top-rated event, The Fab Four will be represented by Beatles tribute band Abbey Road while the Rolling Stones will be represented by Satisfaction, a Rolling Stones tribute band. Beatles vs […]

Catch the final weekend of The Muni’s stage adaptation of Sister Act, the hilarious 1990s comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg as Deloris Van Cartier, a Las Vegas lounge singer, who, after discovering the criminal activity of her boyfriend, enters the witness protection program disguised as a nun at St. Katherine’s Parish in San Francisco. Sister Act, […]

Celebrate Springfield’s achievement of bronze status as a “Bicycle Friendly Community.” This casual-paced, one-hour tour of some of Springfield’s on-road bicycle facilities starts and ends at Cafe Moxo during the downtown farmers market. This designation by the League of American Bicyclists recognizes the many ways in which city and local organizations have worked during the […]

On Sunday, June 24, tour four community gardens and the rooftop garden at Maldaner’s Restaurant during the Roots to Rooftop Tour, sponsored by Slow Food Springfield, University of Illinois Extension, Maldaner’s, the Springfield Civic Garden Club, Grow Springfield and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. The tour runs from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with each garden […]

Tour a family farm near Rochester and enjoy a hands-on lesson on flower arranging during this installment of the “Women Who Farm Field Day” series, brought to you by The Land Connection. This event will be led by Violet Veenstra, a former high-school teacher turned full-time farmer. Violet manages the flower side of her family’s […]

Enjoy safe recreation with minimized vehicular traffic in Washington Park now through the end of September during the Springfield Park District’s annual “Bike and Hike Days.” “Bike and Hike Days” will occur on Sundays from 8 a.m. through 4 p.m., and “Modified Bike and Hike Days” will take place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings […]