IT Picks

Second City Comedy Troupe opens its barrel of laughs onto Springfield Feb. 26-27 at the Hoogland. The troupe is one of four touring companies that perform around the world for the business dynamo Second City. Some of the funniest and most well known comedians, such as Mike Myers, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey, […]

Over the Moon Productions presents a play reading of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on Feb. 27 in downtown Springfield. The romantic comedy is all about mistaken identity, as the shipwrecked Viola masquerades as a male page. Pre-show music begins at 6:30pm. Fealty, a Renaissance music group also plays during the reading. Kevin Purcell directs. Shakespeare’s Twelfth […]

University of Illinois at Springfield’s “Political Art and the Public Sphere” series resumes for the spring 2010 semester with the viewing and discussion of the film Flow. Flow is an award-winning documentary investigation into what many experts call the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st century. The film builds a case against […]

Walk into Lincoln Memorial Gardens’ sugar bush as the garden taps its maples during Maple Syrup Time. Take part in one of multiple demonstrations taking place each Saturday and Sunday. Collect the sap as it flows from the trees and cook it down into pure maple syrup. Kids can help turn the brace and bit […]

Performing on the Sangamon Auditorium stage is the Grammy-award winning singing group with special guest John Hammond presented in cooperation with the Friends of Brookens Library to celebrate Black History Month. Formed some six and a half decades ago, The Blind Boys of Alabama predate Elvis, Little Richard and Al Green, yet even in their […]

Join Sangamon Valley Sierra Club, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Prairie Rivers Network and King Corn movie producers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis who traded their farming combine for a canoe to produce another 30-minute sequel movie entitled Big River. Big River documents how pollution from heartland agriculture is blamed for herbicide and storm water runoff causing […]

Hear and see the unique sounds and costumes of Celtic culture and pageantry as The Band of the Irish Guards and the pipes, drums and highland dancers of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland perform on stage at Sangamon Auditorium in their first U.S. tour. The Band of […]

Several free programs are scheduled this week for Black History Month. Nationally known author/historian Marc Aronson discusses his book, Race: A History Beyond Black and White, and the art of nonfiction Feb. 11, 6 p.m. at the Vachel Lindsay Home. Church leader and retired music teacher La Von Wilson reflects on “Life in Springfield through […]

Get transported to the French Quarter and celebrate Mardi Gras during an evening of hands-on activities for the entire family at the Springfield Art Association. While listening to live entertainment, make a crown, string beads, try your hand at carnival games and get your photo taken on Bourbon Street. All activities and artists’ demonstrations will […]

Looking for something special to synchronize your beating hearts this Valentine’s Day? A scrumptious, intimate candlelight dinner followed by romantic music is planned by Gordon Productions and the Hoogland Center for the Arts. The menu includes mouth-watering juniper and sage brined America’s cut pork chops topped with apricot-tassso sauce, homemade buttercrust rolls and more. Gus […]

Everything including the backdrops, costumes, choreography and sound is expansive and colorful in this production. The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, including a live orchestra, brings the ancient culture of Chinese dance and music to Springfield Tuesday night. The experience promises to leave you in awe. Shen YunTuesday, Feb. 9, 7:30pmSangamon Auditorium, UIS 206-6150$39-$80

Learn to recycle yard and food waste into soil fertilizer whether you’re a backyard gardener or a farmer with a large-scale project in mind. Experts will instruct you on composting organic materials and vermicomposting, reprocessing waste using worms. Sponsored by the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, University of Illinois Extension, City of Springfield’s Division of Waste and […]