IT Picks

Take in a fun-filled afternoon of art and science activities during the Illinois State Museum’s “Backyard Art and Science Family Event” on Saturday, June 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The rain-or-shine event showcases a variety of educational activities and demonstrations that kids ages 5 and up can recreate with their families in their […]

Celebrate dad during the “Wild West Festival” on Sunday, June 17, at Indian Creek Farmstead and Pumpkin Patch. The live entertainment, food and fun begins at 11 a.m. and features the Dan Barth Medicine Show, The Whip Guy, music and rope tricks by Cowboy Randy and the Running Wild Drill and Trick Riding Show. Admission […]

On Saturday, June 9, visit Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site to attend a book signing in celebration of Young Lincoln, a historical fiction novel for readers of all ages. Young Lincoln is written by St. Louis-based middle-school humanities teacher and author Jan Jacobi and has been described as “a cracking good story – one […]

Don’t miss the Springfield Youth Performance Group’s production of Alice in Wonderland on Saturday, June 9 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. The engaging and energetic ballet will feature new choreography by SYPG artistic director Caitlin Helton Scherer plus more than 55 local, young performers. “Alice in Wonderland is an ideal production to appeal […]

In 2016, Our Vibrant Community and genHkids teamed up to design a community garden mural to compliment the community garden located on the west side of the Gus and Flora Kerasotes YMCA. The community garden is made possible by genHkids and the Kerasotes YMCA, and the mural was made possible by the Springfield Area Arts […]

The Legacy of Giving Music Festival, a two-day charitable festival that donated more than $23,000 in proceeds to local charities in 2017, will once again offer Springfield the opportunity to enjoy more than 60 local, regional and national music acts spread out across five stages, as well as a vendors’ fair, children’s area, food and […]

For someone who wasn’t around during the Civil War, playwright John Woodruff must know it pretty well. Of course, it helps to have family members who fought in that conflict. That’s part of the inspiration for Drummer Girl: A Civil War Journey, the play he wrote. In Drummer Girl, the main character, Lorena, starts out […]

Children ages 5-13 are invited to enjoy a morning of fishing alongside members of the Springfield Police Department on Sunday, June 3, at Southwind Park in Springfield. Registration will take place from 9-9:15 a.m., and fishing instruction will begin at 9:30 a.m. All fishing equipment will be provided, and all participants will receive a souvenir […]

Mark Gifford and Damien Kaplan’s popular Dual Piano show returns to the Hoogland Center for the Arts May 25-27 at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. While Mark and Damien are very different musicians, this dynamic duo has found a place together by playing, singing and inviting others to have […]

On May 19, Springfield Pridefest, the gayest celebration in town, returns for another year. The festivities kick off with a parade at 11:30 a.m., beginning at Fifth and Allen streets, leading north up Fifth Street to Jackson Street, and entering the Pridefest grounds via Capitol Street for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon. The afternoon will […]

Bring your friends, families, blankets and lawn chairs to the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon on Friday, May 18, and settle in for a showing of Disney’s Coco, the first installment of the Springfield Park District’s 2018 “Movies in the Park” summer entertainment series. Coco is a 3D computer-animated fantasy film that tells the story of […]

Attend a book signing and presentation by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Garrow on Tuesday, May 22, in honor of his book Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama. The book, which provides the most detailed description of Obama’s life before entering the White House, uses interviews and meticulous reporting to showcase Obama’s political ambitions and […]