IT Picks

Saturday sizzles with the day-long outdoor World Horseshoe Cook-off in conjunction with the 100th Anniversary NHPA World Horseshoe Tournament running through August 8. Here 1,500 horseshoe pitchers compete for $170,000 in prize money and the title of world champion. You can walk over to the convention center and watch the pitchers for free, but the […]

Gordon Productions presents The Last Five Years, a musical by Tony award-winning Jason Robert Brown. The show employs unconventional narrative and a diverse musical score ranging from klezmer to rock. It explores the five-year relationship between Jamie, a rising novelist played by Matt Vala, and Catherine, a struggling actress played by Mary Kate (Gallina) Smith. […]

Hill Prairie Winery is the venue for an outdoor screening of a film shot in Menard County, produced by Petersburg natives Adam and Tom Galassi and Thomas Snyder and based loosely on the local legend of a boy, Raymond Colby, who claims he was carried off by a thunderbird to a magical place (recently highlighted […]

The Senate Special Committee on Aging says there may be as many as 5 million victims of elder abuse each year. Besides the obvious physical warning signs, changes in the senior’s personality or behavior may be a signal that a problem exists. Be alert to unexplained withdrawal from normal activities, unusual depression, sudden financial changes, […]

The Sweet Corn Festival is known for its good-to-the-last-bite buttery ears of corn and its infamous Illinois Championship Cow Chip Throw, once demonstrated by a Jaycee on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” Other highlights include a children’s area, a Sweet Corn Pageant and lots of great music both days. New this year is the Tour […]

You may have seen her paintings around town of the queen and king of hearts, diamonds, spades or clubs. Local artist Felicia Olin’s recent acrylics and mixed media pieces, including the work above titled, Love and Poetry #4, are on exhibit and for sale through August at the Robert Morris Gallery. Using materials or ideas […]

Remember those photographs of celebrities wearing milk moustaches? Here is your chance to snag your best milk mustache smile in a photograph while sampling local dairy milk from Deans Foods and Prairie Farms. As part of a national campaign and tour, you can also get a free health assessment from a local registered dietitian, a […]

Fried oyster poor boys, BBQ shrimp, pulled pork horseshoes, Mediterranean tofu salad, ribeye sandwiches, West African gumbo, grilled chicken portabella, risotto, gourmet desserts and more. If you think your mouth is watering now, wait until you try these delicious entrees prepared by downtown Springfield restaurants. While you eat, enjoy the sounds of a dozen different […]

This isn’t just a festival – this is a big party honoring the 200th birthday of Springfield’s most famous resident, Abraham Lincoln, in concurrence with Independence Day. Twelve blocks of activities will be staged on streets radiating out from the Old State Capitol and at Lincoln’s Home and Neighborhood, Union Park, Illinois State Museum and […]

In conjunction with the Capitol Bicentennial Celebration, the Jaycees present several bands and activities including rock climbing, mazes and inflatables. Perhaps the most unusual and exciting, Wii-rock, is the Recycled Records/Game Crazy Wii Rock Band Contest. From 5-8 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, teams of four can sign up at Recycled […]

Feast your eyes on the Fourth of July night sky as it fills with explosions of color and light. The Capital City Bicentennial Celebration concludes with fireworks above the Capitol building at 9:30 p.m. simulcast to music on radio station ABE 93.9. Knight’s Action Park puts on its display of skyart, called Fireworks Extravaganza, at […]

Cassie Poe and Rick Dunham, of Springfield, star as Milly and Adam in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Set in the 1800s Oregon wilderness, Milly marries Adam only to discover that life with Adam includes living with his six rowdy brothers. When the brothers kidnap six women to be their brides who become […]