IT Picks

Orchids are beautiful house plants that produce lush, blooming flowers when bathed in enough sunlight. This weekend, view and shop from a selection of beautifully grown orchids and talk with Prairie State Orchid Society members, who will be able to recommend plants that will best fit your growing space and assist with the repotting of […]

On Sunday, Feb. 11, 3 p.m., take in an unforgettable performance by Vitaly Beckman, an innovative Russian illusionist who views magic as a form of art and strives to bring art to life using magic. Vitaly appeared on Penn and Teller’s British-American television show titled “Fool Us,” in 2016, where he successfully fooled the famous […]

On Thursday, Feb. 1, from 7-9 p.m., hear former white supremacist Joseph Pearce chronicle his life from racist revolutionary to his rejection of that ideology. Pearce, a former leader of the National Front, a British-nationalist, white supremacist group, is now a well-known college literature professor, currently serving as the Tolkien and Lewis chair in literary […]

On Saturday, Feb. 3, at 7:30 p.m., catch a hilarious performance by professional stage hypnotist Jeff Harpring. Jeff’s comedy hypnosis shows offer an interactive brand of humor where volunteers from the audience join Jeff onstage to experience hypnosis and become the stars of the show. This is a clean, family-friendly show, suitable for all ages, […]

On Feb. 6 and 7, join Ryder and the Paw Patrol pups for an unforgettable live-action adventure during Paw Patrol: Race to the Rescue at Sangamon Auditorium. The show is set on the day of the Great Adventure Bay Race, where Adventure Bay’s Mayor Goodway and Foggy Bottom’s Mayor Humdinger are scheduled to face off. […]

See Mark Nizer, one of the greatest entertainment comedians and jugglers of today, on Saturday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m., at Kirkland Fine Arts Center in Decatur. Mark’s one-man show has been astounding audiences around the world with feats such as juggling laser beams at 1,000 RPM, throwing ping-pong balls 20 feet in the air using […]

If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about the people, places and history behind the food you eat, this film festival is for you. The 10th Annual Slow Food Springfield Film Festival will run from 5 through 9 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 27, inside Foundation Hall at Springfield’s Old State Capitol State Historic Site. The […]

Hear a presentation by St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny on Saturday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m., inside the Sherman Gymnasium at Illinois College’s Bruner Fitness and Recreation Center. Matheny, who is about to enter his seventh season of management with the St. Louis Cardinals, will share stories from his career as a player and coach, […]

On Saturday, Jan. 20, take in an evening of stories and songs from songwriters Sally Barris, Amy Benton and Tom Irwin. Sally Barris is a sought-after Nashville songwriter who has penned music for Martina McBride, Kelli Pickler, Lee Ann Womack, Trisha Yearwood and others. Amy Benton, the organizer of this event, is a Taylorville native […]

Join the Vachel Lindsay Association on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 2-4 p.m., for the first “Poets in the Parlor” event of 2018. The featured poet will be Tim Hunt, author of three poetry collections (Poem’s, Poems & Other Poems, The Tao of Twang, and Fault Lines) as well as an assortment of chapbooks. Hunt’s accolades […]

Warm up on Friday, Jan. 26, with a hearty meal paired with a captivating presentation by Dr. Karl Luthin, a veterinarian who is experienced in training horses for film and television. Luthin has trained animals for Gods and Generals (2003), Glory (1989), Cold Mountain (2003), Gettysburg (1993), as well as HBO’s 2008 mini-series “John Adams” […]

The keynote speaker for the 43rd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, hosted by Frontiers International of Springfield, is W.J. Michael Cody, a practicing attorney in Memphis, Tennessee, with Burch, Porter & Johnson PLLC. During the Memphis sanitation worker strike of 1968, Mr. Cody was part of a small group of lawyers who […]