Abe’s River Race is a fun, family float that offers men, women and youth the opportunity to paddle 13.5 miles down the Sangamon River in canoes, kayaks and wooden boats. This year’s course is slightly longer than years’ past, running from Irwin Bridge to Lincoln’s Riverside Park. A shuttle will leave Riverbank Lodge in Petersburg […]
Petersburg
Posted inArts & Culture
Not your average fall festival
PHOTO BY DAVID HINE For most of us in the 21st century, fall is synonymous with fun. It’s a time for parties, pumpkin carving, corn mazes, costume contests, apple cider, trick-or-treating, haunted houses and more. However, in Lincoln’s 1830s New Salem, fall meant it was time for pioneers to prepare harvest and homestead for the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Just Abe
There are two days left to catch John O’Connor as Mr. Lincoln in the Theatre in the Park production Mr. Lincoln that opened with two amazing performances earlier in the month. A one-man play written by American playwright Herbert Mitgang and directed by central Illinois’ Carly Shank, Mr. Lincoln brings to the stage a portrayal […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Not a sleeper
PHOTO COURTESY THEATRE IN THE PARK Theatre in the Park at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site presents the Tony Award-winning musical comedy Pajama Game on Aug. 15-17 and 21-23. Directed by Sean Rose of Jacksonville, the storyline follows the clash between workers and managers at Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory. The production stars Becky Bertram (Petersburg) […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Unwavering spirit
The Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Dairy of Anne Frank opens Theatre in the Park’s summer season May 30. There will be six performances in the outdoor theatre at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site in Petersburg. “The play transports the audience back more than 70 years to experience what it was to be a Jew […]
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Lindsay’s ‘Little Turtle’ comes back to life
Vachel Lindsay, a lifelong resident of Springfield, internationally renowned poet and author of 20 books of poetry and stories, was born in 1879. Two years before Lindsay’s death in 1931 came the birth of George Colin, now an acclaimed artist who lives in Salisbury. Today the two central Illinois men have their works united in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Hauntingly festive
Lincoln Land Community College presents a mystical production of the classic holiday tale. With a cast of 20 performing almost 60 roles, a flying bed, sound effects and a beautiful underscore, you’ll enjoy the original Dickens story with a little something added to emphasize the ghost story in the play. Produced in association with Theatre in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Celebrating camelids
Families wanting to take their younguns out of town this weekend can experience the world of alpacas at Alpaca Farm Days at Alpacas of Indian Point Hills in Menard County. Your kids can see an alpaca up close and pet one if they want. There will be children’s activities such as pin the tail on […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Literary drama
Reserve your tickets now by phone for a performance of Prairie Voices and Lincoln and Shakespeare at Theatre in the Park indoor theater at Lincoln’s New Salem Sate Historic. Kevin Purcell directs and stars, along side local acting sensation Aasne Vigesaa, in Prairie Voices, a performance of poems and songs that celebrate the beauty of […]
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Musical glee
Theatre in the Park presents seven nights in the outdoor amphitheatre of its latest production, Disney’s spirited Camp Rock. Along the lines of the popular television show Glee, Camp Rock sings and dances its way through a storyline. Camp Rock now has competition from the newly opened Camp Star, located across the lake, so campers […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Magical plot
The outdoor amphitheatre at New Salem houses Theatre in the Park’s second production of the season, The Secret Garden, directed by Kari Catton. The musical by composer Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, is about 11-year-old orphaned Mary Lennox who returns to England from India to live with her uncle and his […]
Posted inOpinion
BIKING THE TRAIL
Wanted: Experienced Mountain Bikers. Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site near Petersburg wants you to help open Central Illinois’ newest mountain bike trail — billed by the organization as scenic and physically demanding. The 3.8-mile trail was constructed this summer and features steep climbs and descents along a very technical course through the woods. Less […]
