Category > The Weekender
FRIDAY Take back the streets: It's been a rough month for cyclists in Champaign-Urbana, with one fatality and two significant injuries as a result of car-bike crashes. It's a good time for some solidarity. Critical Mass meets at 5:15 p.m. at the Alma Mater. Come on out and show support for the bike community. Or, if you happen to see them out, make sure to give them the ultimate gesture by slowing down and carefully passing. In the end, we …
FRIDAY Demolish your weekend: If there is one thing at the annual County Fair that is definitely head and shoulders above the rest of it, it's the Demolition Derby — the annual slugfest that pits beat up cars against beat up cars, barely running but with just enough juice to still wreck the shit out of each other. In recent years, the event's popularity has risen, and as such, they have increased the amount of Derby's you can attend. This …
FRIDAY Spend an evening under the stars with music: There is little doubt that Krannert Center is continually providing us with a wide variety of options when it comes to the performing arts. And one of their greatest talents is convincing those with deep pockets in town to hand it over for the common good. And that's exactly what they did with their series Outside at Research Park. Tucked in between a few of the newer buildings on First and …
FRIDAY Despereaux, why don't you come to your senses?: Grab a blanket, some bug spray, and a hip flask and head over to Centennial Park to check out a big-eared mouse. There's a free showing of The Tale of Despereaux at 8:30 p.m. The Champaign Park District and Fluid Events are collaborating on this one, and concessions are available for purchase. Eat the Zyggy: Now is as good a time as any to check out Zyggyz, in the Skylight Court …
FRIDAY Celebrate the "Sun": In the seventies, every community in the U.S. worth a damn had their own version of a classic rock band, mixing all the right components together to create one soulful, inspired mix. In Champaign, we had plenty. One of them, however, has decided to bring it back for a special reunion performance tonight at the Red Herring. Pravda recording artists, Big Daddy Sun, helped define the rock scene during the disco era. They will be reforming …
Wow, is it hot. No two ways about it. FRIDAY The not-so-secret life of bees: Take the kids to the Douglass Branch Library this afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. for Pollination Station, part of National Pollinator Week. Bees make the plants grow, ya know? Caution, baby: That's the English translation of the seminal 1991 U2 album Achtung Baby!, but it's also a warning to everyone out there: it's the name of the newest tribute band in town, as well. …
FRIDAY Me and you and a did-jer-i-du: Head to B. Lime Green Store (12 E. Washington, Champaign) from 6 to 7 p.m. to meet the folks from Tree Thump and check out the didjeridus that they make and play. Taste a bunch of food: It's a good time for everyone who chooses to attend, and while it's not by any means a true sampling of what C-U has to offer, it's a nice microcosm. Plus, this year features a little …
The weather's heating up, and so are the deals... FRIDAY Something for your punk ass: Head out to the McKinley Foundation (809 S. Fifth St.) for the best punk that $5 can buy, from Massachusetts' O.F.C., Wisconsin's Class Conviction, Chicago's Evil Empire, and C-U's own We Must Dismantle All This! The show starts at 7 p.m. Really. Go see this movie: OK, so the weather is great, and you should be in your garden and riding bikes and hiking in …
FRIDAY Eat lunch with your good friend, Ryan Groff: The Champaign Park District's Eat to the Beat program is from noon to 1 p.m. at West Side Park, and features some lunchtime tunes from Groff in the band shell. Free. Get your face melted: In the summertime, Canopy Club is known as ground zero for Metal and this weekend they start by hosting some of the hardest hitting, bone-crunching rawk in all of Illinois. Friday night is no different as …
Stay safe out there, kids! FRIDAY The day the bikes took over: Meet at the Alma Mater (just southeast of the intersection of Green and Wright) at 5:15 p.m. for Critical Mass. High art, low bar: You normally wouldn't think of Mike 'N Molly's to be the place to see a brand new art show, but this weekend it is. Elise Putnam will be premiering a whole new series of work that is comprised of drawings and soft sculptures. So, …
Most Recent Culture Comments
@Jason: You’re right about that. I get groceries at Schnucks (they carry what I buy, which I can’t say of any other single grocery store in town), and if they have a beer I’m in the market for it’s usually a quarter or two cheaper per 6-…
Best Neighborhood Bar (& Grill) : Urbana - My ‘hood- the ‘Boom! http://www.boomerangbarandgrill.com Go on a Wing Wednesday or Fish Friday, or see a band play some night. Local blue-collar Urbana terroir galore. My only beer snobbish gripe is lack of a pale hopped ale, but you…
The one thing that’s bothered me for a while about the Friar is that, for most commonly purchased adult beverages, you can actually walk down the strip mall to Schnucks and get them cheaper. It makes no sense, but there it is. I suspect it’s because Schnucks…
Maybe I complained enough in person. One time I even explained to the (wholly uninterested) clerk how to navigate the Illinois Statutes web page, and Savoy’s Municipal Code database I wouldn’t know because I only go there when I want to pay 30% more for anything, which is never.
@Rob: You seem to have the weirdest experiences. I’m in Friar Tuck every other week (don’t tell my mom that I’m a lush). They never fail to ask for my birth date but never my age, they never card afterwards, and they often allow me to use…
This column affords me a long-awaited opportunity. I’ve wanted to write my own column called Fuck You Friar Tuck Liquors. but I always thought it’d be too pithy. Here, I can say Fuck You Friar Tuck Liquors and not feel bothered to stretch it out to 750…
Ha! Exactly. You, sir, are welcome at the bar in My House.
Why wait ‘til 3 pm?
I’m excited to go tonight- should be very fun!
Most Recent Comments
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Super cool! Excellent track, Excellent band.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.
Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
*slow. clap.* Still offering no threat of intelligence…. I know I said I thought you should just write this whole column yourself next year, Isaac, but now that you’ve gone and taken a “part deux” run at it, I’d like to modify my request: Best Music 2013,…
Actually, it’s kind of nice, the quiet. John Heoffleur’s engaging commentary/dialogue is sorely missed, however. In lieu of someone intelligent saying something, I’ve compiled a list of Honourable Mentions: BEST ROCK BAND: Take Care ::these gentlemen have four completely different sets at their disposal right now (which…
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The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!