There is one more reason to celebrate this Monday, March 17. Yes, yes, it is St. Patrick's Day, and that's a good reason, too...

HOWEVER...

Deke Weaver will be bringing a special one-man version of his show WOLF to the Art Theatre Co-op for one night only!

There will be two performances that night—one beginning at 6:00 p.m., the other at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $9, and all proceeds will go to the Art Theater Co-op.

If you haven't seen WOLF yet, or if you haven't yet experienced any of Weaver's other brilliant theatrical endeavors, I cannot recommend this event highly enough. Of the number of people I've encountered in the local theatre community, Weaver is right at the top of my list of those I would consider pure artists. His is a unique voice, and his Unreliable Bestiary series is an ongoing work that should be witnessed by as many lovers of the arts as humanly possible.

Make this part of your plans for St. Patrick's Day, people. The bar will still be there after the show.

And now, for the best deal you can imagine on something as delicious as the absolutely perfect combination of: BAGEL + SCHMEAR + NOVA LOX.

Now until March 16th, print out this coupon here: http://www.einsteinbros.com/offer

And get not one, but two of these bad boys at any of the Einstein Bros. in C-U:

Now that's good eating.

The Unofficial celebration was on yesterday, and it even made some people from across the pond talk about it. Check out the article on The Daily Mail here.

Sad face.

Tune in today at 5:30 to WEFT 90.1 FM for a very special one-hour episode of Smile Politley Radio as we take a long, drunken walk down Memory Lane with hosts John and Jason bidding farewell to thieir studio mics.  There will special guests GALORE helping send these two long-time SP Radio staples off to greener pastures (not an "Unofficial" reference). 

LISTEN LIVE, some material may not be suitable for rebroadcast or podcastings.

Smile Politely Radio airs each Friday at 5:30 on WEFT 90.1 FM in Champaign, and is available as a podcast the following week.

Hairspray Jr., the classic musical performed by area youth, will continue to stage this weekend at the Historic Virginia Theater in Downtown Champaign. 

This version of the performance is fast-paced, fun, and adapted to appeal to kids. Lots of musical numbers and a great way to introduce your kids to the art of theater.

Concessions: always available and always affordable.

Performances on Friday March 7th, at 7p and on Saturday the 8th at 2pm and 7pm.

Tickets available online here or at the box office.

See you there!

This year's EbertFest, the first that Roger himself did not directly curate, will feature screenings of Oliver Stone's classic post-Vietnam war film Born on the 4th of July, along with Young Adult starring Patton Oswalt and Charlize Theron, along with LIFE ITSELF, the Martin Scorcese backed Ebert documentary that will be released worldwide later this year.

Oliver Stone and Patton Oswalt will both be appearing live at The Virginia Theater as part of the festival...

More on this soon...

On Friday, March 28th, the Art Theater Co-op will be showing Wes Anderson's new buzzed about film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Prior to this, the film will only be in limited release nationwide, opening March 7th only in New York City and Los Angeles. 

This is pretty cool news. This film seems to hold more promise than his last movie, Moonrise Kingdom. (Or at least I'm hoping...)

To see a trailer and other clips of The Grand Budapest Hotel trailer, click here. Information on showing times and movie prices have yet to be announced, but will eventually be up on the Art's page here. 

To lead up to the release, the Art will be showing other films by Anderson, which can also be found on their website.

Do you enjoy books, food, or bad puns? The 9th annual Edible Book Festival is being held Tuesday, April 1st, at the University YMCA on Wright St. From the website, this year's categories are:

Best Depiction of a Classic
Best Visual Presentation
Most Appetizing
Funniest/Punniest
Best Entry Based on Book for Children or Teens
Best Collaborative Creation
People's Choice
Special Category TBA

You can pre-register your creation now, or look up additional information and see past submissions, by clicking here. Anyone from the C-U area is welcome to submit and join in on the April 1st festivities.  

Starting Monday, March 10th, some east Urbana residents will experience a change in traffic flow. Monday through Friday during school months, Anderson Street from Florida to Pennsylvania will be one way going north. The change is in effect before school (7:30-8:30 a.m.) and after school (2:30-3:30 p.m.). There will also be an area for cars dropping off students; drivers will be able to deposit kids right in front of the sidewalk. School and city officials hope to increase safety for students while improving efficiency of travel for school staff and parents. The Urbana Police Department will facilitate the change.

As of Tuesday March 4, 2014, the Urbana Butcher Shop is offically selling whole, locally raised pheasants.

What's a pheasant? It's a game bird, closely related to a quail, but bigger, and meatier, and quite frankly, more delicious. 

$13/lb — for the best bird you've eaten since your Bourbon Red on Turkey Day.