Tom went to the YMCA charity Dump & Run, an unparalleled bazaar of objects each more fascinating and beautiful than the last. Here's the best stuff he saw, but didn't actually purchase while there.
The pandemic motivated local candle maker Kayla Brown to take her business, Fire Doll Studio, to the next level and open a location in Downtown Champaign.
Weaver Park in Urbana is a growing project, being created year by year, as the woodlands regrow, and the natural areas restore themselves. It is a marvelous place for a walk, particularly when there aren't quite that many mosquitos out and about.
Oh this might be the cutest lil park in all of Champaign-Urbana honestly, and we decided to do a video feature on it just because…
Harlan E. Moore, a man who lived deep into his 90s, and was something of a lumber tycoon around these parts, gave us this park and a lot more along the way. This is a nice park.
Julie speaks with Donna Cox, Director of the Advanced Visualization Lab at NCSA, as she begins a new chapter.
Cope brings Abecedarian Amble back with the letter Q, taking her on a quilting journey from C-U to Chicago.
Champaign County History Museum is ready for you visit.
A hidden gem in east Urbana, Crestivew Park offers a sensory experience unlike no other city park in town, and reminds us just how special Japan House on campus truly is.
Here is a small normal park in west Champaign located two blocks from another small normal park in the same neighborhood. OK!
Julie has some suggestions for rounding out your summer in C-U.
Brand spankin' new Commissioner's Park is a speculative job based on the idea that people are going to keep buying McMansions and making poor choices with their inheritance or investments. Also, a note on Judah Christian School, because it's worth making sure someone who works there or sends their kids there knows how Seth feels about it.
Julie discovers some interesting finds at Mercantile Antiques & Trade Co. in St. Joseph.
The Hosier Memorial Garden isn't a park, but rather, a lovely patch of flowers on the Rt. 45, otherwise known as Neil St. OK!
Here is a tiny little one acre park that serves few, and offers little, but still has value because it is open space to breathe freely.
Tom critiques some aesthetics (as usual) and also befriends a dinosaur in this month's Building/Feeling/Latrine.
Behind the old Carrie Busey elementary school, which is slated to be demolished with the new International Prep Academy, sits Wisegarver Park, and it is unremarkable, but still open green space, so it is, indeed, a park.
Champaign teen Loréal Allen shares how positive summer programming leads to community building, academic success, and fun.
Is Hessel Park the most comprehensive and best park in Champaign? It would appear to be the case and rightfully so!
Colbert Park is the crown jewel of Savoy parks, and it is a great place to spend a couple hours in the south part of CU.
After months of virtual open mic nights, CU Broad Comedy is live and in person with their inclusive brand of comedy.
Burwash Park is home to a playground, a small baseball diamond, a sand volleyball court, and more. It serves as a big space to spend some time with friends and family. Here's a good park in Savoy. Enjoy it!
This old park has been secretly telling stories since 1906. We are glad it's around!
Turnberry Ridge Park is a perfectly normal park that shares its name with a golf course in Scotland that is owned by Donald Trump. Great!
Here it is! The smallest park in Champaign-Urbana, Stampofski Park is so small you wouldn't even know it was a park unless you were writing a series about parks and saw it and said “Holy shit, that's a park?” Yep. It is a park.
Champaign-Urbana's premier maker space is celebrating 10 years of bringing people together to imagine and create.
Andrew looks back at the first half a summer that went from one of the the driest to one of the wettest in a matter of days.
Prairie Park in east Urbana is mostly forgettable, but serves its purpose, and plays host to a decent baseball diamond that features actual dirt in the batter's box and on the pitching mound. That's worth something, anyhow.
MTD bus operator Sarorn Chan makes an impact on the lives of her passengers every day.
There's no denying the impact of Meadowbrook Park in Urbana. Indeed, it is the result of half a century of work and planning, and it shows.
Inspired by her own experiences in the NICU, Paige Raab is on a mission to bring NICU families out of isolation and into a nest of community support.
This park is a lovely little spot in west Champaign, and yes there are a lot of geese here, because there's a big pond here. Do geese bother you? Get over it.
Photographic Presidents is an inviting and accessible trip through history led by a wise and witty guide. Pick up a copy. Consider it your civic duty.
Since 1909, Clark Park has been serving its neighbors well, and is hands down one of the finest parks in all the city. Here is a love letter to it, along with a video featuring drone shots of its small, but magnificent presence.
The history of Spalding Park is vast, but let's focus on the future — the near future — since big changes are coming. They are, indeed, long overdue.
Rithika chats with Dr. Rex Hess of Epivara Incorporation at the U of I about the company's revolutionary new technology and the recent $250,000 grant they've received from the National Science Foundation.
The City of Champaign and the Champaign Park District went to great lengths to reimagine this neighborhood, and the park that surrounds it is a fantastic addition to our community.
This classic Urbana park, tucked behind Thomas Paine Elementary school, has more than meets the eye.
Joan Dixon is retiring after nearly 20 years as President and CEO of Community Foundation of East Central Illinois, and Angie Hatfield Marker is taking the organization into the future.
The crown jewel of parks in the north side of Champaign, Douglass Park has improved vastly over the years, and continues to be a meeting place for many members of C-U's Black communities as we slowly inch towards more equity and resolution.
The McCollum family changed Champaign and changed the nation. We honored them with a strip of grass next to a major railroad that no well person would ever go hang around. Plus: mythbusters, Traffic Tickets and Drug Charges Edition!
Turn your eyes skyward with Central Illinois Aerospace as they kick off summer with their biggest launch of the year.
Urbana's fierce, talented young poets share what Juneteenth means to them in the fight for justice.
Champaign Freedom School is helping students reach their potential, while empowering them to help their community.
This 7.7 acre park is tucked into a neighborhood in west Champaign just off I-57 and I-72. It is simple and basic, but is nicely located for a lot of families living around it.
Behold! One of the best parks in Champaign and Urbana sits in the very heart of the city, and there's a lot to love, and a lot of opportunity for reimagining one of our oldest park spaces.
“I have this ridiculous amount of faith in how amazing and how strong and how resilient our girls can be.”
Here is a park in Savoy that isn't half bad at all, and filled with potential. Savoy just needs to get serious about Savoy. The people of Savoy are counting on Savoy!
Rithika talks to Carle medical student Aaron Brown and Charles Burton of Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club to learn more their efforts to provide and promote free vaccinations and health information to all communities.
