Champaign County

That was a lot to take in for the first round of our Food + Drink Tournament, which kicked off on Monday with our Round of 32 matchups. Our Food + Drink Editor Alyssa Buckley …

Whether it’s visual or performance art, literature or film, C-U has always nurtured a vibrant arts community, and this is your opportunity to be a part of it. You can see shows before they debut, talk …

Loose Cobra in Tolono is setting the stage on March 22nd for a noteworthy collaboration as Sisters and Birdhands come together, blending talents from well-known bands in the rock and alternative music scenes. This isn’t …

Folks, we made it. March is finally here and bringing with it college basketball postseason games and a chance for us true sporting fans, gambling addicts, and washed-up athletes to distract ourselves from work and …

The roadside ice cream shop Sidney Dairy Barn is now open for the season. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings, Sidney Dairy Barn offers ice cream cones, bowls, pints, quarts, shakes, and signature tornadoes. Last …

March is International Women’s Month and an excellent opportunity to do a temperature check of how women are faring in C-U. Spoiler alert: We have a long way to go in dismantling the patriarchy and …

In 2018, the Champaign County Board sold the Champaign County Nursing Home. In 2023, that facility was shut down by the private market entity that bought it. In five short years, our once publicly-run elder …

If you’re a crafty person in the area, here’s a cool new opportunity for you from the CU Community Fab Lab: We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Champaign County Community (CCC) Maker-in-Residence …

March has arrived, which means it is bracket time. If you’ve followed along for the last few years here on Smile Politely, you’re familiar with our tournament of Champaign-Urbana related things. We’ve done food and drink (2019), icons (2020), pizza (2022), parks (2023), and …