September Festivals!

Arcola Broom Corn Festival! Sept 5, 6, and 7. Carnival, parade, arts & crafts, live music, beer & wine. Arcola has one of the best little downtowns in central Illinois. Don't miss the great prices on antiques at the Emporium.

Bruegala! Sept 5 and 6. Eighth annual festival of international beer held at the Interstate Center in Bloomington. Over 200 beers, six bands, and a bean bags (aka corn hole) tournament. Sounds perfect to me.

Havana Oktoberfest! Sept 5 and 6. German foods, arts & crafts, and carnival. Sept. 5: Oktoberfest Parade kicks off at 6 p.m. Muddy River Brass Band, Phat Kitten. Sept. 6: Polka Pace Race and 5k Walk/Run (sign-up 6:30 a.m.) at 8 a.m., followed by pancake and sausage breakfast; 3-on-3 basketball tournament, 10 a.m.; Eddie Korosa Jr. and the Boys from Illinois, Bob Dozak Band, Still Kick'n with Angela Martin.

Mt Pulaski Fall Festival. Sept 4, 5 and 6. Civil War-era encampment. Cavalry rides in festival parade; Regiment Band performs on courthouse lawn; 1854 Cast Iron Tombstone Trial reenactment in the courthouse courtroom. You shouldn't miss the donut eating contest and central Illinois band Poprocks always puts on a killer show.

Scovill Zoo fall festival! Sept 6 and 7 in Decatur. Activities, entertainment, animals, and a teddy bear repair and picnic.

Taste of Country Fair Festival & Rt 66 Reunion, Sept 5, 6, and 7 in Lexington. Parades, juried fine art show, antiques & crafts. Local food vendors and entertainment.

Chrisman Days Celebration, Sept 5, 6, and 7 in downtown Chrisman. Fish fry, garage sales, flea market, horse show, and entertainment.

New Salem Traditional Music Festival. Sept 6 and 7. Jam sessions, bluegrass, old time music. Lincoln's New Salem historic site.

Atlanta Fall Festival. Sept 11, 12, and 13 throughout Atlanta. Features music, a carnival, free petting zoo, car show, art & craft vendors, great food and pie & cake baking contest/auction.

Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Festival. Sept 12, 13, and 14 at the Logan County fairgrounds in Lincoln. This is a can't miss festival with railsplitting, corn shucking, tomahawk throwing and a Civil War ball.

Tower Hill Community Fall Festival! Sept 19, 20, 21. Friday, Talent Show & Karaoke. Saturday, Car & Motorcycle Show, Tractor Show, Produce "500", Kids Competition & Games, Garden Tractor Pull, Parade, Auction, Scavenger Hunt, Live Music. Sunday, Demolition Derby!!!

The Touchstone Energy Hydrofest NBRA National Hydroplane Boat Races. Sept 19, 20, 21 at the Wilborn Creek Recreation Area. This is one of the best race sites in the country with the fastest competitors. Don't miss this exciting event.

Marshall Autumn Fest! Sept 19, 20, and 21 in downtown Marshall. Arts & crafts, car show, you get the picture.

2nd Annual Gourd Festival, Sept 20, 21 (9 am to 4:30 pm) at the Clinton Jr. High School. Gourd arts & crafts. Free.

Arts in Central Park, Sept 20, 21, and 22 in downtown Decatur. Annual juried art festival.

Railroad Days: Monticello Railway Museum, Sept 20, 21. Ride the vintage passenger and freight trains as many times as you want. $12 adults, $10 seniors, and $8 children between the ages of 2 and 12.


Apple and Pork Festival! Sept 27 and 28 in Clinton. A true fall festival prominently featuring the foods of the season. Wear sturdy shoes and don't miss the fine art booths.

World Wide Day of Play, Sept 27 in Bloomington-Normal. Tipton Park, Anderson Park, and at the Children’s Discovery Museum. HUNDREDS of exciting ways to play. Visit one or all of these three locations and enjoy free, fun activities! Everything is FREE! In addition to the activities, there will be great prizes and goodie bags.

This list is not exhaustive. Please leave a comment to add your local September festival information.

Destihl

Are you looking for Distill, the new restaurant and brewery in Bloomington Normal? Or is it spelled Destill or maybe Destihle? It has an odd spelling and that can make it a little hard to find with a search engine.

Six months ago we tried and couldn't get reservations at Destihl. We heard from B's co-workers it was expensive, the food was weird, and they didn't serve Bud Light OR Miller Lite. Apparently, they only served their own beer that is brewed on premise. The concept of a small brewery with a restaurant was so new in central Illinois that many people didn't know what to expect and were uncomfortable not having the exact brand of watered down beer they preferred at the ready.

We had the opportunity to finally eat at Destihl last night and had a wonderful experience. I called for reservations at 2:30 and had a choice of times. We were seated in the worst table in the restaurant, between the restrooms and the wait staff's computer. Let me know if I am misinformed, but I thought a reservation (and we were on time, slightly early even!) would get us a better table, not a worse one.

We had an attentive and knowledgeable waiter. As much time at the waiter spent at our table educating us on their brewing process, types of beers available, and pairing beers with food, I wondered if he only had two or three tables. The service is time intensive.

We started the evening with two flights of beer. B ordered the flagship flight and I ordered the seasonal flight so we had every beer available last night to try. A flight is six oz glasses of five different beers. I expected to like the Nit Wit most, a Belgium white, but it was the Golden Child, a Belgium golden ale that I was really surprised and pleased by.

For an appetizer we ordered Ropp Diary fried cheese curds. The brewery and the dairy trade products, spent grains for the cows in exchange for cheese curds for the brewery. Yay for local food symbiosis. The serving of cheese curds was so big I could have just had cheese curds and beer for dinner.

For dinner B decided to have a full serving of their Alt beer, Alternate Route, an ale brewed with lager yeast and Jambalaya. I ordered the Stuffed Roasted Poblano Peppers. I wish I was more of a food writer to tell you exactly why my dinner was so good, but YUM it was both beautifully presented and SO delicious. The food came out so quick, the only change I would have made was for the kitchen to take more time between courses. We had barely started the cheese when the entrees arrived. The peppers were stuffed with mashed potatoes, which was surprisingly good, and surrounded with a spicy red pepper sauce. B said the shrimp in his jambalaya were incredibly good.

People were dressed in a variety of ways, from shorts and t-shirts to dressed up party clothes. Some families with older children were there, but I wouldn't take our three year old. Our bill and tip was over $80.

Overall we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the beer and food, delighted by the presentation, and impressed by our waiter's knowledge.

Early August Events

Aug 1-3: Decatur Celebration time! The Friday stages are Vince Vance, The Contours, and Jr. Walker’s All Stars. Saturday stages are The Smithereens, Bay City Rollers, and The Wings Tribute. I loved the Smithereens in high school and am looking forward to their show. Sunday stages are Plain White T’s, Edgar Winter, Caedmon’s Call, and Otis Day and the Knights. Prepare to have "Hey There, Delilah" stuck in your head for evah.

Aug 1-2: Pontiac Heritage Days. Music, trolleys, pie contest, horse and carriage rides.

Aug 1: Main Gallery 404 meet the artists. 5-8 p.m. Bloomington. Linda Isaacson Healy, Amy Simpson, Martha Burk and Rick Risberg. Jewelry, glass and wood.

Aug 1-2: Arcola city wide garage sale. Over 60 homes participating. Maps available at the Historic Train Depot, 135 N Oak St., the Shell Gas Station just off of Interstate 57 or Casey's General Store on U.S. 45.

Aug 1: Indian Classical Music Festival - RAHUL DESHPANDE, Normal Community Hall, 7-9 p.m.
Aug 3: Indian Classical Music Festival - PROF. L.K. PANDIT, 1901 Woodfield Road, Bloomington, 5-7 p.m.

Aug 2-3: Minier Corn Daze - music, pizza, tractors, free sweet corn (Sunday only), and a pickle eating contest.

Aug 1-7: Westville public library used book sale. Books start at 10 cents.

Aug. 1-3: the Farm Toy Show at Rockome Gardens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vintage and modern toys. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors (60+), $4 for children (4-12), and those under 4 get in free.

Aug. 1-3: Dorchester Homecoming, horseshoe tournament, food, coed kittenball tournament, bingo, garden tractor pull and washer tournament, bands.

Aug 2 thru October: Sleepy Creek Vineyard. Scarecrow exhibition by local artists are displayed in the vineyards. Free.

Aug. 5-8: Upper Limits Climbing Clinic for 11-15 year olds. And Friday nights between 4 and 10 p.m. kids 17 and under climb for half price, only $6!

Aug. 7-9: Divernon Homecoming. Carnival, food, car show, parade, horseshoe, hillbilly golf and washer tournaments.

Aug. 9: Hummingbird Festival, 9 a.m. to noon, Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site near Petersburg. FREE

Aug. 9: Gone with the Wind Tea, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. David Davis Mansion, Bloomington. $18.

Aug. 8-17: Illinois State Fair, Grandstand, Illinois State Fairgrounds. Featuring Fergie ($38, $34, $30), Aug. 8; “Weird Al” Yankovic ($20, $10), Aug. 9; Huey Lewis and the News ($30, $25, $20), Aug. 10; Illinois Symphony Orchestra (free), Aug. 11; Brooks & Dunn and ZZ Top ($38, $34, $30), Aug. 15; Natasha Bedingfield and Vanessa Hudgens ($25, $20), Aug. 16; Trace Adkins with Trent Tomlinson ($25, $20, $18), Aug. 17.

Baked goods

This morning we ventured out to the farmer's market again in an absolute deluge of rain. H and I tried baked goods from both Medici in Normal and Kelly's Bakery and Cafe in Bloomington. From Kelly's we got a blueberry muffin, a lemon poppy seed muffin, and an apple danish. All were good. I really want to try the green pistachio muffins next week.

The loaf of bread from Medici is so good I doubt it will last until dinner time. We each keeping having just one more slice! It is so soft with a lovely crust.

For dinner tonight we're having steaks from Heartland Meats, grilled green garlic, and a spinach salad with strawberries from our yard.

Underwood Park, Normal

Over the weekend we discovered a new-to-us park that while just off a main road (Linden) was hidden. Underwood Park is a really nice park. It's large and has two playgrounds with a mix of old and new equipment. There were bathrooms, a tennis court, several large and small shelters, a baseball diamond, basketball court, big shade trees, and plenty of room to run. A lot of Normal's parks have no shade, so I was really pleased to find a park with mature trees.

What I loved about Underwood Park was the fence around most of the park. I didn't have to stay glued to H making sure he didn't run into the road or an off limits area.

Save gas, play local - upcoming events in Central Illinois

May 23-26: Heart of Illinois Cluster of Dog Shows: the Interstate Center, Bloomington

May 25: 2-5 pm, Ogelsby Mansion Open House, the restored home will be open for tours, near west side of Decatur. Open Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays in June.

May 24-25: Springfield TT & Mile and National Championship Motorcycle races

May 31: Vintage baseball game at Rock Springs Nature Center in Decatur. Rock Springs Ground Squirrels v St. Louis Unions.

May 31: Crappie USA & Kids Fishing Rodeo, Nelson Park, Decatur. 6 am - 5 pm, tournament 9-11 am. Prizes include bicycles and a $5,000 scholarship.

May 31: BBQ, Blues, and Cruise, live blues music, family activities, kids art, Salsa Dancing, classic cars, great motorcycles, and local arts and crafts. Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned BBQ cook-off. Christian County Fairgrounds, Taylorville.


May 31-June 1: Funfest for Air-cooled VW, Effingham

May 31 -June 1: Decatur Park Singers, Young Park Singers, Decatur Chorale, Fairview Park, Decatur. 6 pm, free.

May 31-June 1: Kite Festival, 10 am - 5 pm, Rec-Plex grounds, Pontiac.


May 31-June 1: Glory Days, an 1830 Militia Muster, Petersburg. An 1830's Militia Muster with signing up for militia service and drilling will be held. The sound of musket fire will be heard on the prairies and bluffs of New Salem. The public will be invited to march carrying weapons (brooms) where Lincoln and the men of Sangamon County marched off to war in 1832. 10am - 4pm both days.


June 7: Art on the Square, Christian County Courthouse, Taylorville


June 7-8: Illinois River Wine Festival at Kickapoo Creek Winery in Edwards. The festival features 12 area wineries and includes food and live music from local bands. Nearby Mackinaw Valley Vineyard will host additional wine tasting and a battle of the blues bands at the Mackinaw Music Fest.

June 7-8: International Horseradish Festival Woodland Park, Collinsville (I know it's metro-east, but I couldn't resist a horseradish festival!)

June 13-14: Old Glory Festival, Veterans Park, Bement

June 13-15: The National Road Festival, , is an annual event held in several communities along the National Road Scenic Byway. Each community will offer unique attractions such as live music, antique tractor shows, local fare and more. Altamont, Effingham, Marshall.

June 14-15: Raggedy Ann & Andy Festival, Illinois Raggedy Ann & Andy collectibles, arts & crafts, children's adventureland, parades, contests & more! Arcola

June 20-22: Mother Jones Festival, 5K, artisans, antiques, carnival rides, wheat threshing, live music, and ethnic food festival, Mt. Olive.


June 20-22: Cruisin' Route 66, Litchfield Classic Car Festival, Litchfield


June 20-22: Taste of Champaign Urbana, West Side Park, Champaign

June 21: Vintage baseball, 1 pm, Rock Springs Nature Center, Trobaugh Field, Decatur. Rock Springs Ground Squirrels v Springfield.


June 21: Drivin' the Dixie Days, Gilbert Street, the Dixie Highway is an Historic Route in the United States, and in Illinois several groups come together every year to "Cruise" the Dixie from Blue Island to Momence. Stops are made along the way in several of the cities, Danville.

June 21-22: Danville Arts in the Park, Lincoln Park, Danville


June 27-August 10: Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Ewing Manor, The Taming of the Shew and Titus Andronicus, Normal


June 28: All in a Day's Work, Bring your family out to enjoy a "day in the life" of the average New Salem family. Observe cooking on the hearth, washing and mending clothes, spinning, weaving, knitting, butter churning, dipping candles; making baskets, and more. The Ann Rutledge Quilters and The New Salem Fiber Guild will also display quilts and textiles at the New Salem Visitors Center. 9am to 5pm, Petersburg.

Central Illinois Food Banks

Sorry for the silence this week, I've been busy working full time for the first time in 3 years. Whoa! How do you bloggers who work do it? I barely have enough time to tackle my bloglines subscriptions and then it's time for bed.

So many Central Illinois bloggers have been writing this week about hunger in Central Illinois and the Eastern Illinois Foodbank's current food drive.

But what if your area isn't served by the Eastern Illinois Foodbank? Wouldn't you still like to contribute? I mean, who can turn a single dollar in TEN dollars worth of food? The food bank can. Magic. Talk about bang for your charitable buck.

In my small town IGA there is a box for food pantry donations right by the door and I try to drop something in when I can. But to do more you have to know more. Here's the contact information for eight more Central Illinois food banks who could use your donation of dollars or dinners as well.

Ford County Food Pantry (217) 379-9128 780 S Vermillion St Paxton
Center of Hope Food Pantry (309) 452-8240 116 N Cottage Ave Normal
Food Pantry (217) 345-2823 411 Jackson Ave Charleston
Loami Area Community Pantry (217) 624-9900 106 S Main St Loami
Jacksonville Food Bank (217) 243-1122 316 E State St Jacksonville
Midwest Food Bank (309) 663-5350 1703 S Veterans Pkwy Bloomington
Peoria Area Food Bank (309) 671-3906 721 W Mcbean St Peoria
Central Illinois Foodbank (217) 522-4022 2000 E Moffat Ave Springfield

Do you know of more food banks? Leave a comment!

Awesome October Events II

Oct 19-20, Jack-o-lantern Spectacular, Washington Park Springfield. Hundreds of hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins on display 6 pm – 10 pm· Free shuttles will operate from 5:45-10:30 p.m. from the Sacred Heart-Griffin West Campus parking lot.
October 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 31 Rocky Horror Picture Show, Charleston, Alley Theater.
Oct 20, 42nd Annual State of Illinois Invitational Marching Band Competition, ISU Hancock Stadium, Bloomington.
Oct 20, Boo Bash, Children's Discovery Museum, Normal. Come in costume for trick or treating in the exhibits, go on a pumpkin hunt and listen to some not so spooky story telling. Cost: $10 passholder/$12 non-passholder.
Oct 20, Sugar Grove Nature Center hosts an Autumn Celebration from 10 am to 5 pm. Live music, nature walks, an old tyme medicine show all for $2 per person, toddler and babies free.
Oct 20, Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello, US Cellular Coliseum, Bloomington at 7:30 pm.

Oct 21, Peter and the Wolf, Hoogland Center for the Performing Arts, Springfield. Performances at 2 pm and 6 pm, $10 adults, $6 children.
Oct 21, The Blue Man Group, Prairie Capitol Convention Center, Springfield.
Oct 21, 28, Victorian All Hallows Eve at the David Davis Mansion, Bloomington at 5 pm. Reservations required. Hear traditional 19th century eerie stories & learn some amusing superstitions. Then gypsies will read your tea leaves to tell your fortune. $18.

Oct 23, STOMP! Sangamon Auditorium at 7:30 pm, Springfield.

Oct 26, 27, 28, The Laramie Project, Charleston Community Theater, Tarble Arts Center, EIU, Charleston.
Oct 28, Halloween at Miller Park Zoo, 1-3 pm, show off your Halloween costume and enjoy face painting, crafts, up close creepy animal encounters, and a costume parade.

Oct 31, Evening with Poe, Allerton Retreat Center, candle light mansion tours, Edgar Allen Poe stories, Monticello.

Bloomington Normal is a great town for children

This month I've made many trips into BN for childish fun. My son and I have been to the sprinkler park at Tipton Trails twice and the Children's Discovery Museum three times. Both are fabulous places for cool summer fun.


The Children's Discovery Museum in uptown Normal has three floors of activities for children and is perfect for ages 2 through 8. I haven't seen many bigger kids there. It's $4 per person over age 2 and opens at 9 am. We were there at 8:55 and were the first ones let in. It was neat. By 11 am the museum really fills up. We enjoy the car and train exhibits (of course) as well as the toddler area, the farm equipment exhibit, and the water tables. There is a really cool climbing structure on the second and third floors that is a magnet for the 5-8 year old crowd.

Tipton Trails sprinkler park is worth the trip. There is a nice shelter with picnic tables and bathrooms and a large sprinkler area with 6-8 different sprinkler zones. Next to it are swings, toddler sized play equipment and a very large barn/fire station themed piece of play equipment. All this is free and draws a crowd on hot days. It's located on College west of Airport Road and is free.

West Detention Basin, Normal

Today my son and I met a friend at the West Detention Basin park in Normal. It was the first time I've been there and I had a little trouble finding it. It is located on Raab Road west of Linden way, way, waaaaaaaaaaaaay north in Normal.

The playground equipment is new and geared for smaller children. We had toddlers to preschoolers and it was just the right size for them. The equipment is very nice and has some unusual features but the kids didn't last long because it was hovering around 90 degrees and the playground has no shade. My friend and I sat on a picnic table under a small pear tree in one of three shady spots. I'm glad I took sunscreen and lots of ice water, because we needed it.

This park would be much more fun on a cool or breezy day. It was too darn hot today to be outside without shade. BUT, I did get suggestions on great parks in BN that I haven't visited. Tomorrow I'll get back to big parks that I love. Your choice, Moraine View or Lake Shelbyville?

Micheleo's Pizza in uptown Normal

When B and I discovered Micheleo's Pizza in 1996 or 97 it was a revelation. Deep dish options in Central Illinois were scarce and Micheleo's was superb. For a year B lived a couple blocks from a Micheleo's and we took romantic evening walks to pick up the heavy pie and bring it back to his studio apartment. After B moved away from Bloomington Normal we would occasionally rhapsodize about the deep dish pizzas but we rarely made a special trip to eat there.

Now we live much closer to BN and we do make the trip into Normal for Micheleo's Pizza every few months. What you'll find is a college dive atmosphere with pinball and Golden Tee. The service is usually adequate and you can bring a child without worrying too much about noise.

There are increasing deep dish options in Central Illinois but Micheleo's still stands out as a great pizza. The pizza is loaded with pounds of cheese and the toppings are well distributed. The crust is good but not the star of the pie. It is not the thick spongy crust most Chicago style pizzas sport. One large or two small pieces is the most I can eat. A 14 inch pan will satisfy 4-5 people.

If you are prone to heartburn watch out, some of the deluxe combinations can be a time bomb. The Mexican Deluxe had me literally foaming from the mouth late in pregnancy.

Don't live in BN? Get coupons here!
Micheleo's Pizza
116 North Street
Normal, Illinois
309-454-4444