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.

Central Illinois Labor Day weekend festivals and events

Arthur Cheese Festival! See my photos from last year here. Don't miss the cheese curling or the cheese eating contest.

Live music in Decatur! Floweezy, a Senor DeVivo reunion, and many more bands. A benefit for Angie Morris at the Elks Lodge on Parkway Drive. Sunday beginning at 3 pm. This is where I'll be!

Live music in Champaign! 56 Hope Rd plays the Canopy Club Sunday night with Tea Leaf Green beginning at 6 pm.

The Illinois Symphony plays in Springfield at Douglas Park on Saturday and in Bloomington at Miller Park on Sunday.

Get your Abraham Lincoln history fill at the tenth annual Prairieland Chautauqua in Jacksonville.

In west central Illinois, one of the oldest festivals is the Nauvoo Grape Festival. Lots of opportunities for wine tasting as well as more traditional fall festival activities like tractor pulls, an auto show, and midway rides. Don't delay, enter to play mud volleyball today!

Coal Creek Days Aug 29, 30, 31 at Coal Creek Pioneer Village in Pana features frontier life demonstrations.

National Sweetcorn Festival, Hoopeston, Aug 28 thru Sept 1. One of the last chances for a demolition derby this year!

Pittsfield Fall Festival, Aug 29, 30. Parade on Saturday.

Taste of Beardstown, Aug 30.

All weekend the 21st annual Popcorn festival, Casey, Fairview Park featuring a Rod Stewart tribute band.

Allerton Music Barn Festival at Allerton Park near Monticello, IL.

Millikin Decatur Symphony Orchestra plays Monday, Sept 1 at 6:00 pm in the Nelson Park Amphitheater in Decatur.

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.

SOHO Music Fest

This Friday and Saturday Central Illinois Life's fav band 56 Hope Rd will be in Springfield playing at the SOHO Music Fest at the Old State Capitol. It's only $5 to get in and you get hours and hours of awesome live music.

Great live music this Saturday! Bloomington

This Saturday night: Red Edmund with Back Yard Tire Fire. The show is at Paulies in downtown Bloomington and starts at 10pm sharp.

Back Yard Tire Fire is a National Touring Act based out of Bloomington. Red Edmund has just released their debut CD and is Illinois/Missouri Regional Indie Rock. These two great bands are going to have an awesome show and YOU should be there.

Paulies is a really fun venue with plenty of room to dance, and dance you will to these two bands. I couldn't figure out how to embed the video, but here's a clip of Red Edmund.

If you are coming from out of town, be sure to make reservations for pizza at Luca just around the corner!

Awesome October Events

Central Illinois is coming to the last of the fall festivals. At the same time, there is a wider variety of events and activities than in September.

Oct 5-7 Flatcon is coming to Bloomington Normal! This is a volunteer run gaming convention. Bring dice, dice, and more dice and meet the people behind the games.
Oct 5-6 Another historic reenactment! Take a candle light tour of the log cabins Lincoln called home at the New Salem State Historic Site, Petersburg. 7 to 9 pm. 217/632-4000
Oct 6-7 Haven't had enough apples or festivals yet? The Old Fashioned Apple Festival will be going on at the Okaw Valley Orchard in Sullivan.

Oct 6, 8, 10 The band I love to shake my heiny to, 56 Hope Road, will be at LSB Saturday and Millikin on Monday and the Canopy Club on Wednesday.
Oct 7 & 14 Oconee Fall Festival: Oconee. Hayrides, maze, crafts, pumpkins, and a zoo.

Oct 12-14, 19-21, 26-31, Perennial favorite, Boo at the Zoo begins at Scovill Zoo in Decatur.
Oct 12-13 Do you like ribs? Then downtown Arthur is the place to be for Braggin' Rights, a national BBQ competition. Many top ten Kansas City teams come to compete.
Oct 12-14 I hope the fall leaves are peaking for the Monticello Barn Tour. It is a self guided tour of barns in rural Central Illinois. Purchase a map in the lobby of the Piatt County Museum and start driving.

Oct 14 Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington will host an art and craft show.
Oct 14 The Allerton Diversified Farm brings us Pumpkinpalooza, featuring pumpkin chucking, pumpkin decorating, scarecrow stuffing, and hayrack rides. 11 am to 5 pm.

Later this week Central Illinois Life will feature the haunted scoop on houses, trains, and tours.

Utah Phillips performance, Bloomington

Utah Phillips will be performing at the McLean County Museum of History in downtown Bloomington Friday, October 12th at 7 pm. Tickets are $20 first come first serve at the door. Utah Phillips no longer tours as much so this is a treat and you should take advantage of the opportunity.

Eat meat like a local

Two restaurants that make me feel like a local on a night out are Caboose Smokehouse in Bloomington and Tom's Grill in Decatur. They share a lot of features including an exterior that makes you say, "We're gonna eat here?!?" and a dim interior dominated by a bar.

Tom's Grill looks like any rough and tumble package liquor from Main Street. But park in back and walk through the hallway plastered in family photos and you'll discover one of the most unique dining experiences in D-town. For starters it's got an old school mobster feel to the red leather booths and they bring an appetizer set up to the table with pickled beets. B and I were unsure what to make of this the first time. I usually order a steak there and it's really good. It's not overly seasoned (unlike Roadhouse's salty steaks) and always cooked to order (if you order rare it will truly be rare, not medium rare). Once I got the prime rib on special and it was really good too.

The Caboose Smokehouse lives up to it's advertisements, "Hard to find, easy to love." It is way off the beaten track in a residential area west of Illinois Weslyan. It's prettier than Tom's from the outside and you can smell the smoker a block away. Inside it is also a dimly lit bar with great meals. Last time B and I went we were both pleased with every aspect of the meal, especially the steak and ribs, and could have stayed and played darts all night. It would be a fun place to see live music, which they have every week.

Fall Festivals in Central Illinois

Google, you love the festivals, dontcha? Here's a list of September festivals in the Central Illinois counties I generally cover. This information largely comes from the 2007 Central Illinois Visitors Guide put out by the Tourism Development Office in Springfield.

Today you can still make it to:
Atlanta Fall Festival. Just off I-55 you'll find a carnival, auction, petting zoo, a car show, and craft vendors.
37th Annual Broom Corn Festival in downtown Arcola. It features broom making demonstrations, art, crafts, street and food vendors, 5 & 10 K walk, carnival.
Taste of Country Fair and Festival. Off I-55 north of Bloomington-Normal in Lexington. Features a juried fine art show, antiques, crafts, and live entertainment.
Annual Juried Fine Art & Craft Fair at Washington Park in Springfield. Artists from all over the Midwest sell art. Plus a carillon performance!

Sept 14-16 Abraham Lincoln Railsplitting Festival: Logan County Fairgrounds, Lincoln.
Sept 14-16 Arts in Central Park: Downtown Decatur. Juried arts festival. This is a great one!
Sept 14-16 NBRA Short Course Nationals: Bethany at the Wilborn Creek Recreation Area. Hydroplane boat races.
Sept 14-16 Tower Hill Fall Festival: Tower Hill Park. Car show, tractor pull, produce parade.
Sept 15 Prairie Stories: Lake of the Wood Forest Preserve, Mahomet. Families can engage in work from an earlier time.
Sept 15-16 Railroad Days: Monticello Railway Museum. Train rides! Train rides! Train rides! Awesome event for railroad lovers.
Sept 15-16 Edwards Place Fine Art Fair: Springfield. 100 artisians sell crafts on the grounds of the Edwards Place.
Sept 15-16 Balloon Fest: Eagle Creek State Park, Findlay. Hot air balloon festival and dock party.
Sept 16 Bob Galloway Memorial Amish Country Bicycle Ride: Arthur countryside. Ride your bike 1 or 100 miles though the Amish farmlands.

Sept 19-22 Pygmalion Music Festival: Champaign Urbana. Huge music festival with something like 70 live bands. Definitely something to get excited about.
Sept 22 Celebration: Downtown Monticello. Live music, pet parade, children's activities, food, art & craft vendors.

Sept 28-30 International Route 66 Mother Road Festival: Downtown Springfield. Live entertainment, HUGE antique car show.
Sept 29-30 Apple 'N Pork Festival: Clinton. Museum tour, great food, entertainment and crafts.
Sept 29-30 Wine and Cheese Festival: Rockome Gardens, Arcola. Illinois wines, cheese and jazz festival.
Sept 30, Oct 7 & 14 Oconee Fall Festival: Oconee. Hayrides, maze, crafts, pumpkins, and zoo.

Get your drink on, Springfield

What I look for in a bar is interesting beer on tap, comfortable seating, and friendly staff and customers. The perfect spot would include a shuffleboard table, but that's a fantasy.

Two bars in Springfield that fit the bill are (no surprise to my Springfeld readers) Brewhaus and Floyd's Thirst Parlor.

I have fond memories of the Brewhaus because 6 years ago my co-workers threw me an impromptu wedding shower there. It is a dark hole in the wall with truly hundreds of beers available. If you can't find something to like there you are probably out of luck anywhere.

Floyd's Thirst Parlor caters to a younger crowd than the Brewhaus. They often have live music crammed into a nook in the back. I like it on a Saturday afternoon when it's almost empty and you can sit in the front display window and watch the downtown traffic. Floyd's doesn't have any where near the selection of beers as the Brewhaus, but the taps are good and they often have a couple unusual kegs.

There are lots of choices in downtown Springfield for a night out, and these two bars top my list.

Gone but not forgotten: Di's Place behind Bunn golf course. Shuffleboard, fabulous tenderloin sandwiches, and a stay all day atmosphere. What a treat. Unfortunately, I never got to take B there.

This one is for Google

Google asks, I answer. What is going on in Central Illinois over Labor Day weekend? The following information is gleaned from the local newspapers. I did the sleuthing and decided what events were worthwhile for you. More events than this are happening so check out the newspaper links over on the right.

Friday, August 31st
Central Illinois Life favorites 56 Hope Road are playing in Decatur at the Cornerstone Tavern from 9pm to 1am.

In Peoria at the Riverfront Park, the Illinois Blues Festival will be going strong Friday and Saturday featuring Dave Mason, Watermelon Slim, Big James & the Chicago Playboys, Andrew "Jr. Boy" Jones, and other blues performers. 6:45 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday. $12 for one day, $20 for both days.

All weekend in Decatur you can enjoy dancing at the Midwest Big Band Festival. The Decatur Conference Center and Hotel will be hosting four different orchestras; 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. Friday, 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday and 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday. This is an event I have personal experience with because these dancers joyously invaded my wedding reception and showed off their awesome dancing skills to our hired jam band.

Another all weekend event is the Allerton Music Barn Festival in Monticello. It's pretty expensive, but a meal is included. The weather should be fabulous. Features Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble, Donald Schleicher Festival Chamber Orchestra, Gusti Sudarta Balinese Wayan Kulit Gamelan Musicians & Puppetry. Tickets are $51 /SC & Stu $41 (includes meal), Festival Passes $226.

This is too good to pass up.
The Sleeze Factor is playing at Mac's Tackle Box on Saturday night in Decatur from 9pm to 1am with a $3 cover charge. If you've ever driven along Lake Decatur, Mac's Tackle Box is the bar/bait shop with the giant fish sign by the entrance to Nelson Park. I have no idea about the band, but the fact that there will be live music at a bait shop tickles me to no end.

Saturday night in Penfield at the Indian Ridge Campground of the Middle Fork River Forest Preserve there will be a guided night hike from 8:30 to 9:30 pm along the trails of the Middle Fork. Call 217.896.2455 to register. Free.

Sunday afternoon you'll want to head to Arcola for the Illinois State Old Time Fiddle Contest at Rockome Gardens. Register tomorrow for $4, after Aug 29 it's a whopping $6; call 217.795.2035 or 217.268.4106. Fiddling begins at 1 pm.

Sunday night the Pantagraph is hosting Pops in the Park at Miller Park in Bloomington. Music begins at 6:30 pm and features the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, with "Springfield Idol" winner Melanie Dennison playing music of Sousa, LeRoy Anderson, "Harry Potter" songs, and more. Free.

And finally, the reason for the day, getting tow down at a labor hall. On Monday beginning at noon (after the parade is over I bet) head on over to the AIW hall in Decatur for a DJ and later Whiskey and a Pickle at 5 pm. If you have never been to the AIW hall it is the eye popping epitome of Decatur labor halls. And I mean that in only the most loving and sincere manner.

There ya go Google, what's happening over Labor Day weekend in Central Illinois in a nutshell. I'll amend this post when I find more.

Lock Stock and Barrel, Decatur

Lock Stock & Barrel, or LSB, is a Decatur institution. Located by Millikin University, it's a family run restaurant, bar and live music venue. These kind of places tend to come and go in Decatur, but LSB has the right combination of quality food and drink and great music to keep it in business for 30 years. The repurposing of an alley into pleasant outside seating in recent years has made a great place even better.

At lunchtime people come for the homemade soup, taco bar, and excellent sandwiches. I love the spinach and strawberry salad and the hot Black Forest sandwich. This year on the 30th of every month they charge 1977 prices on the original menu. $5 will get two people a full lunch.

LSB is a good place to watch sports. They have two large screen TVs that are perpetually tuned to sports. But it's a baseball bar so you'll have to wait til the Cardinals are done to get the Bears' game on. grumble grumble.

As a bar, LSB is a comfortable place to spend the evening. The wait staff is attentive and personable, appetizers are available until 10 pm, and they have several good beers on tap (Guinness, Bass, Stella, Goose Island). As a live music venue, LSB brings in consistently good music and the cover charge is usually low. LSB gives local bands a receptive audience that's hard to find elsewhere. It is also a frequent home for 56 Hope Road, whom you should make every effort to see live. Check out the 56 Hope Road blog here.

(I'm getting sidetracked but, 56 Hope Road and Ween will be at the Canopy Club in Champaign in October. 56! Ween! On the same night! How much fun will that be? TONS!)

Illinois State Fair, 56 Hope Road

Are you going to the fair today? Will you be there at noon? If so head on over to the Budweiser tent to see Central Illinois' best band, 56 Hope Road. I know they are based in Chi-town now, but the guys are largely from Central Illinois and we know them from Millikin University. This is one of the hardest working bands right now, playing the MOST shows per year of any other jam band.

Seriously, you've got to go shake your groove thing today.

Decatur Celebration

I would be remiss in my Central Illinois blogging if I didn't mention that this weekend is the largest free street festival in Illinois, the Decatur Celebration.

For me the Celebration is something I like in small doses. I don't like being shoulder to shoulder looking at crafts or trying to eat my deep fried Snickers for very long. But, every few years the Celebration gets some out of this world acts and you have to check the stages so you don't miss out. This year the Celebration has War and that's awesome. One deliriously good year they got Moxie Fruvous, one of my favorite Canadian bands.

We used to live six short blocks from downtown, so we walked to the Celebration several times each weekend. I enjoy the parade (no politicians allowed!) and some of the food is awesome (hello, deep fried Snickers) and on Sunday the drunken rowdy crowd is sleeping off Friday and Saturday nights and the lines are shorter and the streets more maneuverable. If you take children, there is a large parking lot set up with activities. Otherwise, if you go at a popular time, may I suggest a leash?

If you go, there is good parking on the residential streets west of downtown. Prairie, William, and North near Monroe are good bets for free shady street parking. Check out my google map!