Arts & Entertainment

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Free poetry, film on tap this weekend

URBANA – Two free events are taking place this weekend at the Urbana Free Library.

At 4 p.m. today the Teen Film Crew will present the "Twin City Horror Movie Premiere" in the Lewis Auditorium of the library at 210 W. Green St., U.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Jeff Dunham coming to the Assembly Hall

Stand-up comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham will be at the University of Illinois Assembly Hall in March.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Toolkit touts successes of micro-urban C-U

Mike Ross grew up in Jackson, Calif., west of Lake Tahoe in the beautiful Sierra Nevada. He later spent 15 years in one of the most exciting cities on Earth – New York.

He came here nearly a dozen years ago to run Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Then he would have agreed with the stereotype of Champaign-Urbana as a sleepy university town surrounded by corn and soy fields.

Studio Visit: Sarah Haas, 32, of Urbana

Q: Your site-specific "Raw" multimedia performance last weekend on the fourth floor of the Natural History Building was beautiful, with a lot of memorable images. How did you come up with it?

A: I'm really interested in architecture and spaces and in this blurring of a person, or body, and space. I'm especially drawn to buildings that are falling apart or decrepit in some ways.

'Small, Medium and Free' concert Thursday

URBANA – A world-class zither player will join local musicians at "Small, Medium and Free," a concert of new compositions and improvisations at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Krannert Art Museum, 500 E. Peabody Drive, C.

Zither player Yu-Chen Wang will perform with local musicians Dorothy Martirano on violin, Armand Beaudoin on bass, and Morgan Powell and Erik Lund on trombones. They will play new works for solo violin by Powell and Lund; an experimental work for multiple metronomes and performers by Beaudoin; a contemporary work for the ancient Gu-Zheng, or Chinese zither; and collective improvisations.

Lecture on abstract expressionism Friday

CHAMPAIGN – The chief curator from a California art museum will deliver a lecture about abstract expressionism at 3 p.m. Friday in Room 62 of the Krannert Art Museum, 500 E. Peabody Drive, C. Her topic: "West to East: Reconsidering the Exchange of Postwar Abstraction between San Francisco and New York."

Marcelle Polednik, chief curator at the Monterey Museum of Art, will focus on the dynamic decade of 1946-1956 by examining its four-part evolution: starting with the first definition of the abstract expressionist movement (1946); the emerging, formative period (1947-1949); the codification into an identifiable set of artistic concerns and practices (1950); maturation and then the subtle transformation into a figurative aesthetic (1951-1956).

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Today's trick-or-treat hours

Arcola, 6 to 8 p.m.

Belgium, 4 to 8 p.m.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Trick-or-treat hours in East Central Illinois

Here are trick-or-treat hours in East Central Illinois.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Trick-or-treat hours in area communities

Here are trick-or-treat hours in East Central Illinois.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Trick-or-treat hours for area communities

Here are trick-or-treat hours in East Central Illinois.

'Extreme Makeover' episode evokes cheers, tears

CHAMPAIGN – Nathan and Jenny Montgomery laughed and cried, smiled and cheered with several hundred of their new best friends Sunday evening for the airing of their story on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

"It's more than we could have imagined," Nathan Montgomery said. "I could not be more happy with how ABC did it."

The couple held hands as they watched as their children were introduced to their new robot-, army- and candy-themed bedrooms on three giant screens at a viewing party at the I Hotel and Convention Center in Champaign.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Tricks and treats for all ages: How ghoul is that?

Here's your guide to Halloween events and places. Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Screening of local film set

A feature-length film directed by Mike Boedicker of Danville will be shown Wednesday evening on the University of Illinois campus.

The sneak preview of "Revolting" will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Lucy Ellis Lounge, ground floor of the Foreign Language Building, 707 S. Mathews Ave., U, as part of the Champaign Movie Makers' monthly meeting.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Opportunities abound to see 'Extreme Makeover' house

The hottest tickets in East Central Illinois this week will allow holders through the front door of a house in Philo.

People who just can't wait until the 7 p.m. Sunday television show to see the interior of the "Extreme Makeover" home can bid for an in-person preview showing.

Meanwhile, viewing parties at hotels in Champaign and Bloomington are scheduled for $10 per person, with proceeds going to charity.

Rock Paper Scissors tournament brings in $30,000

Hundreds of people turned out at the University of Illinois' South Quad on Sunday evening to play Rock Paper Scissors.

Some of them were there to have fun. Others were hoping to win the top prize: a trip to Acapulco, Mexico.

But many of them said they joined in to help pay for underprivileged Champaign-Urbana children to go to summer camp.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Prairie Ensemble to be 'Deconstructed' at next show

CHAMPAIGN – The Prairie Ensemble will take the orchestra apart on Saturday in a concert titled, "The Deconstructed Orchestra."

The program will consist of works for small groups of instruments by composers ranging from Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart to Astor Piazzolla and will feature pianist Debra Sutter, trumpeter Nick DelVillano and bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro.

21 high schools to take part in marching band festival

MAHOMET – More than 1,800 students from 21 Illinois high schools will take the field in the 20th annual Mahomet-Seymour Marching Bulldog Festival on Saturday in Mahomet.

Hosted by the award-winning Mahomet-Seymour Marching Bulldogs Band, the festival will take place on the football field.

2009 ACE Awards to be handed out Thursday

CHAMPAIGN – The 40 North 88 West Champaign County Arts, Culture and Entertainment Council will hand out its 2009 ACE Awards at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Highdive, 51 E. Main St., C.

The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 each and available at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Cinema Gallery, Heartland Gallery, Wind, Water and Light Gallery, online at www.40north.org and at the door. Discounts are available for group purchases; call 351-9841 for information.

'Rhinoceros' director puts out call to artists in area

URBANA – The director of the upcoming production of "Rhinoceros" by Eugene Ionesco at the Station Theatre has put out a call for artists to draw rhinoceros heads for the production.

Director Eric Burton said the play has a scene in which the stage is overrun by rhinoceroses; he would like to use rhino drawings by local artists for that scene.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Oak Ridge Boys returning in December

CHAMPAIGN – The Oak Ridge Boys will be back in town this winter with two shows combined into one night.

The quartet will kick off its 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22 show at the Assembly Hall with four-part harmonies and hits from a span of three decades. The Oak Ridge Boys are famous for "Elvira" and "Bobbie Sue."

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Area residents reveal 'aha moments' for commercial

CHAMPAIGN – Area residents Eric Batsie, Natalie Ellis and Terry Ward each have had an "aha moment" that changed their lives.

Next year, as part of the Mutual of Omaha "aha moment" commercial campaign, one of them might be telling the television-watching nation of their life-changing experiences.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Tokyo Game Show 2009: Great things are coming our way

From Sept. 24 through 27, I was at the Tokyo Game Show 2009, held at the Makuhari Messe convention center just outside Tokyo, experiencing some of the many games that will be coming our way in future. The following are my impressions of just a few of the games I saw, and more is on the way.

Ebertfest passes available Nov. 1

CHAMPAIGN – Festival passes for the 12th annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival will go on sale starting Nov. 1. They are $125 each.

The 1,000 passes, which cover all screenings, will be available through TicketWeb, via the festival Web site at www.ebertfest.com or, starting Nov. 2, through the theater box office at 203 W. Park Ave., C, or by calling the ticket office at 356-9063.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Homecoming parade canceled at UI

University of Illinois parade and pep rally canceled.

Free volleyball tickets at N-G, WDWS/WHMS

In Friday's newspaper, an advertisement on page A6 states that you'll
receive two tickets to the Fighting Illini volleyball game against
Minnesota on Oct. 16.

Mask-making workshop will be offered

URBANA – The Urbana Public Arts Program will offer a mask-making workshop from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Market at the Square farmers' market outside Lincoln Square Village in Urbana.

The free workshop is open to people of all ages; it will take place continuously throughout the morning. Local artist and educator Lori Caterini will facilitate the creation of masks of various water creatures. The workshop will be at the city tent at the northwest corner of the market. Registration is not required.