This week, our Editorial Board channels Mr. Rogers and looking for the helpers. That is, we’re going to find some local good news to fortify us and give us hope for the weeks and months ahead.

Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) fosters the recreation of crafts and skills from the pre-17th century world. Sarah recaps the recent Festival of Maidens in Gifford.

Illinois Soul is celebrating two years of amplifying Black voices and culture with a second anniversary concert featuring MAYSA, a Grammy-winning artist whose style blends smooth jazz with R&B sound.

The coffee shop expanded last spring—more seating, a great community room, and expanded wall space that cries out for more art—and they’re looking for artists to display work.

Whether your interest lies with visual arts, live performance, or literature, we’d love to add your voice to the mix.

The Urbana Park District and Champaign County Forest Preserve District have a lot to celebrate after being granted over one million dollars to improve parks in the 103rd district.

For years, we have wished for Ethiopian food in C-U, and now it is here with the opening of Blue Ethiopian Cuisine.

The program will match university students with members of the Champaign-Urbana community for some good, old-fashioned handwritten communication.

40 North is hunting for the visual that’ll plaster itself across every postcard, billboard, and festival guide come this spring — the official signature image for the Boneyard Arts Festival.

It might be a short week, but we’re definitely not short on things to do. Grab a friend and head out to enjoy food, drinks, theatre, and more.

United Way of Champaign County's program Books with Barbers equips barbers with literacy training, books for their shops, and a positive impact in the world of literacy.

We hope that continuing to publish about things happening in C-U and the surrounding areas can give you space for joy, as well as comfort and a sense of community.

We currently reside in a part of the state that used to be an epicenter for bicycle manufacturing.

Whether you’re angling for new gigs, hunting gear upgrades, or just curious what goes into making movies in Central Illinois, Flyover’s inaugural Filmmakers Expo has you covered.

The food truck recently opened a storefront in Mahomet located next door to the former and much-missed Lucky Moon Pies, and Serenity decided to take her whole family along to try it out.

Soon we’ll be able to catch the latest blockbusters under the stars on the campus Quad. But until the days are longer and warmer, the Illini Union film series is back–and indoors.

For those continuing Dry January, Alyssa shares non-alcoholic beverages in this drinks column.

A long holiday weekend that not only invites U of I students back to town, but also offers plenty of ways to have fun.

Opened last year in Lincoln Square Mall, Omkar visits Lazy Daisy Diner & Cafe to survey options and provide a review.

Go see Citizen Kane on Saturday because we live in a town where our growing film community and local fans care about 16mm prints and the moral implications of the spotlight.

Next week is ramen week at ISHI. The regular menu is out (temporarily), and ramen is in next Wednesday through Saturday.

After shutting their doors in 2022, Dandelion Vintage will be re-opening on January 23, inside of Furniture Lounge.

Manic purging doesn’t just have to happen this time of year, we can Feed the Thing all year round. Many of our everyday items are recyclable, so let’s resolve to be better consumers.

If you’re not one of the 24% of already-vaccinated people, take note: it’s not too late to get your flu and COVID shots to protect yourself and others from debilitating and potentially deadly viruses.

It’s clear to us that you, dear readers, love to eat and drink. We see you sharing your opinions on Champaign-Urbana’s food and drink scene on our social media pages. Why not formalize it and contribute to our Food & Drink section?

Blue Ethiopian Cuisine & Cafe, Champaign-Urbana’s very first Ethiopian restaurant, will open this Saturday in Downtown Champaign.

The truck soft launched last week and is officially open this week. The truck’s menu offers hibachi, teriyaki, stir-fry noodles, fried rice, and fried appetizers.

Set a reminder to buy tickets, mark it in glitter gel pen in your calendar, follow these places online, look forward to doing something new.

A family-owned restaurant whose food nourishes, Huaraches Moroleon is a shining example of the kind of restaurant Central Illinois is fortunate to have.

García's collection, Indifferent Cities, delivers a rigorous autopsy of memory: it is as visually striking as it is textually resonant.

If you’ve been looking for a way to give back to the community, try volunteering with your local elementary school.

Champaign Movie Makers’ 48-hour film competition kicks off this week, and it’s basically controlled chaos meets creative boot camp.

Since Champaign-Urbana is nationally known for incredible Chinese cuisine, Alyssa wanted to review new Chinese restaurant Chili Bistro for her first review of the year.

Each gift to the campaign helps to provide support and services to over 1,200 children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Get rid of your Christmas tree, have a mocktail, look at some art, do a puzzle.

This month, Sarah tried to curate a list of activities that will hopefully encourage you to slow down, unplug, and engage with your fellow community members. Because community is something we desperately need right now.

Maize Mexican Grill’s new location on Neil Street will open officially soon, but this weekend, Chef and owner Armando Sandoval invites his family and friends, plus Smile Politely readers to come check out the new restaurant a little early.

Maize Mexican Grill’s new location with a game-changing drive-through will open soon on Neil Street.

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is urging Champaign County residents to get their flu shots as the seasonal flu has increased drastically this season.

Kyle’s Corner, a new Savoy restaurant, will open in the vacant space left by Industrial Donut, which closed last summer.

For the first Thirsty Thursday of 2026, Alyssa is highlighting a drink that has neither booze nor caffeine, dedicated to the readers out there participating in Dry January or cutting down on coffee.

The arts calendar this month offers a host of warm spaces that engage all your senses, and crucially, put you in rooms with other people, which beats solitary hibernation any day of the week.

The Urbana tree collection will occur between January 12 and 16 on residents’ U-Cycle collection day.

Happy New Year! Here’s to hoping 2026 is better than 2025. Start the year right with some of these events.

Ambar India in Campustown has closed its doors, ending the restaurant’s 12-year tenure on Wright Street.

Kick off month one of the new calendar with a custom falafel bowl, hot-honey cheese, hot chocolate, hot fried chicken in a Caesar salad wrap, and a top-notch hash stack.

Specializing in customer-cooked ramen, the new casual restaurant offers an impressive variety of flavored noodle packets ranging from $3.99 to $5.99.

No safety net, no departmental backing, just Yocum trusting that we’d recognize what he was offering: live bodies on a stage, three feet from your face, doing something that can’t be replicated on a screen.

From layered cakes to epic brownies to cinnamon rolls, the sweets of Hunny Bunny Bakes will be missed.

This Espresso Royale's location at Village Green Plaza recently reopened after a total remodel of the coffee shop. As a frequent flier of the previous model, Maggie was very excited to see what it had in store.