Thank you to the Champaign School of Music for sponsoring this edition of the Weekend Planner.
Looking for music class for your little ones? Consider Champaign School of Music. Photo Provided.
Its two not-to-be-missed classes for Babies through 5-year-olds –– Music Together and Music Explorers — start next week. Call today or go online and enroll. Openings are limited. Click here to learn more about Music Together. To learn more about Music Explorers, click here. Call today for more information: 217-359-0541
This weekend in Champaign-Urbana it’s all about fairs, festivals, farmsteads and outdoor concerts galore! Thanks again to Champaign School of Music for sponsoring Weekend Planner.
Our picks:
What: Follow the Farmstead
When: Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. each day.
Where: Hale Park, Tolono (with tours of farms located in a quadrant of southeast Champaign County)
How much: Free
Appropriate for: All ages
Why you should go: Get connected with the farms that sustain us — locally and nationally. Get educated on what it takes to run a successful farm, large and small. Get your questions answered, engage in demonstrations and hands-on activities. It’s all available through this unique event. Join Follow the Farmstead at any time during the event at Hale Park in Philo. They will have kids activities, food trucks and a variety of information from the Champaign County Farm Bureau and Visit Champaign County, including maps for the tour. The event is free, but there will also be a non-perishable food collection for the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. Please bring your food donations to the park.
What: OUTSIDE at the Research Park
When: Friday, June 12, 6:30-9 p.m.
Where: Research Park, Champaign; OUTSIDE at the Research Park is held just southwest of Assembly Hall on First Street in the Research Park. Parking is available in the lot south of the Caterpillar building at 1901 South First Street.
How much: Free
Appropriate for: All ages
Why you should go: One of our all-time favorite Champaign-Urbana events, Outside at the Research Park is a wonderful free outdoor event. Bring blankets, chairs, and a picnic. Food will also be for sale on-site. The entertainment will be Della Mae, Bluegrass, with opening act Tara Terra.
What: Bement’s 8th Annual Old Glory Festival
Where: Bement City Park and Bryant Cottage State Historic Site Area
When: All day, Saturday, June 13
How much: Free admission, some activities ticketed, food for sale
Appropriate for: All ages
Why you should go: Check out historic Bement at this family friendly festival. Kids activities, shows, contests, live music, food, stagecoach rides, wing eating contest, plus so much more.
What: Relay for Life of Champaign County
Where: Centennial High School, 913 S. Crescent Drive, Champaign.
When: Saturday, June 13; Kid Zone events from 1 p.m.-8 p.m.
How Much: Entry free; last year there was a $10 fee for bracelets for kids events.
Appropriate for: All ages
Why You Should Go: Champaign County’s Relay for Life is a fun family event to raise cancer awareness. This year the event will begin with cars lining up at Andrae’s Harley Davidson in Urbana before noon and parading to Centennial. There will be a car show at 1 p.m., a survivor ceremony at 6 p.m., a luminaria ceremony at 9 p.m., and the closing ceremony at 11:30 p.m. For more information contact Jill Rannebarger at 217-979-1504 or send an email to jill@champaigncountyrelay.org
What: Urbana Pops Concerts Features Peter and the Wolf, Frozen
When: Saturday, June 13, Preconcert Story time at 6:30 p.m.; Concert from 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Where: Urbana Middle School
How much: Free
Appropriate for: All ages
Why you should go: All the Urbana Pops concerts are family friendly, but this one is especially so! Children are invited to bring their favorite stuffed toy at 6:30 p.m. to listen to a pre-concert bedtime story in the UMS lobby with staff from Urbana Free Library. The concert will run without an intermission so it will be shorter and the free admission makes the price right for families. The concert will also feature family favorite music performances, as well as performances by local student performers and composition winners.
What: Summer Garden Concert Series
Where: Maybery-Gelvin Botanical Garden, Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, Mahomet
When: Sunday, June 14, 5-7 p.m.
How Much: Free; food and drink for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to the restoration of the Mabery-Gelvin Botanical Garden
Appropriate For: All ages
Why You Should Go: Finish off the weekend at beautiful Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden with an evening of music and fun with The Painkillers Blues Band playing playing a mix of original music and crowd favorites.
Weekend Planner features only a few of the wonderful events happening in our area. For a full list, please visit our Events Calendar, sponsored by Busey.