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2 Allerton Park
(Tied) Downtown Champaign, Hardyí s Reindeer Ranch, Krannert Center
REGIONAL ATTRACTION: Maggie Su and Joel Godard
Megan Swiertz
Curtis Orchard
3902 S. Duncan Road, Champaign
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ENTERTAINMENT
FESTIVALS EDITORS' PICKS
Great festivals in CU
Boneyard Arts Festival Days upon days (four, to be exact) of art beautifully scattered around the community, bringing joy to all! I love this festival. The festival features a lot of venues, including cafes, galleries and bookstores, which gives me the opportunity to delve into my poetic loner side and visit them all at once, sometimes alone, like a sudden burst of flavor. It is also open to all art genres and media, adding flavor to the burst of flavor. —Karolina Zapal, Community Editor Curtis Orchard, winner of Best of CU 2013: Best Regional Attraction award.
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here’s no place like Curtis Orchard. Since the orchard opened, visitors have flooded through their yellow brick road in search of the best apples, pumpkins and cider in Champaign-Urbana. Yet, the family-owned farm began modestly in 1977, when Paul Curtis began planting apple trees. “Curtis Orchard has grown and taken on a life of its own,” said Chris Curtis, the office manager and son of Paul Curtis. “It’s bigger and much more involved than what we thought it would be when my dad first planted.” Curtis Orchard now attracts visitors beyond CU with many traveling from Danville, Bloomington and even Chicago to get a taste of their number-one-selling apple donuts and cider slushes. Located on Duncan Road in Cham-
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paign, just off of Interstate 57, Curtis Orchard brings together local families, Illini alums and out-of-towners alike. “The old saying, ‘If you build it, they will come,’ is true,” Curtis said. Because of the orchard’s popularity, the family does their best to make even busy and crowded days feel special. “We don’t really have an apple fest or a pumpkin fest,” Curtis said. “Instead, we try to make each weekend a festival.” This means face painting, pony rides, kettle corn and live bands, as well as other kid-friendly options. Visitors can also pick from 30 different types of apples, enjoy a hearty lunch at the Flying Monkey Cafe or take a wagon ride tour of the orchard.
Despite the orchard’s growing regional appeal, the Curtis family will always have a special relationship with CU. “It’s not just about an out-of-state visitor who sees a billboard on I-57. We depend a lot on local customers who come in once a week,” Curtis said. “We’re thankful for Champaign-Urbana and those who live close to us.” Curtis Orchard also works closely with the University to develop different ways to make their farm more sustainable and environmentally friendly. With sometimes several thousand visitors coming in a day, there’s no doubt that Curtis Orchard has come a long way from a few apple trees. “Sometimes we just shake our heads and think, ‘Dad, what did you start?’” Curtis said.
2 nd Emerald City Lounge 3r d The Clark Bar
GAY≠F RIENDLY NIGHTLIFE: Karyna Rodriguez
C
Animah Boakye
hester Street Bar has yet again been voted CU’s Best Gay-Friendly Nightlife. Its welcoming environment makes it a fun spot where people (19 and over, of course) from all walks of life can let loose and be themselves for the night. Many straight guys may be intimidated by the “gay bar” stereotype, but it’s much more than that. C-Street may be a gay bar, but if you look on the club’s website, nowhere does it identify itself as one. Before anything else, C-Street is a dance bar where absolutely anyone — gay, straight, whatever — can have fun. Want a night of creep-free dancing with your best girlfriends? No problem. Feel like dancing on stage in a shiny red speedo for all to see? Please, go ahead. Just want some great music to dance to? Well, you’ll definitely get it at C-Street.
20 buzz November 8≠ 14, 2013
Another splendid thing about C-Street is that the cover charge isn’t too much. Sundays have a $4 cover charge for Drag Night, but on Fridays and Saturdays, it only takes your photo ID and $3 to get in and make your way to the dance floor. Saturdays usually tend to be the bar’s busiest night, when DJ Substitute plays top-40 remixes. For those dancing queens who need a break or an extra drink to fuel the fun, there is a separate bar area and an outdoor patio where it’s easy to just sit and talk. The bar also hosts parties on Halloween, Christmas and New Year’s. It may be a few extra turns off of campus, but as long as you can catch a bus to the Illinois Terminal, the walk is only just a few minutes and well worth it. No matter who you are, if you’re looking to have fun in a friendly environment, C-Street will accept you.
Chester Street Bar
Pygmalion Music Festival Major Lazer may not have made as cool a headliner as Grizzly Bear did last year, but finally seeing Caveman, Damien Jurado, Youth Lagoon and so many other bands that never seem to make their way through central Illinois otherwise is probably the best part of this CU tradition. Positioned just as the hot summer begins to cool into fall, the weather is much better suited to outdoor venues as well. I couldn’t bring any flannel or sweaters to Lolla, Bonnaroo or Pitchfork, but you can be damn sure that’s my entire wardrobe the weekend Pygmalion comes around. —Tyler Durgan, Online Editor
63 E. Chester St., Champaign
C-Street, winner of Best of CU 2013: Best Gay-Friendly Nightlife award.
Skeletal Lightning Fest Champaign needed a DIY festival. Something like Skeletal Lightning Fest, a two-day event that went down for the first time this past April. Organized by Sean Hermann, whose label shares the same name, the festival brought together bands from the label and from across the Midwest together to play at the Red Herring. From sludgy metal to emo and pop punk, everything the Midwest has to offer musically was there for the tasting. Big things are in store for next year too. —Maddie Rehayem, Music Editor