Datebook

The City of Lincoln's biggest event of the year faced a major hurdle, leaving stakeholders scrambling to ensure Balloons Over 66 would indeed have balloons. Mayor Tracy Welch says it just proved how important ballooning is to the community.

A fictional private school gets a wake-up call when a mumps outbreak challenges its consensus-based model. The play opens Heartland Theatre's 2026-27 season next week.

Prairie Fire Theatre is collaborating with Music Connections Foundation for their summer production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The band will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its only album, Revolutionary Product, during its 45-minute set on Friday.

"The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is taking the stage at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, bringing a dog along to help tell the timeless story of betrayal, friendship and forgiveness.

At first, concerns rolled in from all sides of the political spectrum about the politics of patriotism. The collection of pieces by local artists respond to a series of questions about revolutionary moments, how migration and settlement impact the natural world and what it means to be an American.

Pontiac's Diaz Sign Art created a custom mural for Sprague's Super Service commemorating significant landmarks in the Town of Normal: the Normal Theater and Steak and Shake. It will be officially unveiled Friday, ahead of a 1950s-themed celebration as part of the Cruisin' through the Century Route 66 Centennial.

Wheelz brings skating back to the area for the first time in three years, with an inaugural all-day event Sunday in Bloomington. After Skate N Place closed in 2023, the closest permanent rink is nearly an hour away.

“The fans stay excited, we stay excited and we keep making records," Phil Lewis from L.A. Guns told WGLT. They play alongside Cinderella's Tom Keifer on May 28 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

Ellie Wertz of Honey DEW Acres suggested her 5-acre farm just outside Bloomington-Normal as a spot for Nomad Theatre Company's roaming productions. Co-founder Connie Blick describes it as "kismet."