Happy New Year, everyone! If you’re looking for something to do to say goodbye to 2024 and hello to 2025, you’re in luck.

The fun folks at Champaign Movie Makers invite you to their latest cinematic experiment this Sunday at the Channing-Murray Foundation. Fresh from the editing room floor, this new short film debuts as ...

Hey folks, Tom here. Just wanted to get in one last little tidbit before the holidays. Illinois Terminal is Champaign’s own combined bus station, train station, and Subway™ station (eat fresh!). If ...

It’s that time again, when we reflect upon the last year. It’s sometimes hard to remember what happened in May or June, never mind January and February. But it’s important that we make a point of ...

The most recent entry on my list of favorite local desserts is the flourless chocolate cake from Common Ground Food Co-op. My fiancée Alicia and I keep bringing up how amazing this cake is in ...

United Way of Champaign County brought Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to the area, and since its launch last December around this time, so many kids in the area have benefited from it. The ...

This time of year should be a season of joy, and people 21+ can add a little cannabis for some extra merry and more holly-jolly. For my final list on Smile Politely this year, I’m sharing four ...

This year, we wrote a lot about the area’s food and drink scene from restaurants to bars, coffee shops to farmers markets and food trucks. In 2024, Smile Politely food writers covered eats and drinks ...

Need a laugh this holiday season? Head to Danville’s historic Katherine Randolph Theater for a comedy that’ll have you shaking like a bowl full of jelly. Don Zolidis’ The Holiday Channel Christmas ...

Downtown Urbana’s newest coffee shop Elm City opens this weekend on Saturday, December 14th in the space that used to be Cafe & Co. The coffee shop is the second location for Elm City, a coffeehouse ...