News

Champaign Agave Fest Brings Week of Tequila, Mezcal, and Cultural Events to the Area

3 weeks ago in Community, Entertainment, News

Photo: Contributed

CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) — A new countywide festival celebrating agave spirits is set to debut in Champaign this week, bringing together local restaurants, bars, retailers, and cultural organizations for six days of tastings, food specials, and educational programming.

The first annual Champaign Agave Fest runs Thursday, April 30 through Tuesday, May 5. Hosted by Big Grove Tavern and Punch! Bar & Lounge, the festival is centered in downtown Champaign but extends countywide.

Attendees can expect agave-inspired cocktails and food specials, tequila and mezcal tastings, events with distillers and distributors, and interactive educational programming throughout the week.

Organizers say the event is designed for both longtime agave enthusiasts and those simply curious to learn more about tequila, mezcal, and other spirits derived from the agave plant.

Recent Headlines

2 days ago in Community, Entertainment, News

The Beat on Market Street returns this summer with four themed block parties in downtown Champaign

Crowded street festival with people dining under red umbrellas along a brick storefront-lined street.

The Beat on Market Street is returning this summer with four themed block parties on the second Saturday of June, July, August, and September in downtown Champaign.

3 days ago in Entertainment, Music

New Wings exhibit traces Paul McCartney’s reinvention as husband, father and bandleader

The largest collection of Paul McCartney's personal artifacts ever publicly displayed is part of a new exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame centering on his life after The Beatles.

3 days ago in Entertainment

Bam! Pow! Krakoom! The everlasting allure of the American comic book

Pick one up. Be seduced by its glossy cover. Gaze upon the impossibly muscular body clad in a skin-tight suit. Our hero or heroine will surely be soaring, shouting, blasting a villain into next week. They are ridiculous. They are addictively great. Comic books, of the superhero variety, are 100% American.

3 days ago in Entertainment

John Travolta surprised with honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival

John Travolta was surprised with an honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his directorial debut Friday.

3 days ago in Entertainment, News

Virginia Theatre to screen Young Frankenstein in honor of Mel Brooks’s 100th birthday

Three actors in a black-and-white scene: a startled man in the center, a worried woman on the left, and a hooded sinister figure on the right.

The Virginia Theatre will screen Mel Brooks's 1974 classic Young Frankenstein on June 28 as part of the News-Gazette Film Series, celebrating the comedy legend's 100th birthday.