Upcoming Festivals

'Tis the season for various local festivals! Take advantage of your free time before course loads pick up and check out these fun events. The following descriptions are shamelessly taken from the corresponding websites; click the links for more information such as detailed schedules and locations.

Urbana Sweetcorn Festival, 8/28-8/29:
Now in its 40th year, the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival is Champaign County’s largest free festival. Urbana’s signature summer event is a two-day celebration of food, live music, arts and crafts and of course — all the delicious, locally grown sweet corn you can eat. Taking place in the heart of downtown Urbana, the 2015 festival will run Friday, August 28 from 5 to 11 pm and Saturday, August 29 from 11 am to 11 pm.

Arthur Amish Country Cheese Festival, 9/5-9/7:

Family fun for the whole weekend. Enjoy the festival atmosphere throughout Arthur. Eat a corn dog, sample the Free Cheese, take in a tractor pull, watch a parade, listen to some music, visit an Amish farm shop, shop the sales in town — just enjoy yourself. That's what a visit to Amish Country is about!

Win a national title at the National Cheese Eating Championships or a World title in the International Cheese Curling Championships. Family and kids divisions in each event. Come join us and have fun!

The Pygmalion Festival, 9/23-9/27:
The Pygmalion Festival started out with relatively humble beginnings back in 2005 with a handful of touring and local bands, all playing in the wide array of venues that both Champaign and Urbana have to offer. Now entering our eleventh year in 2015, it’s featured hundreds of artists from around the world performing on dozens of stages around Champaign­-Urbana, playing to tens of thousands over the years.

In 2015, we take yet another step forward, and implement and integrate an entire Tech component into the mix. Panelists, speakers, demonstrations, interactive opportunities and student recruitment will collide, and with the backdrop of The Pygmalion Festival to make it a helluva lot more fun than your average “conference.” Our vision is simple: we get one life to live, and we can do anything we want with it. That vision continues to be realized each year as we move the dial forward for what is possible in Champaign­-Urbana.

PGSA meeting on 8/28 at 3pm

Now that the quals are over and you're getting a taste of classes on campus, you should totally supplement your UIUC experience with some PGSA membership! We're having a meeting tomorrow and we'd like to extend an invitation to students interested in becoming involved with the Physics Graduate Student Association (PGSA), a community focused on hosting happy hours, coordinating the Physical Revue, and really anything you want it to do! So, on 8/28 at 3 PM, come to the Interaction Room to meet some cool cats, share your ideas, and get on the mailing list.

Post-Qual BBQ

Best of luck to those taking the qual this year! Today at 10 PM (immediately after the qual) the PGSA will be having a post-qual BBQ on the MRL patio. Come celebrate your freedom from studying by kicking back with some quality people and quality food!

PGSA Happy Hour: Welcome Edition

August means the blissfully empty campus of recent months will once again be packed to the gills with hordes of undergrads. But it also means that you can enjoy a beer garden without either freezing or sweating your face off! So to celebrate the season and to welcome the incoming grad students come join the PGSA next weekend for our first HAPPY HOUR at Quality Bar (map) on Friday August 28 at 9:00pm. Mark your calendars and we'll see you there!

Physics Softball Team on WILL

WILL aired a short story this morning on the physics softball team The Wild Bohrs, a rag-tag bunch of scrappy underdogs that have never won a game but lose with a smile. Listen to it here!