Probably the biggest event to hit Champaign-Urbana, Ebertfest is the must-see local event of the year. Every year, Roger Ebert himself picks out select movies to show at the Virginia Theater, and people from all corners of the movie industry come to watch these films and participate in discussions. The tickets are only $8 for students and $10 for general public, with a festival pass costing around $100 for 5 days of movies.

We’re going to be providing extensive coverage of the festival all weekend, with buzz and Daily Illini writers coming together to provide the best possible content on the events and the films. They’ll be sharing their experiences, thoughts and insights into the choices and the actual events occurring around each movie, so keep your eyes peeled for very frequent updates to the Movies + TV section.

We’re all really excited about this event and we hope you are too!

So apparently there’s a freezer the size of a football field on campus, which has to be run on ammonia (because it’s the most cost-efficient option). If the ammonia starts to leak, there’s enough ammonia in there to kill the entire population in Champaign.

But don’t worry, there’s alarms and sensors and stuff to keep you all safe.

Carry on.

This is the first installment of the217 Sessions - a component to my blog that involves me interviewing people in the CU community with my camera. I started in my own backyard because it was a little easier to start, but I’ll be branching out in no time.

This one’s a bit long, they won’t all be this long, but enjoy learning more about what goes on at WPGU while we get to the bottom of the word “randomocity” and the car spike from Wayne’s World.

Even more new blogs added recently, check them out:

708 Bass Place: A music blog written by Josh Fisher, who loves those deep bass guitar tones and wants to share the love with you.

Streetwalker: No, it’s not what you think (get your mind out of the gutter). If you see Erin Gillman out with her camera, strike a pose! She’s taking pictures of fashionable people in every day life.

Sometimes we here at the217 make a mistake, and we’re sorry about that. We recently used an old picture of local band The Beauty Shop in our centerpiece, and their lineup has changed. We also had their incorrect contact info in our artist index, which has been changed. So sorry about that, and if you want to see how great The Beauty Shop is, head over to their myspace and check out their upcoming shows or listen to their music, maybe you can even buy it (*gasp*)! I personally recommend it.

I went to see the Penny Dreadful Players’ “Come See Our Shorts” on Saturday, and I laughed my ass off, pretty much the whole time. Between the rants of Carl Newman to the hilarious skits about god, relationships, politics and life in general, the show was a success. I was surprised at how vulgar it was considering how many moms were in the audience, but then I was also surprised at how many moms were laughing so hard at those jokes (mine included).

The PDP always puts on a good show; I saw Batboy last week and while it was the weirdest musical I’ve ever seen, it was also very well done.

I’ve been seeing a ton of theater in the area lately and I have to say I’ve never been disappointed.

Steve Plock fights Charlie Johnson during “An Audience Member Gets Assaulted”

I went to see Ryan Groff (of elsinore) last night at WEFT studios, and it didn’t disappoint, to say the least. Every time I go see Ryan or elsinore perform, I am always blown away at what they’re currently doing. The first time I went to see them it was just Ryan and Dave (percussion) performing, opening for the Profits, who were terrible. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how good elsinore was… and two years later they’re still captivating me.

Between their 4-part harmonies, catchy songwriting and bold move to ditch the congas and go to a full drum kit, elsinore never lets you down live (or in studio). Ryan doesn’t, either. This was actually my first time seeing him completely by himself, although I’ve listened to his solo album numerous times. Last night he was all about looping, reverb, and heavenly vocal and guitar jams. It was inspiring, and again, was a reminder of how much talent there really is in this town.

Horrible-quality phone photo, again.

Support your local artists, people!

Thank you to everyone who voted, came out, performed, presented, whatever! The LMA’s were a smashing success, and definitely the most fun I’ve had in a while. If you missed any of the action, you can head over to the LMA page where Matt Fender wrote a live blog, and live photos and videos were uploaded. There’s one video from each performer, so you can see your favorite set all over again.

I even got a chance to check out Elsinore’s set next door at Memphis on Main, and people were having a great time there too. Elsinore, was as always, fantastic.

Both events going on next door to each other, both packed, both with great people and great music, just shows how good this local music scene really is. Thanks to all the people who make it what it is — the musicians, the fans, the industry, everyone! You guys help to make these towns special.

As for us here at the217, we’re going to be focusing a lot more on the local music scene in upcoming weeks, as we always strive to do. We’ll be featuring a band of the week on WPGU, in which we highlight a local artist all week long every week! There’s going to be more to come so stick with us!

In case you haven’t noticed, the Local Music Awards are tonight. It’s been a crazy past couple of weeks for everyone here at the217, buzz, and WPGU, but the night is finally here. We’re doing a lot of cool stuff with the awards this year, so if you can’t make it out to the show or want to catch some post-coverage, the217 has got your back.

Right now, you can catch a schedule from the buzz. You can also tune in all day long to hear WPGU playing a lot of local music. From 3-6, The Red Baron will be broadcasting live from the Highdive, and from 6-9, Ashley E. will be doing the same thing. They’ll be giving updates and doing interviews on the air as the night goes on, so tune in to WPGU.

Matt Fender will also be live blogging the entire event, which you can find on the LMA page. We’ll have photo galleries being updated live as the night goes on, and you can catch video performances of all the bands tomorrow morning. Have a little Corn Desert Ramblers with your cornflakes.

We hope to see you all at the LMA’s tonight, but if you can’t catch them, hang out with the217 because we’ve got you covered.

Even more bloggers have been added recently, so you can definitely find something that fits your tastes, or at least someone to argue with.

The State of the Union: A blog written by Chris, who wants you to know his opinion about anything and everything, and a lot about society in general. His first post on political correctness is very interesting.

Dice & Mice: A blog written by another Chris, who spends a lot of time gaming in all capacities and wants you to know about it.

Also, be sure to head over to our spanking new blog page, which is far easier to read and features pictures. I know you all like pictures. Don’t lie to me.