Neon Tiger

 Neon Tiger Tattoo looks as if it is having a soft opening. Hours posted online are 12-6 Tuesday through Saturday but nothing in the store windows yet.

Geologic Oddities Closing

 According to the banner outside the store, Sunday is Geologic Oddities last day in business. Located on South Illinois in the old GameTable location, the store sells rocks, crystals and minerals. 35% off the entire stock and 50% off selected items.

Hemp, Hops and Shrooms

due to Likely bad weather, the city sent out the following press release tomorrow's Hemp Hops an Shrooms Festiva.

 Due to the forecast of inclement weather, Hemp, Hop & Shrooms Festival & Groundbreaking Ceremony, will now take place Saturday, September 28, at the Varsity Center with events starting at 3:00 p.m. and the concert starting at 7:00 p.m. 

While we’re saddened that we won’t be able to accommodate our beloved arts and crafts vendors at this time, our food trucks, Taste & Liv, Sidney & Solmon, and Taqueria Jimenez will still join in on the fun. Please support your local artists by shopping these folks' online stores, or coming out to our next event. 

All of our incredible presenters and demos will still take place, and we’ll wrap up the evening with the “Off the Rails” concert, featuring the amazing performances of Off the Rails and UNCHAiNED. We look forward to sharing this special day with you!

The schedule will proceed as follows:

Presentations

3-3:45PM Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Downtown Entertainment and Events Plaza with City of Carbondale

4-4:45PM Cooking with Mushrooms & Mushroom Extracts with Jessica Hatfield of Flyway Family Farm

5-5:25PM Terpene Aromas with Susie Lighty with Southern Illinois University Fermentation Science Institute (FSI)

5:30-5:55PM Using Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology to grow cannabis with Dr. Jose Leme, Gorman Saunders (Master's degree) and Lindsay Shupert (Ph.D.). SIU Cannabis Science Center

6-6:45PM Fun and Freaky Fungi with Mike Hatfield of Flyway Family Farm

Demonstrations 3-7PM

at the FSI & SIU Cannabis Science Center Event Tables

The Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with Dr. Jose Leme, Assistant Professor of Cannabis Biology & Cultivation Systems College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Gorman Saunders (Master's degree) and Lindsay Shupert (Ph.D.)

Growing Hemp for Fiber with Karla Gage Associate Professor of Weed Science and Plant Biology, School of Agricultural Sciences / School of Biological Sciences

Making Hop Infused Pours of the FSI’s King Ale, showcasing the various terpenes of the hop plant with Dr. Matt McCarroll, Director of the Fermentation Science Institute

Live Music 7-10PM

7-8:20PM UNCHAINED

8:30-10PM Off the Rails

Bost Vote

 Not a huge surprise but Rep. Mike Bost voted against the short term funding bill keeping the government open until December, since it did not have provisions in it requiring proof of citizenship to vote. Meanwhile, the Heritage Foundation found about 2 dozen instances of people actually voting illegally in the 2020 election. Certainly a crime, but not the widespread fraud touted by Rep. Bost and others.

Carbondeli's

 The long awaited Carbondeli's has finally opened on the west side of town. From what I have heard, the deli has adopted the names of a number of favorite sandwiches from the late lamented Arnold's Market for its own menu of sandwiches. No idea if anyone associated with Arnold's also works with or at Carbondeli's

Grand Opening

 Although it has been open since August, Tandoor and Tadka will have its ribbon cutting this Thursday at 11 :30 . Although not as two decades ago, SIUC and Carbondale still has a sizable population of residents and students of Indian descent. We have one good Indian restaurant, Bombay Olive, already and another one in a different part of town is welcome.

Denny's

 No we are not getting another Denny's. However, I have heard that some national chain has an option to build on the location where Denny's used to set. Carbondale could certainly use some more business growth on that side of town but I am not sure if there is enough traffic there to justify it. Last time I checked, street traffic drops by over two-thirds from the east side of town, coming in from Marion to the west side heading toward Murphysboro.

Deficit

 Looks as if SIUC is running a deficit of about $10 million. Not as bad as the $19 million it was down in 2019 but still not good. Appears that athletics accounts for about $8 million of that and health services another million. Handing out optional bonuses to top administrators is certainly not a good look when the university is running in the red, but then neither is  an extensive focus on athletics to the detriment of other areas, such as infrastructure.

Gym

 It looks as if the Southern Illinois Syndicate will open a boxing/kickboxing/circuit training gym and motorcycle resale shop in the long empty Yellow Cab location. As I recall, there have been 3 other gyms in downtown in recent years. There was one open for a few months on S. Illinois in the Attitude Designs building; there was a MMA studio on the ground floor of the Island Building for a few years and, before it became a restaurant/bar/event space, years ago there was one in the current Indigo Lounge space. 

Shawnee Wine Trail

 A travel blogger wrote a pretty lengthy ( and complimentary) piece about the Shawnee Wine Trail. it does appear that Southernmost Illinois invited her to visit so that likely skewed her perceptions. Still, it is a pretty nice and detailed piece, with the focus on Murphysboro and the Shawnee region south of Carbondale.

Plaza Records

 From what I hear, Plaza Records is following Mike's Music back downtown. Years ago, if I remember correctly, Plaza records was located in the strip of stores where Harbaugh's Cafe and Legal Smile are now. It moved out to its current location about 20 years ago. Now it is moving back into downtown, taking over Cristaudo's dining area, which I guess is not getting much use.

spirit Halloween

The Carbondale Spirit Halloween store opened for the season in the old Bed Bath and Beyond location. Second time it has located there. 

Mural

 New Saliki mural going up on the south Wall of The Big Chill. Artist expects to have it done by Tuesday, in time for next weekend's SIUC Family Weekend. As far as I am aware, this is the first mural designed for selfies in town.

Neon Tiger Tattoo

 Neon Tiger Tattoo will open later this fall in one of the spaces left empty by the closure of Sound Core. From what I understand, the owner used to work at Artistic Minds Tattoo. When the owner of that studio decided to buy the building that used to house Chicago Hot Dogs and move Artistic Minds over there, Neon Tiger's owner took the opportunity to open their own studio. By my count, that makes 4 tattoo studios in the downtown area.

Colligate Supply and Demand

 I was listening to this episode of Freakanomics Radio and it was pointed out that top tier colleges have no problem attracting students. Schools such as Harvard, Yale and UC Berkley routinely receive 50,000 applications per year and only admit 2% of them. Meanwhile most regional and community colleges, such as SIUC, SEMO and John A Logan, admit 92% of applicants and still have trouble attracting students. Makes me think they ought to spend less money on welcome centers and administrator bonuses and more money on attracting instructors and repairing infrastructure.

Signage

 Really wish the city would get some signage up around town directing people to places like Marberry Arboretum, bike paths, Campus Lake walking path, Boo Rochman (Castle Park) etc. We have so many cool places in town that are hidden away unless you know where they are.

Hot Dog

 No, literally. New hot dog vendor opening soon in the locating briefly occupied by Natcho Fries and for years by China Express at the south end of the Strip.

Entertainment Venue Part Deux

 Following up on the entertainment venue post from earlier this week, I am somewhat worry that the powers that be will wind up choosing a generic name for the venue like the Town Square Entrainment Center. After all, instead of naming the freight depot pavilion something memorable that reflects Carbondale, such as the Daniel Brush Pavilion, the city went with Town Square Pavilion.

Of course, we also chose "All Ways Open" as the current community motto, which does nothing to set the city apart from thousands of other communities. At least Marion has "Marion, Center of the Universe". It's brash but it sticks in your mind.

Tattoo Parlor

 A new tattoo parlor plans to move into part of the old Sound Core location. Apparently the artist worked at Artistic Minds Tattoo prior to their move to the new location across the street and decided this was a good time to open their own studio. By my county that will make 4 studios in the downtown area, almost equivalent to the number of bars in downtown.

Wendy's

 Looks like they are gutting the old Wendy's location on East Walnut. From what I here, going in there will be... a Wendy's. Significantly renovated. Wonder if it will take a cue from the west side Burger King and do away with inside dining?

Entertainment Venue

 Appears the powers that be in Carbondale have decided not to name the downtown entertainment venue after a particular individual and are now looking for a more inclusive or general name.  However, I bet if someone made  a large enough financial donation to help build the pavilion, the city would name it after whomever they wanted. I do like the idea of putting bricks in the pavilion with the names of important contributors to Carbondale's Musical Scene.

ATTENTION CARBONDALE! You are cordially invited to join the Stage Name Brainstorm ROUND TWO!    

 Last January, we issued a similar call for ideas, and were so blown away by the response.  A great many of you suggested naming the venue after individuals who have made important contributions to Carbondale’s music scene. Rather than naming this space after a specific individual, we are striving to broaden the scope of this venue name to be inclusive, diverse, unifying. We are seeking ideas that highlight a broader venue name and that do not directly focus on any one individual.   

  The timing for this is perfect – the City is about to break ground on Phase One of the Entertainment and Events Plaza in downtown Carbondale.  Phase One will include a state-of-the-art stage that will host entertainment and the performing arts, and attract visitors from across the region and beyond to the heart of Carbondale!   

  We were humbled by the amazing response from our first call for naming suggestions of the Entertainment and Events Plaza, and want to thank all of you who submitted your ideas and input! A multitude of responses highlighted impactful community members who have left their mark on Carbondale in various and important ways.    

  In order to celebrate all of those who used their talents to help make Carbondale’s music scene so special and unique, we are currently exploring other ways to honor and recognize these individuals.   

  If you feel called to submit an idea to the team with this new direction in mind, we welcome you to submit your suggestions via the form in the link below: 

https://www.explorecarbondale.com/FormCenter/EcoDev-23/Downtown-Entertainment-Events-Plaza-Nami-206 

Mike's Music

 From what I have heard, Mike's Music will move from its longtime East Main location into half of the shuttered Sound Core location later this year.  Nice to have another business moving into downtown though somewhat bemused it will be half a block from the Practice Pag.