Entertainment Pavilion

 Scheduled for completion next summer.  I hope, now that the city has spent $1.5 million on it, we get use out of it and that the parking area gets sealed and restriped after the pavilion gets completed.  I would like to see the city's hosting of the Sunset Concerts moved there and that the city never closes the Strip down again for a concert. close Washington Street down and use the stage for any downtown activities and concerts. The city still hasn't come up with a name for it.  From what I recall, when they solicited suggestions, the overwhelming choice was the Robbie Stokes Entertainment Pavilion or something similar , but have not heard anything since then.

Entertainment Center

 One problem with the entertainment pavilion is its seasonality. Much like the splash park it is only usable  during warm, good weather. I have seen several instances over the past few years where inclement weather forced cancellation of concerts in the space. I assume the contracts are written better but some years ago, during the last Carbondale Main Street Pig Out, a rainstorm forced cancellation of the Friday night concert and, if I remember correctly, the lack of a rain clause meant the Friday night band got full payment, wiping out the profits for the event.

I just hope we have enough events taking place to justify the expense of a permanent venue.

Entertainment Pavilion

 While it is a nice thing to have and I should have said this before construction started, I do not see how much use the city will get out of the facility. Since it is outdoors, it can only be used 3 seasons of the year. If the city plans to move the Sunset Concerts from Turly Park to the pavilion, that makes sense as there is no reason to keep them there when we have a brand spanking new stage to use, but what about in spring and fall? Unless the city and other organizations plan to increase the number of outdoor concerts in downtown, the only other events I can think of that would go there are the Off the Rails concerts.

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.

Name That Plaza

 The city got a $2 million grant to build the stage/entertainment plaza at the intersection of Washington and Walnut. You can submit names for the plaza here. The city posted the following questions as inspiration for your suggestion:

Does this name reflect the City of Carbondale? 

Does this name honor an artist who influenced the entertainment scene in Carbondale and beyond? 

Does this name reference a historical site or happening within Carbondale?  

Does this name embrace an abstract thought, feeling, or mindset of Southern Illinois and/or the Carbondale arts & music scene?

Maybe "Poet's Plaza"? At one time, Carbondale was,according to one of the episodes of "Whaddyaknow" recorded at Shryock, known as the "City of Poets", so the name would be a nod to that.

Loitering Sign and Alcohol

The city has posted a "No Loitering" sign on the Old Train Depot pavilion. I know during warmer weather the city does patrol the area, especially looking for people hanging around the pavilion with open containers of alcohol. Not sure how the deisgnation of the downtown area as an "entertainment district" will affect that. After all, as far as I can tell, the ordinance allows anyone within the district to wander around carrying open cups of alcohol whith no way to indicate if they got it from a local bar or brought it from elsewhere. I have seen other cities pas similar ordinances but they also created a special "outdoor" cup that the bars in the distribut would use for alcohol that patrons wanted to take off the premises. That was, other bar owners and the police would know that the berr had been purchased within the district and not brought in from elsewhere.

Entertainment District Map

 The city will create an "entertainment district" website that will show the boundaries and restrictions of the new district.  Distirct boundaries currently are Illinois Ave from Jackson  on the north end  to Grand on the south, west to Univeristy and east to Washington. It includes the block between Main and Walnut then cuts down Washington before heading east to the railroad tracks at Cherry St. then parallels the railroad tracks south to Grand.

Essentially, the district will comprise the area between Illinois and University from Jackson to Grand with an extension east to include Consume, Buckwater and Italian Village.

The Strip Circa 2005

Also pointed out by Jane Adams, here is a guide to the Strip, aka S. Illinois, from 2005.  Technically, several of them were/are not on the Strip proper but they did contribute to Carbondale nightlife at the time.  How many do you remember?

Musicians in Carbondale

Interesting article in the DE on the lack of top-level performing artists in Carbondale. While there is a lot of interest in Sheryl Crow (and the CDB too for that matter), Walkers Bluff will have to sell over 800 tickets to cover the cost of the singer's fee. I see the SIUC Arena has no-one scheduled to perform for the foreseeable future and, while Travis Tritt appeared at Shyrock last February, nothing is scheuled there for over the summer either.

SI Drunks

Yet another website devoted to bringing info about the Carbondale social scene. We see one pop up about once a year or so claiming to bring info about the hottest parties and bars in the area, then the owners lose interest or run out of money and they shut down.

Black Entertainment in Carbondale

Interesting viewpoint by a longtime black Carbondale resident on the lack of venues for black entertainment in Carbondale. However, it's all about the dollars. Local bars and entertainment venues book groups like the Woodbox Gang and Hairbangers Ball because they bring in people who buy drinks.

Who Watches the.....

Roger Ebert loves the Watchmen movie. Not everybody does though. Midnight showing sales were certainly good.