Calendar

The 85th annual Midwest Charity Horse Show will be held June 9-13 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Coliseum of Champions. Performances will be held daily starting at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. One of the premier horse shows in the United States, the Midwest Charity Horse Show features American Saddlebred, Roadster, Morgan and Arabian horses and Hackney ponies.

Since its inception, the Midwest Charity Horse Show, an all-volunteer, nonsubsidized organization, has donated its annual proceeds to a Springfield area charity and has selected SIU School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics as its beneficiary. Since 1987, Midwest Charity Horse Show Association (MCHSA) in partnership with SIU School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics has been an integral part of helping children with chronic illnesses live happy, healthier lives. Proceeds from this year’s horse show help provide medication, overnight lodging, food and/or transportation for families whose child is receiving treatment. The MCHSA endowment has given more than $307,000 to SIU School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics since 1987.

For more information about Midwest Charity Horse Show log-on to Facebook at www.facebook.com/midwestcharity to check for updates regarding the 2026 show.

Art @ the Market provides a free weekly, make-it, take-it art/craft activity to the public each week. Our activity booth will be at the Bloomington Farmers' Market (near the intersection of Jefferson and Center Streets). This activity is for youth to the young-at-heart adult. Our volunteers will be there to help with the activity which will take about 15 minutes. Drop by during the scheduled time to participate. If the weather is poor, the activity will be held in the lobby just outside our gallery in the Monroe Center.

The 85th annual Midwest Charity Horse Show will be held June 9-13 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Coliseum of Champions. Performances will be held daily starting at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. One of the premier horse shows in the United States, the Midwest Charity Horse Show features American Saddlebred, Roadster, Morgan and Arabian horses and Hackney ponies.

Since its inception, the Midwest Charity Horse Show, an all-volunteer, nonsubsidized organization, has donated its annual proceeds to a Springfield area charity and has selected SIU School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics as its beneficiary. Since 1987, Midwest Charity Horse Show Association (MCHSA) in partnership with SIU School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics has been an integral part of helping children with chronic illnesses live happy, healthier lives. Proceeds from this year’s horse show help provide medication, overnight lodging, food and/or transportation for families whose child is receiving treatment. The MCHSA endowment has given more than $307,000 to SIU School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics since 1987.

For more information about Midwest Charity Horse Show log-on to Facebook at www.facebook.com/midwestcharity to check for updates regarding the 2026 show.

Join us for a conversation with local playwright and winner of the 2024 Mayor’s Award for the Arts—Individual Performing Artist, Tim Crawford. Learn how he progressed from the blank page to the upcoming performances of his play this summer in the Hoogland Center for the Arts’ Peggy Rider Theatre (supported by funding from both a grant from the Springfield Area Arts Council, through city funds, and by the Springfield NAACP). Discover the current state of organized playwriting collaborative efforts in Central Illinois, and engage with Tim as Carly Shank, Artistic Programs Director for UIS Performing Arts Center, prompts revealing responses to the questions she has crafted before yielding the floor to questions from the audience.

Art @ the Market provides a free weekly, make-it, take-it art/craft activity to the public each week. Our activity booth will be at the Bloomington Farmers' Market (near the intersection of Jefferson and Center Streets). This activity is for youth to the young-at-heart adult. Our volunteers will be there to help with the activity which will take about 15 minutes. Drop by during the scheduled time to participate. If the weather is poor, the activity will be held in the lobby just outside our gallery in the Monroe Center.

Art @ the Market provides a free weekly, make-it, take-it art/craft activity to the public each week. Our activity booth will be at the Bloomington Farmers' Market (near the intersection of Jefferson and Center Streets). This activity is for youth to the young-at-heart adult. Our volunteers will be there to help with the activity which will take about 15 minutes. Drop by during the scheduled time to participate. If the weather is poor, the activity will be held in the lobby just outside our gallery in the Monroe Center.

Art @ the Market provides a free weekly, make-it, take-it art/craft activity to the public each week. Our activity booth will be at the Bloomington Farmers' Market (near the intersection of Jefferson and Center Streets). This activity is for youth to the young-at-heart adult. Our volunteers will be there to help with the activity which will take about 15 minutes. Drop by during the scheduled time to participate. If the weather is poor, the activity will be held in the lobby just outside our gallery in the Monroe Center.

Art @ the Market provides a free weekly, make-it, take-it art/craft activity to the public each week. Our activity booth will be at the Bloomington Farmers' Market (near the intersection of Jefferson and Center Streets). This activity is for youth to the young-at-heart adult. Our volunteers will be there to help with the activity which will take about 15 minutes. Drop by during the scheduled time to participate. If the weather is poor, the activity will be held in the lobby just outside our gallery in the Monroe Center.

Art @ the Market provides a free weekly, make-it, take-it art/craft activity to the public each week. Our activity booth will be at the Bloomington Farmers' Market (near the intersection of Jefferson and Center Streets). This activity is for youth to the young-at-heart adult. Our volunteers will be there to help with the activity which will take about 15 minutes. Drop by during the scheduled time to participate. If the weather is poor, the activity will be held in the lobby just outside our gallery in the Monroe Center.

Art @ the Market provides a free weekly, make-it, take-it art/craft activity to the public each week. Our activity booth will be at the Bloomington Farmers' Market (near the intersection of Jefferson and Center Streets). This activity is for youth to the young-at-heart adult. Our volunteers will be there to help with the activity which will take about 15 minutes. Drop by during the scheduled time to participate. If the weather is poor, the activity will be held in the lobby just outside our gallery in the Monroe Center.