Calendar

The 2025 Illinois State Fair runs from August 7th through August 17th.

The Fairgrounds are open from 7 a.m. to Midnight for the duration of the Fair.

The Fair Administration Office is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the fair.

Seasonal Parking (Gate 6 - Infield) and Admission Books can be purchased online, 24-hours is required for processing before being able to pick-up.

Join us for a month-long celebration of new vegan dishes all over Bloomington! Businesses across the area will showcase exciting special vegan menu items, giving everyone the opportunity to explore creative plant-based dishes crafted by talented local chefs.

🗓 How It Works:
- Visit participating restaurants throughout Bloomington
- Try their exclusive vegan offerings.
- Share your experience—vote, comment, post photos of your favorite meals, and tag us at @veganchefchallengeMW
This event is open to everyone—not just vegans! It’s about bringing our community together to celebrate incredible food and support Bloomington chefs.

🙌 Get Involved:
Looking for ways to connect? Volunteer with us! We’re seeking passionate individuals to help with outreach, event promotion, and community building throughout the month. It's a great way to meet like-minded people and make a difference! Volunteer using this link: TinyURL.com/VOLVCC
Join us in making Bloomington an even more inclusive, vibrant, and compassionate community.
For details on participating businesses, menus, sponsorship opportunities, and more, visit our website at veganchefchallenge.org/Bloomington

The Chainsmokers

The Chainsmokers have consistently elevated popular music by ceaselessly challenging it. The GRAMMY® Award-winning RIAA Diamond-certified duo—Drew Taggart and Alex Pall—have broken boundaries between pop, indie, electronic, alternative, and rock. By doing so, they have set the tempo for culture and proven inescapable, delivering some of the biggest songs in the world, hosting a historic multi-year Las Vegas residency, packing arenas on multiple continents, launching first-of-its-kind games in the metaverse, and selling tens of millions of singles along the way. Thus far, they have scored three Diamond singles, namely the Billboard Hot 100 #1 “Closer” [feat. Halsey], “Something Just Like This” [with Coldplay], and “Don’t Let Me Down” [feat. Daya]. The latter garnered a GRAMMY® Award for “Best Dance Recording.” As cultural arbiters and tastemakers, they’ve also fueled crossover success for collaborators as diverse as Lennon Stella (on “Takeaway” with Illenium) and Kelsea Ballerini (on “This Feeling”). Their 2017 full-length debut, Memories…Do Not Open, notably bowed at #1 on the Billboard 200 and paved the way for gold-certified albums Sick Boy [2018] and World War Joy [2019]. After four years of nonstop touring and music releases, the band took the time to rediscover themselves and spent two full years creating their musically evolved and very personal album, 2022’s So Far So Good. It marked their fourth #1 debut on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart, notching praise from Pitchfork and more. The Chainsmokers continue to evolve as musicians and songwriters, bringing popular music with them into the future.

The 2025 Illinois State Fair runs from August 7th through August 17th.

The Fairgrounds are open from 7 a.m. to Midnight for the duration of the Fair.

The Fair Administration Office is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the fair.

Seasonal Parking (Gate 6 - Infield) and Admission Books can be purchased online, 24-hours is required for processing before being able to pick-up.

Join us for a month-long celebration of new vegan dishes all over Bloomington! Businesses across the area will showcase exciting special vegan menu items, giving everyone the opportunity to explore creative plant-based dishes crafted by talented local chefs.

🗓 How It Works:
- Visit participating restaurants throughout Bloomington
- Try their exclusive vegan offerings.
- Share your experience—vote, comment, post photos of your favorite meals, and tag us at @veganchefchallengeMW
This event is open to everyone—not just vegans! It’s about bringing our community together to celebrate incredible food and support Bloomington chefs.

🙌 Get Involved:
Looking for ways to connect? Volunteer with us! We’re seeking passionate individuals to help with outreach, event promotion, and community building throughout the month. It's a great way to meet like-minded people and make a difference! Volunteer using this link: TinyURL.com/VOLVCC
Join us in making Bloomington an even more inclusive, vibrant, and compassionate community.
For details on participating businesses, menus, sponsorship opportunities, and more, visit our website at veganchefchallenge.org/Bloomington

The Shark Farmer takes The Barn III Stage LIVE!
Get ready for a one-of-a-kind night with Rob Sharkey, better known as The Shark Farmer—a fifth-generation farmer, national podcast host, Sirius XM personality, and outspoken advocate for agriculture and rural life.
In this special event, Rob will sit down for lively, candid conversations with local trailblazers like Bob Parsons, Abby Reel, and more, sharing their personal stories, insights, and a healthy dose of humor. Audience members won’t just watch—they’ll be part of the magic of LIVE TELEVISION. These interviews will be recorded live for broadcast, capturing the authentic energy and spontaneous fun that Rob is known for. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to see “Sharkie” at his very best, right here at The Barn III!

TICKETS: $75/Person
Doors Open: 5:45pm
Dinner Served: 6-6:30pm
Show Starts: 7:00pm
Ticket includes entertainment, appetizer, salad, entree, sides and dessert. Coffee, Tea and Water. Bar service available on site at additional cost.

North America's largest interactive comedy murder mystery dinner theatre show is now playing in Springfield, IL! Solve a hilarious true crime murder mystery while you feast on a fantastic dinner. Just beware! The culprit is hiding in plain sight somewhere in the room, and you may find yourself as a Prime Suspect before you know it!

Join us for an event that is very different from a traditional mystery dinner show. Our actors are not dressed in costume and are hidden in the audience! This results in a fun, social and interactive evening suitable for all adults.

Each ticket includes our signature award-winning mystery dinner theatre show, along with a full plated dinner, waitstaff gratuity, and plenty of surprises during the show.

With more than 110 million albums sold worldwide and two prestigious Diamond Awards in the U.S., 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame® inductees Def Leppard - Joe Elliott (vocals), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick Savage (bass), Vivian Campbell (guitar) and Rick Allen (drums) — continue to be one of the most important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic ground-breaking albums that set the bar for generations of music fans and artists alike. The group’s spectacular live shows and arsenal of hits have become synonymous with their name, leading Def Leppard to be heralded as the world’s greatest live rock band. Def Leppard’s influential career includes numerous hit singles and ground-breaking multi-platinum albums, including two of the best-selling albums of all time, Pyromania and Hysteria— the former of which is now celebrating its 40th anniversary — capturing the group’s legendary tracks, bringing together classic Leppard hits such as “Rock of Ages”, Pour Some Sugar on Me” and “Foolin.” As always, the group continues to push the boundaries with their electrifying live shows and are currently filling stadiums across North America with Journey on The Summer Stadium Tour 2024. Most recently, the band teamed up with legendary guitarist Tom Morello for their single “Just Like 73”, which soared to #1 on the Mediabase Classic Rock chart

The 2025 Illinois State Fair runs from August 7th through August 17th.

The Fairgrounds are open from 7 a.m. to Midnight for the duration of the Fair.

The Fair Administration Office is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the fair.

Seasonal Parking (Gate 6 - Infield) and Admission Books can be purchased online, 24-hours is required for processing before being able to pick-up.

Join us for a month-long celebration of new vegan dishes all over Bloomington! Businesses across the area will showcase exciting special vegan menu items, giving everyone the opportunity to explore creative plant-based dishes crafted by talented local chefs.

🗓 How It Works:
- Visit participating restaurants throughout Bloomington
- Try their exclusive vegan offerings.
- Share your experience—vote, comment, post photos of your favorite meals, and tag us at @veganchefchallengeMW
This event is open to everyone—not just vegans! It’s about bringing our community together to celebrate incredible food and support Bloomington chefs.

🙌 Get Involved:
Looking for ways to connect? Volunteer with us! We’re seeking passionate individuals to help with outreach, event promotion, and community building throughout the month. It's a great way to meet like-minded people and make a difference! Volunteer using this link: TinyURL.com/VOLVCC
Join us in making Bloomington an even more inclusive, vibrant, and compassionate community.
For details on participating businesses, menus, sponsorship opportunities, and more, visit our website at veganchefchallenge.org/Bloomington