• the217
• Life
• Editor's Note

For all of you guys who couldn’t wait for summer to finally get here, you really did it. The temperature and humidity have skyrocketed, my face is dripping sweat wherever I go and the Cocomero soft serve I bought yesterday couldn’t even last long enough for me to finish it. I hope you’re happy.

But now that summer is really here, I guess we should embrace it. Hopefully you got the hint from the disgusting cover of this week’s issue that the Blues, Brews and BBQ festival is this weekend. What better way to cool down than listen to some of CU’s favorite local blues groups and enjoy some of this town’s great barbeque sandwiches? It sounds like Fluid Events have made some improvements to the festival, changing the location to Main Street and nixing the entrance fee. Find out what others think of the “unholy trinity” on page 5 or check out the great lineup in our music section on page 9. Plus, check out our Front and Center for a feature of the event.

In the meantime, don’t forget to make your 4th of July plans. Of course, buzz and the217.com will help you make the right decisions about where to spend your 4th. Check on the 217.com now for a map and listing of all the 4th of July events around town and surrounding areas like Rantoul and Arcola. Also, look forward to next week’s issue for a print version of the map with a little buzz flare added in.

And thanks for all of those who stopped by at the Taste of Champaign’s WPGU booth to say hi and fill out one of our surveys. If you didn’t get a chance to make it out , let us know how you feel about our magazine by filling it out on the217.com today.