Summer in Chambana

by Sarah Bransley

It’s almost summer break! The majority of students are excited to pack up and get back home to be with family and friends from home. However, for a portion of us, we stay in Chambana for either research or classes.

A lot of first timers want to know – What’s it like in Chambana over the summer? Is there anything to do?

First off, I love the summer. Campus pretty much shuts down. Between places closing for extended periods or changing hours, it’s like a ghost town. Except there’s this amazing thing that happens. You can walk across the Quad without someone trying to sell you poorly baked goods or getting hit by a cyclist or getting stuck behind a wall of the SLOWEST WALKERS IN EXISTENCE. You also don’t have to wait in line for anything. And if you do, it’s like two people. Does that even count as waiting?

Campus isn’t the only part of town affected. Driving around town gets so much easier. You can tell that a huge portion of the population is gone. It takes less time to get places and you see the effects EVERYWHERE. The mall, the grocery stores, the highway, etc.

Don’t think that means there’s nothing to do in the summer. Chambana is the best place to be in the summer! It seems like there’s a festival or concert nearly every weekend. The Taste of Champaign, the SweetCorn Festival and the Blues Brews & BBQ Festival are my favorites and probably the largest. I also love movies on the Quad hosted by our own Illini Union Board! This summer I’m also going to try and check out Krannert Uncorked, which is a concert and wine tasting at Krannert. My boyfriend also insists that we visit the arboretum, which is supposed to be gorgeous.

If you still can’t find anything you want to do here (really? I mean come on) then Chicago or St. Louis are both about 2-3 hours away. Not impossible for a weekend trip.

Whatever you choose, have fun!

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