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One of the biggest problems in our country today is general laziness or apathy when it comes to exercise and physical activity. We are blind of how truly beneficial a good day’s exercise can have on both our physical and mental health. However, there is an opportunity for change for three separate weeks this summer.
 Photo from: http://visitmo.com/listing/?ContentGUID=471E4D4A-41AE-4F6D-BAB2-5E2436F7BF92 The city of Columbia, Missouri, will be hosting the “Show-Me State” games during the weeks of June 11-14, July 16-18, and July 23-25. The games are an Olympic-style sports festival with more than 40 competitive sports for Missouri amateur athletes of all ages and abilities. The idea behind the event is to promote healthy lifestyle, a social environment and sportsmanship. Last year, over 37,000 athletes participated in the games year round. A wide variety of games are played including baseball, kickball, basketball, as well as the always-popular synchronized swimming.
Now, I’m a pretty a big sports fan. I’ve made that known in some of my previous blog posts, especially the one about my love fest for the St. Louis Cardinals. Not only that, but I’m always up for playing any type of sports. Even in college, I play a variety of sports ranging from basketball to beach volleyball. So, obviously, I find this to be an awesome idea. A lot of the events that I’ve written about this semester have consisted of events where the attendee merely watches or tours a venue, but this event provides the attendee to get involved with the event that they are visiting. Plus, it provides a great opportunity for people to get to know each other through a social atmosphere of competition. So if you’re bored this summer, you should check out the Show-Me Games in Columbia. See full post
Tags: Sports & Games, Events, Entertainment
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Throughout the entire semester I’ve been writing this blog, my main focus has been on small events throughout the Midwest, primarily located in small towns. I’m going to shift gears this week and focus on something going on not in a small town, but rather a large city. In fact this city, Chicago, Ill., is the third-largest in the United States.
 Photo from: http://www.theskydeck.com/theledge.asp The Sears Tower, now known as the Willis tower, has always been a striking structure. Standing at an immense 108 stories, the tower is the tallest building in the United States and is currently the fifth-tallest building in the world. The building towers over the Chicago skyline, providing a breathtaking view for tourists and local Chicagoans alike.
Recently, the tower opened a new set of glass balconies for the general public viewing. Nicknamed “The Ledge,” the structure suspends 103 stories in the air, and is complete with transparent walls and ceilings, making it easy for tourists to look down upon the magnificent city that is Chicago, Ill. Though the structure may be seen as potentially dangerous, it can hold up to five tons on its transparent floor, putting to ease those problems. See full post
Tags: Landmarks, Vacation, Urban
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One of the more popular figures from the Midwestern area is Walt Disney. Walt was born in Chicago, Ill., in 1901. Walt’s father, Elias, moved the family to a farm located in Marceline, Missouri when Walt was four. It was on the farm in Marceline that Walt developed his love of drawing. He was once paid by a local neighbor to draw the neighbor’s horse.
 Photo from: http://www.abcpedia.us/people-celebrities/biography/walt-disney The Disney’s remained in Marceline for four more years, before moving to Kansas City, Mo. in 1911. There, Walt was introduced to the world of motion pictures and vaudevilles. During his younger years, Walt would take Saturday courses at the Kansas City Art Institute, and was also a regular visitor of Electric Park. Walt would return to Chicago for his teenage years, taking night courses at the Chicago Art Institute while he attended McKinley High School during the day.
Clearly we know the rest of Walt’s story. He would go on to revolutionize the film industry as well as the cartoon industry. He created one of the most iconic characters in the film industry, Mickey Mouse, and would also win 26 academy awards, the most in the history of the ceremony. His hand print can be seen anytime you watch a Pixar movie or any animated film in general. See full post
Tags: Rural, Culture, Historical figures
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If you’re looking for something fun to do in the Midwest this spring or summer, look no farther than Chicago. Here, you will find a smart house called Smart Home: Green + Wired, which opened on March 4 and will run for the remainder of the year at the Museum of Science and Industry. That’s right, an eco-friendly smart house.
 Photo from: http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/smart-home/the-exhibit/ One of the main reasons why the smart house is able to maintain this green-style of living is because of the digital nerve-center technology built within the home that is automatically programmed to reduce energy consumption whenever deemed necessary. There is also an automation system that allows homeowners to control the house’s temperature, lighting and entertainment from touch solar panels.
As described by the Web site, the house “provides examples and ideas for sustainable living with contemporary style and in the harmony with the environment.” The idea behind the smart house is to get attendees to be more conscious about the environment, and encourage more eco-friendly living. This popular exhibit attracted over 200,000 people when it first debuted in May 2008. See full post
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On Saturday, March 13, the Round lake Park District, located at the Robert W. Rolek Community Center in Round Lake, Ill., will be hosting its annual mother-son night for 2010. The theme for this year is pirates. Now, young sons and their moms can hop aboard the Black Pearl, featured prominently in the Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean, for a night of high sea adventure, also known as a pirate party. There are a variety of things to do, including arts and crafts, dancing to some awesome music, and even producing their own ice cream creation.
 Photo from: http://www.eventective.com/provider/webthumbview.aspx?NUM=166443 There will also be many events, programs, and recreational activities that the Round Lake Area Park District, the organization hosting the pirate night, puts on every year for the Round Lake community.
But, I’m going to be honest with you. Round Lake, Ill. is a small town. According to its official website, Round Lake is described fittingly as a “village,” with a total population of 5,842. So, I like the fact that there are a series of events like these to entertain the families living in the area, such as this pirate night for moms and their sons. This seems to be a norm for most small towns throughout the Midwest. The town needs quirky events like pirate night that can keep these small-town folks entertained. See full post
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The city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, holds a maple syrup festival every year during the first weekend of March. Events featured at the festival include tapping a tree, gathering sap, and boiling sap into delicious maple syrup. There’s also a delicious pancake breakfast which includes sausage, juice, milk, and coffee. When I read about this festival, I was a little confused. Maple syrup? The Midwest? Things just didn’t seem to add up.
 Photo from: http://www.roadfooddigest.com/image.axd?picture=WindowsLiveWriter/ParkeCountyMapleSyrupFair_6D5/spile_3 Whenever I think about maple syrup, I think the dense, rich forests of the New England country side, not the middle of the flat farmlands of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I discovered there is actually a rich history of maple syrup in the Midwest. Many Midwestern Native American tribes produced maple syrup and even today, many Midwestern states such as Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan host maple syrup festivals on an annual basis. Though it is primarily produced in the Northeast because of the high concentration of maple trees in the region, maple syrup can be produced anywhere there is maple trees and good weather conditions, which clarifies why there is still a high amount of maple syrup produced in the Midwest.
Maple syrup is usually harvested by tapping a maple tree through the bark and into the wood, letting the sap run into a bucket. It is required that sap collection (which takes places daily) occurs primarily during the months of February, March and April. This would explain why the maple syrup festival in Cedar Rapids is held every year in early March. Anyway, this festival looks like a good way to learn about an unorthodox Midwest export. If nothing else, you can enlighten people from other regions about another exciting Midwest entity about which they might not have known. See full post
Tags: Food and Drink, Events, Culture
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One of the most impactful figures that represented Midwestern culture is Samuel Clemens. The majority of you probably known him by his pen name: Mark Twain. Born in the small town of Florida, Mo., Twain spent the majority of his younger years on the Mississippi River, working on a steamboat. Twain’s experience working on the steamboat is where the esteemed writer obtained the majority of his inspiration.
 http://impiousdigest.com/MarkTwain Today, the majority of people associate the Midwest with farm life, “the breadbasket of America.” But back in the nineteenth century, the economy of the Midwest relied on the steam boating industry. Twain brought this industry to life in such popular novels as “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”
But it wasn’t just the steam boating aspect of Midwestern culture that Twain represented in his novels. He also described the small-town environment that was custom of most Midwestern river towns at the time. The people were viewed as “simple” by most accounts, but the people of the town, especially the younger ones, would have goals and dreams that transcended the town itself. Huckleberry Finn didn’t wish to live in his small town on the Mississippi River. He wanted to “light out for the territory.” This mentality represented many Midwesterners at the time. Many thought their big ideas couldn’t be limited to the Midwest. They too needed to light out for the territory. Whether it be heading out West to California or Oregon, or head to the big cities of the East. Just as Mark Twain kept his Midwestern values wherever he went in life, so do Midwesterners. He provided a voice for the Midwestern man in a time when Midwesterners were not heard. See full post
Tags: Culture, Historical figures
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One of the most popular tourist attractions in the great city of Branson, Missouri, is the Titanic Museum. For those of you who don’t know what the Titanic Museum is, it is a permanent two story structure shaped like the Titanic itself. It is built to half-scale of the original “Titanic,” and contains 400 artifacts from the original shipwreck.
 Photo from: http://detoursmagazine.com/images/branson-titanic_Mobile This month, the prototypical month of love, the Titanic Museum is hosting “Sweetheart Month.” Now, you and your significant other can renew your vows or pop the question on the Museum’s fabulous grand staircase. The ship’s own Captain Smith even presides over the ceremony.
I’ve never been to Branson, Missouri, nor have I even heard of the Titanic museum. In all honesty, the only I thing I associated Branson with is Andy Williams. But the whole idea of a museum dedicated to the ship Titanic seems really cool to me. That just might be my personal fascination with the luxury liner, but regardless. See full post
Tags: Events, Entertainment
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 patrick In the sweltering St. Louis summers, one of my favorite pasttimes is to go downtown to see my beloved St. Louis Cardinals play baseball at Busch Stadium. I know what you’re thinking. This is just some crazy baseball fan bragging about his local baseball team. I assure you that are not the case. The St. Louis Cardinals transcend more than just a simple baseball team. They are a symbol of Midwestern culture.
For the longest time, the Cardinals were broadcasted on KMOX, a radio station with an audience from Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa, to Colorado and the Dakotas. Because of this, the Cardinals were able to obtain a wide fan base throughout the Midwest, which makes a pilgrimage to the Mecca of Midwestern baseball culture each year. I have witnessed this pilgrimage firsthand.
 Photo from: http://www.publicroutes.com/images/topattraction/busch-stadium
See full post
Tags: Sports & Games, Culture
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 Patrick Lynch, Blogger As I was preparing to leave St. Louis and head away to college, I thought it would be a good idea to visit the architectural wonder that has defined my city for the last 40 years. Every time I’m in downtown St. Louis, I can’t help but view that giant, steel structure that prides itself as the “gateway to the west.” The city has even past legislation that prohibits buildings in the downtown area from being taller than the arch.
But, despite living 18 years in St. Louis, I had never been able to see it from inside. It just never appealed to me and was really more of a tourist attraction.
Needless to say, I probably would’ve had more fun doing something else. The museum in the arch was drier than the history textbook from my junior of high school. The tram ride to the top could not have been scarier, and, unless you enjoy staring at the Millennium Hotel, there isn’t much to look at other than the Mississippi River. See full post
Tags: Culture, Urban, Landmarks
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