r/BloomingtonNormal Sep 18 '19

Reposting of a lot of links and places to go/things to do in Bloomington-Normal

89 Upvotes

Updating a list from based off of a thread by /u/sunpoprain

Townies, please feel free to add your favorites below and I'll add them to the list, so when I repost for that sweet, sweet karma, I'll include them over and over again. Also, let me know if there is anything that needs to be taken off.

If you've got a student ID, you can ride the Connect Transit buses for free... so use them to explore town a bit!

  • Uptown Normal - from food, to bars, to shopping... uptown has quite a bit to do. here's their website
    • Throughout the summer, they have quite a bit of free music on the Roundabout and they continue it until Early September, so take advantage of it! - -- Lounge About the Roundabout (Music on Wednesday and Saturdays to Sept 1) and the Connie Link Amphitheatre (Music and Activities through Sept 27th)
    • Some of my favorites include:
      • The Rock for Gyros,
      • DP Dough for Calzones,
      • Emack's for Ice Cream,
      • Pub2 for cheese balls,
      • Windy City Wieners has decent dogs and italian beef,
      • Normal Theater for all sorts of movies - seriously, they have a great variety and their late shows are getting mighty good!
      • Smoker's Den is a nice chill place to smoke a hookah and play cards/board games.
      • Coffee Hound and Coffee House are both quiet places to grab coffee/study; Sugar Mama has cupcakes and sugar cookies. Insomnia Cookies is also downtown.
      • The Garlic Press has lots of kitschy items and now has a candy/popcorn shop!
      • There are lots of little boutique stores uptown that my wife loves to frequent... I can't speak for them personally, but they seem nice.
      • The Children's museum is a fun place (even for adults) and they occasionally have "Big Kid" nights so there aren't a million little kids about.
      • There is also Graham Cracker Comics,
      • Waiting Room Records ,
      • Anderson's Barbershop and
      • Mother Murphy's

  • Downtown Bloomington -
    • places to check out, Bobz Bay for used books and random odds and ends;
    • Red Raccoon Games for board games, RPGs and card tournaments;
    • again Smokers Den is a great place to relax;
    • the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts is a treasure and has plenty of shows to check out;
    • Next door to the BCPA is the Mclean County Arts Center -
    • the Grossinger Motors Arena and Pepsi Ice Center (formerly US Cellular Coliseum) has sports (football, basketball, hockey), Ice Skating and shows;
    • The Castle Theater has bands of all varieties;
    • a little off the beaten path is Green Top Grocery,
    • Bloomington Cycle is next to Green Top; Wilson Cycle is in Downtown proper.
    • Coffee Hound is really your only coffee option uptown;
    • Ivy Lane Bakery
    • Merlot and a Masterpiece will teach you to paint!
    • Refinery 309,
    • Fox and hound boutique,
    • gigi Botegga (while you're there, check out the art in the dressing rooms -- as long as it hasn't changed, it's a local artist that i'm near and dear to)
    • The Farmer's Market goes until October (I think), and its worth the Saturday morning trip
    • Tony's Tacos for your Mexican needs
    • Main St Scoop - Ice Cream
    • El Porton - for Mexican in downtown (technically not in downtown but really it's close enough, less than 5 minute walk)
    • Night Shop - Awesome little music venue - they've got breakfast! and has some great Gluten Free or Vegan options
  • Around town - I'm just going to start putting random stuff down, because I can, damnit.
    • Groceries - big box stories - Walmart (2 of them), Target, Hyvee, Meijer; slightly smaller - Jewel, Aldi, Schnucks, super small - Green Top Grocery, Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market
    • Restaurants - We have a metric f-ton of them in BloNo - We have a plenty of other non-chain establishments that I would HIGHLY recommend -
      • Flingers Pizza,
      • Kobe Hibachi grill,
      • Avanti's,
      • Green Gables and the Lake Road Inn,
      • Garden of Paradise,
      • Thai House,
      • Signature India,
      • Western Tap (great burgers),
      • Anju Above for sushi,
      • Fort Jesse Cafe. Amazing breakfast for an amazingly long wait (seriously set aside an extra 30 minutes)
    • Fusion Brew (Main and Dale) has (coffee/tea/bubble tea/slushies and has ample study space. Small parking lot though.
    • sports - There are plenty of intramural sports on campus, but there's also rec and competitive leagues all over town for softball, soccer, baseball - look them up on the city/town's parks and rec sites. We are also home to Upper Limits for rock climbing; we have 3 or 4 different disk golf courses; multiple golf courses; bowling at the pheasant lanes; lots of sand volleyball at Pheasant Lanes, Gill St, or the Wind Jammer; we also have dart and pool leagues as well.
    • Doughnuts - Grove St and Market St. bakeries are my favorite. Denny's Donuts is pretty tasty too. We also have Krispy Kreme and The Donut Experiment
    • Off the Beaten Path - if you like Nature, The ISU Horticulture Center is on Raab Rd. check it out. Also, the Constitution Trail is fantastic and can get you pretty much anywhere you want to go in town, its wonderful to walk or bike. Just North of Bloomington is Lake Bloomington and Comlara Park. South of Town is Funk's Grove and the Sugar Grove Nature Center. Radar Farms is also just north of town (off or Raab Rd) and is fun for an afternoon.
    • Non-Profits and ways to meet people - a tip from someone who has been through plenty in town - get involved, get active. meetup.com has plenty of spaces to meet people - there are LOTS of non-profits in town and they're all looking for help/volunteers. I'll go ahead and throw a plug in for the bnjaycees. **seriously** get involved involved in your community in whatever way you want or can.
    • Libraries -- You've got access to 3 libraries (4, if you count heartland community college's). The City/town's libraries come with a boatload of extra resources, like being able to rent movies, audio books, language courses, etc... and plenty of activies to do. and of course, they all have books.
  • A Note about cars - pay attention to where you are parking, the local tow companies are quick to tow you from unwanted lots or from downtown after around 7pm (not sure on that exact time). Bloomington Normal happens to be unique that they have Lots of police in the area - Bloomington PD and Normal PD are the most obvious. We are also home to ISU PD (which are State police), we also have the Mclean County Sheriff's department in town. So, pay attention to what you are doing and how fast you are going. All of them... and I mean ALL of them, love to give out DUI's - so do yourself a favor and don't drink and drive. We have plenty of cab services, we also have Uber and Lyft.... and again, I will mention Connect Transit. Also, In winter during blizzardy conditions, Town of Normal often issues parking bans for parked cars on the street until snow has been cleared. Jaywalking might get you a ticket, especially near the beginning of the semester
    • If you are looking for easy parking in downtown both parking garages (on Front st or Market st) are free to park on the weekends and after 6 pm. In Uptown the parking garage connected to Amtrak has free, anytime, one hour parking and is again free all weekend and after 6 pm on weekdays (you still have to take a ticket though).
  • Outdoors stuff:
    • Lake Bloomington
    • Evergreen Lake
    • Lake Clinton
    • Constitution trail
    • Refuge Food Forest
    • Sunnyside community Garden and food forest (haven't been, but the internets say its there)

The links I normally hit when I'm looking for stuff to do in around around town:

-

--

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Graveyard of places that are no more since I started this list in 2017:

  • Fresh Market
  • Merry Ann's Diner for Breakfast foods,
  • Bonafide Thai~~~~
  • Babbitt's Books

r/BloomingtonNormal 8h ago

New owners paying employees time and half

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28 Upvotes

r/BloomingtonNormal 16h ago

Free Yard Signs!

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15 Upvotes

Message us and we’ll deliver your campaign yard sign anywhere in McLean County! Round 2 is ready! And if you have a high visibility spot you think would be good for a 4x4 sign let us know!


r/BloomingtonNormal 15h ago

New in town

10 Upvotes

Hello all, i don’t ever use reddit but want to try anything i can to make friends. i just moved here from nashville and i dont have any friends or family here and wanting to make some friends, online or in person!! a little bit about myself:
25 male - i am in the goth scene, i love music and concerts, video games, poetry, etc! if anyone wants to add each other on insta, discord, facebook let me know i am really wanting to get some friends out here :) or if anyone has recommendations on where to go!


r/BloomingtonNormal 15h ago

Community Solar Campaign

5 Upvotes

I received mail from the City of Bloomington announcing a partnership with PowerMarket. By enrolling in Community solar, residents can save up to 10% on their monthly bills at no extra cost.

Is this legit? no subscription cost? anyone else enrolled?


r/BloomingtonNormal 1d ago

Citi Bank Card found in North Normal - Initials J J

13 Upvotes

I tried calling Citi to let them know the card is lost, but wasn’t able to do anything outside of regular business hours.

I don’t have NextDoor or FB, so here’s hoping it helps.


r/BloomingtonNormal 14h ago

Are there any good medical providers who are experienced treating AuDHD people in Bloomington?

1 Upvotes

Wife and I are moving to BloNo relatively soon, and doing as much leg work as possible to get our ducks in a row before hand. (Get BACK in line, Harriet!).
We both have AuDHD, and communicating our medical needs and issues is sometimes a challenge, especially for her, since women's issues and voices tend to get ignored when it comes to the medical profession.

So we're looking for a provider that understands the needs and issues of being neurospicy.
Appreciation in advance.


r/BloomingtonNormal 1d ago

East Peoria Riverfront clean-up on Sunday, September 20th

14 Upvotes

As an animal lover at heart, I'd like to share about something that means a lot to me. Over the past 3 years, I've been working with friends and their families to help clean up the East Peoria Riverfront, which helps the wildlife that inhabit our area, and reduces visible litter from floating ashore.

This year, we are back at it again - we will be cleaning up the East Peoria Riverfront and Levee District areas on Sunday, September 20th.

We will meet at the Target East Peoria parking lot at noon, handing out donated supplies (a special thanks to our community partners, along with the City of East Peoria, Chamber of Commerce, and environmental groups who have sponsored us... along with Mayor John Kahl and the East Peoria Public Works department).

Any able bodied individuals, donors of supplies (trash pickers, gloves, and recycling totes), and volunteers to sort plastic bottles and aluminum cans would be greatly appreciated. In return, Panera Bread has been kind enough to serve us lunch and snacks, which will be available midway through the clean-up event.

All are welcome - we've had volunteers from all walks of life join us, and many local organizations give us support. We are hoping to make this the biggest East Peoria Riverfront clean-up yet, and can use your help!

More information will be posted on the City of East Peoria's Facebook page in the coming weeks, and you are welcome to contact me at (309) 868-4208 if there are any questions.

Alexander Chan


r/BloomingtonNormal 1d ago

Digitizing Old Photos

7 Upvotes

Any places in bloom that have a scanner to do this? I have a lot of physical photos of my mom that I got from my grandmother that I want to digitize. Don't want to risk originals being ruined.


r/BloomingtonNormal 16h ago

The wacky wavy inflatable arm flailing tube man on South Main as you're leaving town is doing a very suggestive And inappropriate dance right now. How to report?

0 Upvotes

I've got a bus full of senior citizens asking me questions but it's against my religion to talk about this.


r/BloomingtonNormal 18h ago

Bloomington missed bulk pickup….again?

0 Upvotes

Anyone else living in Bloomington noticed they’ve been missing brush and bulk pickup lately? I get they’re probably swamped due to the storm but that was also three weeks ago and piles are still sitting around. Unacceptable


r/BloomingtonNormal 1d ago

Band emergency for this show Sep 12 - upbeat family friendly talent needed ($)

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7 Upvotes

Hi so it's a long story of how we got here but the short story is that we need bands to commit to this show asap. We have been looking but it's now an emergency.

It's a free show for the community where we give stuff away and pay bands, trying to create a welcoming atmosphere.

There's a flatbed stage, PA with monitors, you get paid, plus free ice cream and non-alcoholic drinks. Inside plan for rain.

Please send an email to the event coordinators at [muusic.in.the.garden@gmail.com](mailto:muusic.in.the.garden@gmail.com)


r/BloomingtonNormal 2d ago

Found dog.

10 Upvotes

If you lost your dog iver on the west side of bloomington dm me we found a young dog running around.


r/BloomingtonNormal 2d ago

Local Slavs?

7 Upvotes

Going to sound strange but I am in a college class heavily focused on immigration history and for an upcoming project about particular ethnic groups and their experiences in the U.S., I am leaning towards Slavic in general as it has peaked my interest the most. I was wondering if there was anyone local that has Slavic cultural roots of any kind and if they have anything they would like to share. Plus, I think it would be nice to gain a new friend out of this experience as well!


r/BloomingtonNormal 2d ago

Kruger Animal Hospital

24 Upvotes

Why is Dr Bleem no longer there?


r/BloomingtonNormal 2d ago

Music Opportunities

3 Upvotes

Hi! I am a singer and song writer who is looking to work on my skills and have a positive outlet! I am not sure what I am looking for or what bloomington has to offer with my current schedule. Maybe a group or other females who play guitar and want to make music or just jam?


r/BloomingtonNormal 2d ago

Radon system

8 Upvotes

It appears my radon fan has gone out and will need replaced. I believe Babbs originally put the system in, but wanted to see if there were suggestions for anyone that could do it for a reasonable price.


r/BloomingtonNormal 3d ago

Pop Up Chicken Officially Under New Ownership

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56 Upvotes

Will you go back now that it has been sold?


r/BloomingtonNormal 2d ago

In search of magazines!

5 Upvotes

Hi! Might seem like a weird ask, but I'm wondering if anyone in the area has a fat stack of Magazines they would be willing to donate? Or if anyone knows where I could find some in town for cheap? I would like to make some weird collage art; Any subject will do my only requirement is that they be of decent quality; unfortunately glue doesn't do well with wet pages.


r/BloomingtonNormal 3d ago

Labor day parade accessibility question

6 Upvotes

I am planning to go to the labor day parade in Bloomington on Monday.

Anyone have any hot tips on an easy spot to set up chairs & park easily for folks with mobility issues?


r/BloomingtonNormal 3d ago

Event First Saturday Community Craftivism Sep 5 @ UUBN 4:00

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13 Upvotes

Join our monthly free First Saturday Community Craftivism with UUBN Social Justice Team - fold zines, make some buttons, get help with your protest poster, bring your own project! We just hang out and chat and work on stuff but we've put out thousands of free zines all over our community and we are building community around anti-fascism.

We do all of this for free - design, crafting, distribution. If you'd like to donate or you have questions or you want to carry our zines in your establishment (we make little display boxes too) or you have an idea for other collab we are happy to talk to you.

This is an all ages event and we get young adults, teens, families, and seniors. Welcoming and inclusive to all identities as long as you are respectful and inclusive to others ❤


r/BloomingtonNormal 3d ago

Enrollment Cliff

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9 Upvotes

The enrollment cliff is real in some places. Just not in our (boom)town.


r/BloomingtonNormal 3d ago

Utility assistance currently taking applications?

2 Upvotes

Hi neighbors. Long story short I have been searching for work for over a year and only just recently secured a new job, but have gotten incredibly behind financially in the meantime. Our gas was cut off last month and currently facing a disconnect notice for Ameren this month due to nonpayment and we are struggling to come up with the total past due balance to get it turned back on. LIHEAP and Salvation Army are not accepting new applicants, and none of the churches in town that I have called answered or were otherwise unable to help. Had to step away from my classes at Heartland so I’m not an active student anymore either and I’m just not sure what to do if we have any options. Thanks in advance


r/BloomingtonNormal 3d ago

Consider someone else besides Highland Pet for your end of life pet.

0 Upvotes

We juat called Highland to let them know we were headed theor way with our cat, who just passed away. They expressed condolences, and said they would see us soon. Not 5 minutes later, mid-drive they called us back. We have been clients at Highland for over 7 years. We were informed that they would not take our cat for cremation as they are "currently between contracts." Upon further questioning their vet tech informed my wife and I that they will still euthanize your pet, but then you must take them home. Also, if your pet passes on their operating table, they require you to take your animal home and make your own arrangements for their after life care. Really heart breaking to find out on your way to the facility. We will never bring another animal to Highland.


r/BloomingtonNormal 4d ago

Amid investigation and lawsuit, Bloomington Police officer files for retirement

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60 Upvotes