This weekend in Bloomington: Sumatics, TedXIU, final ice skate, scavenger hunt
Bloomington, you really know how to show everybody a good time. This weekend, get down with the Sumatics, open your mind through ideas or Kirtan chanting or take part in a scavenger hunt (or three) at a city park.
3 nights of music from the Sumatics at Orbit Room
Bloomington-based R&B duo the Sumatics are taking up residence at the Orbit Room for three nights. It's a little funky, a little bit pop, and sure to get you up out of your seat.
Grab a three-day pass for $20 or pay $9 for advance tickets or $10 at the door any night. Shows are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m. Orbit Room is at 107 N. College Ave, Suite 001.
Open your mind to new ideas at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater
Join TedXIndianaUniversity for an evening examining choice and transformation at 6 p.m. Friday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, at 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.
Six global speakers will share impactful ideas contemplating action and stillness, momentum and reflection. "Play or Pause" invites us to reevaluate strategies and explore fresh perspectives on life's choices.
Recommended for ages 13 and up. Admission is free for students and $25 for everyone else. Tickets at buskirkchumley.org.
Hit the ice at Frank Southern for the last time this winter
It's the last weekend of open skating at Frank Southern Ice Arena, 2100 S. Henderson St. Join the last Lunar Skate Nights on Friday and Saturday where you'll twirl and skid to '80s, '90s and modern hits under strobe and other special effects lighting.
Admission is $6 per person with ages 4 and younger admitted for free. Skate rental is $3. Hours are noon to 2:30 p.m. Thursday and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Bloomington's Comedy Attic welcomes stand-up's Sophie Buddle
Canadian stand-up comedian Sophie Buddle has her first weekend of laughs in Bloomington Friday and Saturday, with performances at 7 and 9:15 p.m. both nights at the Comedy Attic, corner of Fourth and Walnut streets.
Tickets are $16 for students and $20 for the general public.
Buddle's first album "Lil Bit Of Buddle," released in 2019, won the 2020 Juno Award for Best Comedy Album of the Year. She was the first female comic to win that award.
Join an epic Artic Adventure scavenger hunt
Follow the clues around Switchyard Park, 1601 S. Rogers St., as part of three epic scavenger hunts from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Seek out "treasures" related to the winter season, find arctic animals and solve riddles about items that can be found throughout Switchyard Park.
Participate in one or all three of the scavenger hunts; the $3 participation fee includes all the hunts. Successfully complete the scavenger hunts to win prizes.
Cooking for a cause: 100 Cooks Who Care
Who will be crowned Monroe County's "Top Chef?" Find out Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Monroe Convention Center, 302 S. College Ave. when the 100 Cooks Who Care compete for the coveted title.
The event is a fundraiser for the Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington and Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana.
Notable community members will offer their best creation for sampling and there will be a cash bar and silent auction. Whoever raises the most through tips and other fundraising will become this year's Top Chef.
Tickets are $75 per person at https://bloomington.100cookswhocare.com/event-tickets.
Healing mind, body and soul through Kirtan chanting
Join Mehtab Kirtan (Stevenson Valentor) and Unity of Bloomington from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at 4001 S. Rogers St. for an evening of heart-opening and mind-clearing vocal expression.
Kirtan is an ancient practice in which a “Wallah” (a kirtan facilitator) leads the audience in call-and-response devotional chanting. The practice is a fun, energizing and healing way to learn mantras, sing in community (in a safe, supportive space) and to commune with our higher selves. No experience is necessary.
Cost is $25-$35, but no one will be turned away because they can't pay.
Mehtab Kirtan has been active in healing arts spaces since 2016, when he fell in love with Kundalini yoga. After just a year of practice, he dove into teacher-training, and began teaching at his local studio, Urban Yoga Chicago.
Since then, his life’s work has been making original “spiritual art music” that’s artistically rich, empowering, healing, and clarifying for listeners. Along with composing for jazz and modern classical ensembles, he’s an active drummer/percussionist, and facilitates sound journeys and kirtans throughout Chicago.
Participants should bring a meditation cushion or pillow, yoga mat, comfortable clothing, water, a cup or mug for cacao (provided) and an open mind.
Get your eclipse facts straight with astronomer Phil Plait
Phil Plait has made it his business to educate people about astronomy. He'll be at the Indiana Memorial Union's Whittenberger Auditorium, 900 E. Seventh St., at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28.
Plait earned a doctorate of astronomy, worked on the Hubble Space Telescope, hosted an educational web series titled "Crash Course Astronomy" and has written for "Bill Nye Saves the World."
Plait uses images, audio, and video clips in entertaining and informative multimedia presentations packed with humor and backed by solid science. Free.
Reach Jill Bond at jbond@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Things to do in Bloomington, Indiana: Kirtan chanting, TedX talks
