‘Turning Red’ uses panda as a metaphor

March 19, 2022

Parenting is not for the faint of heart. Each stage brings new joys and challenges. For me, the hardest part was during the tween years. There are marks of independence between parents and children before that age, but it steps up considerably during the middle school years. Domee Shi’s “Turning Red,” streaming on Disney+ shows this exceptionally well. The movie follows Meilin (Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl. She works with her mother Ming (Sandra Oh) at their family temple honoring Sun Yee, the matriarch ancestor who turned herself into a giant red panda ...

WIC Kitchen: Breakfast Tacos and Roasted Broccoli

March 9, 2022

BY SIERRA ROSALES From Easter to Mardi Gras to National Pancake Day to Dr. Suess’ birthday, March brings an event for everyone to celebrate with food. And between these huge feasts of gumbo or green eggs and ham, there are still a lot of meals that can help balance your diet and your ...

Don’t run away from tough themes in ‘Flee’

February 26, 2022

Every once in a while a movie comes along that is so unique yet relatable, so heartbreaking yet joyful, loathsome yet generous, that you are compelled to make certain that everyone you have ever met watches it. For me, director Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s documentary “Flee” is one of those films. This movie documents the life of Amin, a refugee who fled Afghanistan in the mid-80s, as a result of the civil war. After his father is taken away, never to be seen again, and one of his brothers is drafted into the Afghani military, Amin and his family try to escape to Russia. Because ...

MTC brings ‘The Music Man’ to the Met — after COVID stifled its tune for years

February 24, 2022

MORGANTOWN — A production two years in the making, the Morgantown Theater Company’s performance of "The Music Man" is coming to the historic Metropolitan Theater this weekend. Typically, it takes about four months of rehearsal before the play is performed in front of an audience, ...

Illinois artist selected for Westover bridge pier mural

February 22, 2022

An artist has been selected to design and complete a new mural in town. Rafael Blanco will create the mural on the Westover bridge pier located near Hazel Ruby McQuain Park and the Walnut Street Landing. The mural will feature a man playing a saxophone and a woman biking. Blanco said ...

‘The Sky is Everywhere’ shows another way death affects people

February 19, 2022

BY ALISE CHAFFINS The subject of grief seems to be permeating pop culture right now. Not simply death and sadness, which have always been a staple of movies and television, but a closer examination of how we behave in the midst of profound loss. AppleTV+ recently released “The Sky is Everywhere,” which is yet another look at the way death affects those it touches. The story opens on Lennie (Grace Kaufman), a promising young musician who lost her sister Bailey (Havana Rose Hiu) to a heart condition. Despite her dreams to attend Julliard, she is struggling to play the clarinet ...