Looking for something to do this weekend? Here’s a sampling of what’s going on each night.

Friday

• The Evansville Civic Theater is presenting Over The Tavern tonight. Curtain’s up at 8PM. Over The Tavern tells the story a A 12-year-old parochial student who discovers that questioning your faith is part of growing up, even when your tavern-owner parents would do anything to keep you from doing so.
• 1123 has a CD release party for several bands tonight: Synthetic Elements, Slick Nicolas and Noble Prize. The show starts at 7PM.
• If you’re looking for a relaxing time after the downtown Cruise-In, Matt Clark will be playing piano at The Jungle at 9PM.
• If you are looking to celebrate Cinco De Mayo early, Club Baja at Marina Pointe is having a party starting at 10PM.
• Fast Eddy’s has Gonzo’s Toybox at 10PM.
• Not downtown? Pieces of the Day is at O’Brians at 10PM.

Saturday

• Want to see some cars? There is a car show at Angel Mounds in Newburgh from 9AM - 4PM.
• If you’re looking for somewhere to watch the Kentucky Derby, Marigold Bar, Firefly and the Gerst Haus are all having Derby parties starting around 3 or 4PM.
• The Evansville Civic Theater is presenting Over The Tavern as well tonight at 8PM.
• It’s Cinco De Mayo! All the Mexican restaurants are having entertainment of some sort.
• If you want to see De La Hoya vs. Mayweather, Hobo Jungle and Jillians are both showing the fight starting at 8PM.
• If you’re wanting to celebrate Cinco De Mayo after a mexican feast, take your pick. Crawdaddy’s, the Duck Inn and Club Baja are all having some sort of festivity.
• • Fast Eddy’s has Gonzo’s Toybox at 10PM.
• Pieces of the Day is at O’Brians at 10PM.
• Lanhucks has Nocturnal 10:30.

• Mayor Weinzapfel met with several church representatives to announce that he is creating a new task force addressing the need for more affordable housing for low-income residents
• Two men were injured in a fight early this morning at a gas station. What a way to start the day.
• Evansville’s National Day of Prayer ceremony was held at the Four Freedoms Monument.
• Another day, another stabbing or shooting in Evansville.

photo courtesy of easylessons

The Indiana Bureau Of Motor Vehicles today announced the new license plate that will debut in 2008 and replace the Hayseed Green plate that has been donning the backs of our cars since 2003. The new plate design edged out my personal favorite, which featured a lighter, fading background image of the state’s flag by about 2500 votes. Along with the new design, the new plate features a modified county designator, a one- or two-digit number that identifies the county of origin, which includes a reflective sticker with both the traditional county designator number and county name.

I think this plate is a far cleaner and acceptable look than what we had before. Anything that involves cornfields, amber waves of grain or other sorts of midwestern stereotypes make me cringe. Will I get one? Of course not. I have a Purdue plate. Boiler up!

What do you think of the new plate?

It’s Evansville reader, and brother, Cody Williams, provided me with some photos of last night’s Brad Paisley concert. I haven’t had a chance to ask him how the show was since he’s still in bed and is possibly still drunk. If you went to the show, why don’t you tell us how it was in the comments?

Continue reading Brad Paisley Concert Pictures…

I always look forward to the third day of each month, because I know it’s time to scour Craigslist and find some gems for you, our readers. Craigslist is a centralized network of online community classifieds, job postings, personals and more started by a guy named Craig (on the right). Evansville has had its own Craigslist site for a few years now and one of it’s most useful features is missed connections.

Sometimes you are out at a local bar or restaurant, and catch the eye of something across the room. You might even pick up a conversation with the person and hit it off. Unfortunately, the night ends without you getting contact information: sometimes not even a name. That’s where craigslist comes in and It’s Evansville come in. To help you out, we’re going to periodically spot some of the missed connections that are posted locally, and hopefully help some poor guy or gal out in their attempts to find true love.

Sam’s Club Connection

If you are the hot hunk of beef that was checking out today (4/12) around 5 or 5:30 pm in the next to the last checkout lane, then I was the guy you kept turning around to check me out (at the same time that I was turning around to check you out) as I walked across the store. I was wearing jeans and the black chef’s coat and had a buzz haircut. I would very much like to meet you, as it was obvious that there was a definite sense of attraction. I am so kicking my self that I didn’t turn around and follow you out, but I was on somewhat of a tight schedule and had to get back to work. However, I did make a quick sweep of the parking lot and even went back in hoping that you came back in to find me. I am so sorry that I missed you…..please respond if you happen to read this.

Is it wrong that I’m trying to run through all the local restaurants to figure out what place puts their chefs in a black coat? I never knew such things went on at Sam’s Club. Usually when I’m in there it’s to pick up up beef…oh wait.

Did you wink at me in Batteries Plus?

I walked in to buy some “AAAA” Batteries last week, and as soon as I saw your gorgeous face you winked at me. Or so I thought. I’m bad about picking up on these things. Send me a message telling me what you were doing when I walked in so I know it’s really you.

They were probably winking because they know that only adult toys take AAAA batteries.

Boonville Walmart

We talked for just a few minutes the day the Garth Brooks box set came out. You came back in to talk to me, you will probably never know how much that meant. Thanks for that! Contact me if you remember that day, and if you would like to meet.

Nothing says love like Garth Brooks and Wal Mart.

My grandpa has never been one to wear his seat belt. He’s driven a truck all his life, and in Indiana, having a vehicle registered as such allows you to drive all around town seat belt free. I’m going to have some bad news to break to gramps soon, because the Indiana General Assembly passed a bill that makes it mandatory for anyone in any vehicle to be buckled up: car, truck, minivan, front seat, back seat, etc.

As part of the bill, seat belt checkpoints will be eliminated as well. While I was at Purdue, the West Lafayette police had seat belt checkpoints all throughout town and would pull over drivers all day long for not wearing a seat belt. That will be a thing of the past as well with this new bill. The bill is off to the Governor, and assuming he signs it, it will become law on July 1st.

What I’m wondering is that if anyone under the age of 50 actually drives around without a seat belt? Driving with a seat belt on is so routine to me that if I don’t have it on, something doesn’t feel right.

photo courtesy of Endlisnis

If you’re looking for something to do during the day next Tuesday, both the Republican and Democratic party are looking for people to work during the election. The following positions are available:

• Democratic party inspector - works from 5 am to 7 pm on Election Day. Pays $130.
• Republican party judge - works from 5 am to 7 pm on Election Day. Pays $100.
• Democratic party judge - works from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on Election Day. Pays $90.
• Both parties need clerks - works from 5:30 to 6:30 on Election Day. Pays $90.

There are several positions for each of those jobs available in precincts around the county. If you’re interested, you need to meet a few criteria. First, you must be registered to vote in Vanderburgh County. Second, you must be able to attend a two-hour training session sometime this week.

If this sounds like a fun way to spend your Tuesday, call Republican Party Headquarters at 425-8207 or Democratic Party Headquarters at 461-0104.

photo courtesy of mystereys

As I was driving into the office today, I saw two large 18-wheelers parked at the stadium decorated with Brad Paisley’s photo. Paisley, one of the biggest acts in country music right now, is here tonight to play a packed house starting at 7:30PM. I’m not much of a Brad Paisley fan, but my brother has been counting down the days to this concert. Paisley’s opening acts include Jack Ingram, Taylor Swift and American Idol reject Kelly Pickler.

If you want to hear some Brad Paisley tunes before you head out to the show, there are a few on his MySpace page. Yes, everyone has MySpace. If you head to the show, be sure to let us know how it is.

photo courtesy of CollegeNews.org

In between writing for It’s Evansville, we’ve been spending some time behind the scenes working to make the site an even better experience for our readers. First, we’ve made the site look great on your mobile phones. Whether you’re using a standard cell phone or a smart phone like the Blackberry, the site should load quicker and look better on your mobile device. Just visit http://www.itsevansville.com from your phone and start reading.

We’ve also made it easier to submit news by adding an anonymous tip box to the sidebar of each page on the side. If you have an announcement, news tip, or other piece of pertinent information you think we should be made aware of, you can either email tips@itsevansville.com or use the new anonymous tip box.

Future updates will include a listing of local bloggers, a crime map and and a more refined site design to help us move forward.

Thanks again to all of our readers for your continued support.

Talk about a busy day…

• Jonathon Ray Kathary was sentenced to 28 years in prison for molesting a girl and forcing her to sign a contract stating that she was his sex slave.
• The West Side Nut Club gave out over $200,000 to schools and charities Tuesday night at their annual Founders Banquet. $20,000 of that cash went to each of the west side high schools, Matre Dei and Reitz.
• Here’s a tip. If you are carrying around an oxygen tank, it’s time to stop smoking. You don’t want to blow yourself up. Time to switch to Skoal.
• Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was in town today talking about I-69.

photo courtesy of camouflagedoors