Review Visit: August 18th, 2014…read more Play ball! First and foremost, I am not a baseball fan. I don't dislike the game. I just find it too slow for my attention span. Now, if you put me in a situation where I am watching a game in person, then we can talk. Which is what happened on this very night. My job was giving away free Peoria Chiefs baseball tickets. I snagged some for a friend but they ended up not being able to go. So, what was I going to do with 4 free tickets to a baseball game? Why not use them myself? It did take some convincing and bugging of my friends to get them to go as none of us are sports fans. We may not be in to sports but we are in to adventures. This was my first time at Dozer Park but I had been to this stadium once or twice as a kid to watch a baseball game. I remember sitting here for a baseball game in 5th grade, I think, while wearing black shorts in the summer sun. My legs did not appreciate that one bit. Luckily there was no repeat of that as the sun was setting as the game got started. Actually, now that I am looking at the Wikipedia page, this stadium was not the same one I visited as a kid. It appears this was a new one built around 2002 (I would've been in high school at this point). I'll leave this in as a small anecdote. The baseball game was baseball-y. But the stadium itself was actually really nice. Since it was built fairly recently, everything still had an updated and modern feeling to it. There were concession stands located throughout the area where you can purchase your overpriced pretzels and waters. The only real negative I have to say about Dozer Park is the parking situation. From what I could gather, you either take a chance of parking along the street or find a parking spot somewhere else and walk to the stadium. I believe there is a small parking lot nearby but do not quote me on that as I've only ever parked along the road when I've been here. (Only other time I was here was for beerfest, so I was more a passenger, but still took notice.) Honestly, the ticket prices are cheap enough that incorporating a baseball game or two during the summer is a good way to get out and enjoy life. Who knows, maybe you'll catch a ball, win a t-shirt from a t-shirt cannon or meet the mascot.

This place was awesome!! The game was great!…read more Concession stand employees went out of their way to be nice! They made me a pretzel even though they sold out! We went up there 2x's and everyone was so nice, please and thank you's every time! The prices were average prices. Food, prices and employees were all great! Thirsty Thursday drafts were $2, just mentioning this even though my husband and I don't drink. Just noting it since I seen other comments saying how expensive everything was. We had a completely different experience! Parking was free! Concession stands and bathrooms were so close to everything. Shopping was easy and fun too! I highly recommend this place!

Since I'm only a visitor to Peoria, I have no historical reference for the team's performance, but…read moreI had a great time. The Rivermen are the AHL farm team for the NHL's St. Louis Blues and they play at the Peoria Civic Center. These games are community and family oriented. When you enter the center, there are activities for the kids (face painting, balloon animals and bouncy castles). Between periods, there are contests and more stuff for the kids. The concessions are pretty standard and the prices aren't exorbitant. Street parking isn't too bad and there are several parking garages in the area. Go Rivermen!

As a business traveler to the region, I was looking for something to do besides sit my in hotel…read moreroom and watch TLC all night and I also love hockey. For $25 I received an on the glass seat for an exciting game against the Oklahoma City Barons. Best $25 I have ever spent! Multiple times players would smash into the glass a foot in front of me and nearly knock me out of my seat. The beer selections were good and cheap. I did notice that I was the only person in the arena without Rivermen gear. I immediately went to the pro shop for some apparel. $60 for an adult sweatshirt!? Holy cow. Luckily, I can fit into a child's size for $30. My only disappointment was the false representation by the mascot. The pictures show a tough ship captain after a long day on the river. Then, out skates a fluffy overweight bear? Why not change the team name to Peoria Overweight Bears? Does Peoria even have bears?

This is a nice little museum, I particularly enjoyed the Bronzeville to Harlem exhibit. That was…read morespectacular. We also went to the Planetarium and saw the what is in tonight's sky show and it was great. There was also a little concert outside before noon, which must have been a local school's jazz band and maybe small string orchestra. That was fun as well

One of the best place to visit in Peoria. Great learning place for the kids. Excellent presentation…read moreat the planetarium. I love to visit it all the time. This is a must see place in Peoria.

the people there are amazing and super supportive. It make me feel like we really are one big…read morefamily. Their supper skates program is great for those trying to learn and the amount of coaches and open availibility is unparalleled. I, personally have be going to the owens center for 5 years and the entire time ive never had a bad experience. Alsoif you want someone funny ask for josh- he's awesome. And about their skates, yes they may be a bit worn but its not their fault. low funding makes it difficult to maintain ice quality and skates. 10/10 would recccomend for anyone

Review Visit: December 9th, 2012…read more The place where I almost shattered my jaw. That's right. I nearly shattered my jaw while ice skating at the Owens Recreational Center. Matt, Erin, and I decided to stay in the local area and see what we could do without having to drive far to see something new. My friend Adam was a big time hockey fan and suggested I check out the Owens Recreational Center for an evening of fun ice skating. Something new and something fun? Sign me up. We arrived and paid for our skates. Erin declined to take a chance on the ice, so it was just two goofy friends slipping and sliding out on the ice. As a kid, I had a ton of experience rollerblading around my neighborhood. The concept of ice skating had to be familiar to rollerblading, right? It turns out... yes... and no... While the concept is the same, the fact that you are on slippery ice adds a whole new aspect to it. Matt and I had many 'oh crap' moments while getting our bearings but once we got going, we held up pretty well. That's when the trouble started. I got cocky. I got over confident. My ability to adapt and attune myself to whatever it is that I am doing is good and bad. It wasn't long before I was speeding around, zipping and swerving around others. This lasted for quite awhile and I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. Ice skating required a lot more physical activity than I expected. During one of my breaks, Erin urged caution since I was still a newbie and I was going faster than I thought. I took her advice at first but in the heat of the moment and the adrenaline of speeding over ice, I was got going a little too fast and ended up banking a turn a little too sharp. My skate got caught up on the ice and I slammed down hard. Not only did I slam down hard but I landed on the right side of my jaw first and then the rest of my body hit the ice. For a long few seconds, I laid there with the worst going through my mind. All my dental work was destroyed. My jaw was going to be broken. I was going to be on a liquid diet for months while cleaning the wires that held my jaw in place. As I slowly got up and Matt came over to see if I was alright, a wave of relief washed over me. A few wiggles of my jaw and probing of my teeth with my tongue, I knew I was lucky to avoid a trip to the hospital. I didn't get completely lucky as my jaw did swell up a bit, there was a gash on the inside of my cheek and I was sure that I was going to kick myself in the backside super hard later for having the night of skating end a bit early. Yes, after that hard fall I decided to call it quits. We did get to skate for maybe 30 minutes in total which doesn't sound like much but that's more than enough if you aren't trained for skating at all. Aside from my jaw being tender the next day, I remember my ankles and calves were super sore, in a good way. The Owens Center does offer other activities. Obviously after nearly shattering my jaw, I wasn't too keen on exploring the rest of the facility but check out their website below to see if there is anything there that might interest you. And that's how I nearly shattered my jaw.

I was able to complete a great education at ICC as a non-traditional student. Achieved my…read moreBachelors Degree as a full-time employee for a Peoria area company, as a manager of a large department at this company, and as the mom of two young sons while going to school here. I appreciated all of my teachers here.

I could write eloquent paragraphs about all the horrors of ICC, but I'll keep it to a short list;…read moreunpleasant and dimwitted staff, teachers with online educations and the undeserved egos of Harvard Professors, no return investments to the students, they will rip you off any way they possibly can, they will do ANYTHING to keep you from graduating, and most classes, while are labeled as transferable, will NOT transfer to your next school! As big a school as it is, and as 'affordable' as it may seem, and how convenient it all looks prospectively- it is exactly as it's labeled; a community college between a river and a corn field. I beg you, for as long as I had to suffer at this place, DO NOT ENROLL HERE. It may cost more, but going to another school will save you heartache, headache, and a few panic attacks.

Ok place. They have a large beer selection. Games are free to play with purchase, but it seemed…read morelike some of the buttons of the games I played were off. Something fun to do for a little bit. It does get cramped in there.

Review Visit: July 24th, 2016…read more Beer, arcade games and friends. My kind of place. Growing up, I got involved in playing video games thanks to my father and friends. Everything from Atari to Sega Genesis to Super Nintendo to Gameboy; everything in-between and everything after. Once I was legally allowed to enjoy adult beverages, I grew to enjoy beer a few years later. Shortly after, 8 Bit opened up. Having a lifelong love for video games and a recently acquired taste for beer, I gathered a few of my nerdy friends up and headed that way. 8 Bit is a pretty unique place. It's a bar that is also an arcade. It looks like a normal business situated at the end of a building but inside is a different story. Upon walking, you get the feeling you are in a house. You have some stairs that lead up to... somewhere. Off to the right of the entrance is the smallish bar. Between the bar tables and the machines, it can get pretty packed with just a handful of people. As you deviate from the bar, you'll find yourself in a hallway that has one machine at the end on the left, that is tucked under the stairs. Next to that is a room that full of 6-8 games (it could vary, I am not sure). Going back in to the hallway, you'll find the next room down on the left. That room is L-shaped and has maybe 12 games in it. At the end of the hallway, are the bathrooms. All the games are free to play as long as you are ordering drinks and spending money. Instead of loading your pockets full of quarters, you just have to load your belly up with beer. A fair trade off in my opinion. The beercade has a nice beergarden to enjoy. On my first visit here, my friends and I ordered a few drinks and headed outside to play some Pokemon Go. After polishing off my beer, I noticed there was a window in which you could order beer from the bar through. That is exactly what I did. I ordered another beer through the window. I thought that was pretty cool. While we were there playing Pokemon Go, another group of people came in and was playing Pokemon Go. We noticed they were playing as we kept battling for the Gym that was located nearby. At one point, that group sent someone out to spy on us as we battled for the gym. After noticing the other group was taking this too serious, we decided to close the app, head inside and play the arcade games. The selection of arcade games is about your standard fare. There are your usual games but they also had a few games I've never seen before. We played games for a bit longer before heading out. Now, this wasn't my only time I have come here. Ever since this visit, I have been back a few times with various other friends. Each visit has been unique. The first time I went, they offered food. The subsequent visits had no food options due to law changes. The last time I went was in late 2019 and they had this sweet system set up at the bar. It was operated with some aftermarket SNES controller and had almost every retro game available. My friend Nate and I spent more time browsing the catalog than gaming. It was such a sweet system and I wish I had it at home. 8 Bit has expanded to a second location in Bloomington, IL. I have yet to check it out but it is on my short list of places to visit. I feel like it's my duty as a gamer to check out not just the 2nd location but all beercades across the world. If you have the chance to check one out, you don't even need to be a gamer to enjoy these kinds of places.

Live At The Five Spot in the Preston Jackson Gallery is a fun event held at the Contemporary Art…read moreCenter of Peoria. In this case my cousin's blues band was the featured act. Live at the Five Spot is the Contemporary Art Center's bi-monthly Friday night music event featuring regional talent performing a variety of great music, including R&B, Jazz, Blues, Pop, Rock and lots more. Attendees enjoy a nightclub atmosphere while unwinding with your friends and family. The music fills the building and you can stroll through three fine art galleries. You can enjoy anything you desire to eat or drink because you bring it. It is BYOB food and drink as well as glasses, plates and napkins. They provide the table and chairs. My family had wine, (corkscrew of course,) cheese, crackers and fruit. We enjoyed the music and even got up and danced to a few songs. It is a great place for groups even in the pandemic as there is lots of space for social distancing. The entrance fee for this event is $15 per person.

From the owner: Peoria's cultural hub…read more Contemporary Art Center