By: Grant VanNoy Binkley

Petula Clark sang these words in her hit song “Downtown!” I believe this is very appropriate for this blog because, in downtown Springfield, you can forget all your troubles and cares and go DOWNTOWN!!!!!!!! (Admit it, you sang along.) Of course, to us sportscasters, the term “downtown” means hitting a long home run in baseball. This coincidently is also appropriate because downtown Springfield is also home to the Springfield Cardinals, the AA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. The “Springbirds” open the season at home on April 4th at 6:35 PM against the Wichita Windsurge at Hammons Field.

Speaking of Hammons Field, this past Saturday and Sunday the stadium hosted a sports card collectors’ event, where independent collectors gathered to show off their collections, as well as buy, sell, and trade with other collectors. They had sports cards of all kinds, including Pokémon and others. While Hammons was hosting it, there were no representatives from Hammons on site. It looked like they just rented out their training facility to these collectors.

 There also appeared to be no local trading card companies at this event, Fastbreak Sports here in Springfield was not in attendance, this looked to be a show for private collectors. I was able to FINALLY dig out of my driveway on Sunday to attend this event. I found it odd that there were no representatives from Hammons on site to monitor or oversee the event.

It was also time for the annual Sertoma Chili Cookoff held at the Expo Center here in Springfield. Due to weather conditions, I was unable to attend this year, but all information and results can be found at their website https://www.sertomachilicookoff.com/. That supports the Boys and Girls Club of the Ozarks, and the GRAND CHAMPION CHILI of Sertoma Chili Cook-Off will qualify to compete in the International Chili Society. Per the website.

Downtown Springfield also has a wide variety of dining and dancing, restaurants, and historical sites. Places such as Herrs department store. The Gilloiz theater, Mudhouse Coffee, plus the Hotel Vandivort and the Moxie.

Another thing about Downtown Springfield is the nightlife. With dining and dancing options all around, you can’t go wrong with a night on the town. Located between West Central and Walnut and Roundtree, its perfect for anyone.

If you want a look at current events, you can go to the website at itsalldowntown.com.