By Amy Michels, CVB Marketing Coordinator

Jade East on North Glenstone Avenue has been in Springfield since 1983. They have drive-through as well as dine-in.  They have a nice lunch buffet with many choices, including cashew chicken, crab rangoon, eggrolls, orange chicken, egg drop soup, sesame chicken and kung pao beef.

I decided to try this restaurant for lunch and was not disappointed. For less than $9, you get the entire buffet with a drink of choice. Quite reasonable for all-you-can-eat.

I chose spicy soup, white rice, barbeque chicken, kung pao chicken, lo mein, crab rangoon and, of course, cashew chicken. Everything was fresh, hot and had great flavor.

In the mood for reasonably-priced Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet? Jade East is the way to go!

The Downtown Springfield Association (DSA) is sponsoring the 4^th annual “Dinner and a Movie” event. 

Customers who come downtown for dinner will be able to purchase movie tickets for $5 each (up to a savings of 47% per adult movie ticket) at the participating restaurant with purchase of an entrée.

With only one month left of the special deal, DSA is suggesting possible combinations of restaurants and movies to see downtown.

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Wednesday, February 1 -  Discovery Center is a great family orientated attraction for the SW Missouri area and a great place to bring your family.  With 11 different galleries and over 200 different hands on exhibits,  families of all ages can enjoy the interactive exhibits that focus on all sorts of science with inquiry based learning.  New this month:  Discovery Center has brought back the Astronomy Gallery.  Discovery Center is located at 438 E St. Louis St. in downtown Springfield with free parking in Discovery Center parking lot located east of the main doors.  General Admission is $9.00 adults, $8.00 seniors and $7.00 for children age 3-15 and children 2 & under are free.  Hours are Tuesday-Thursday 9am-5pm, Friday-Saturday 9am-6pm, and Sunday 1-5pm.  Check the website at www.discoverycenter.org.  

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The Springfield Symphony’s first concert of the new year will feature an All-American lineup of music and Missouri State professor of music and Springfield Symphony principal cellist, Michael Murray, as soloist.

Springfield Symphony music director and conductor, Ron Spigelman, will lead the orchestra in performing works by four different and contrasting American composers – Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, André Previn and Marc Mellits – at the concert on Jan. 21 at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.

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Tickets go on sale Jan. 20 for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bluesman B.B. King at The Gillioz Theatre. The show is at 8 p.m. March 20.

King has been one of the most influential figures in all of music for more than six decades. Along with his famous guitar, Lucille, King has revolutionized and reinvigorated blues music and brought inspiration to musicians and fans of every style. His lifetime of musicianship was honored in 1987 when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at number three on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

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Head’s up, anglers! The annual Bass Pro Shops Spring Fishing Classic is Feb. 24-March 11.

This huge event includes the free Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster University; Next Generation Youth Event with free games, activities and crafts; thousands of items and hundreds of boats on sale; and the reel-trad-n sale.

The Bass Pro store in Springfield is the first and largest in the country. The store features all sorts of outdoor gear for fishing, hunting, camping, boating, golf, etc. The store also features an art gallery, barber shop, firing range, Tracker boat showroom, waterfalls, aquariums, Hemingway’s Blue Water Cafe, Starbucks and much more. 

It’s the No. 1 tourist attraction in Missouri! 

Do you have your tickets for the Jeff Dunham show yet?

The man whose standup concerts rule the comedy world offers his fans brand new laughs and hilarious additions to his famed troupe of sidekicks. Meet two new Dunham characters: Achmed Junior, the not-as-equally skeletal son of Achmed the Dead Terrorist, and Little Jeff, a mini-version of the ringmaster himself. 

The show is at 8 p.m. March 10 at JQH Arena on the Missouri State University campus.

Tickets are $43.50 plus handling fee. Call 417-836-7678 or 888-476-7849 or purchase online. 

The annual Lawn & Garden Show is set for Feb. 17-19 at Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield. 

More than 100 exhibitors will offer one-stop shopping for your lawn and garden needs. You’ll find everything you can imagine: trees, seeds, plants, landscape design and installation services, mowers, tillers, tree and lawn care services, pools and spas, fountains, ponds, patio furniture, lawn accessories, grills, fences and more!

Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 17-18 and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 19.

Advance tickets are available for $3 Feb. 1-17 at participating Price Cutter stores in Springfield, Marshfield, Ozark, Nixa and Republic. Admission at the gate is $4. Children 12 and younger are free. Parking is free, too.

The marketing department of the Convention & Visitors Bureau has a tradition of going to lunch as a group to celebrate a staff member’s birthday and the birthday boy or girl gets to choose where we’ll dine.

Last week, it was Amy Michels’ birthday. (Happy birthday to Amy!) Amy is our marketing coordinator, and she chose Bibiya, a new restaurant on Springfield’s south side.

We’re glad she did! Overwhelmingly, the marketing department gave Bibiya rave reviews.

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Tickets are on sale for the Feb. 28 performance of Rusko: 2012 College Tour at the Gillioz Theatre.

What started as an English boy’s dream to be a radio DJ has lead him to be one of the most successful electronic artists in music today. Rusko has worked with the likes of Britney Spears, T.I., M.I.A, and Mike Posner and his sold out tour dates along with successful album sales have earned him features in various publications including Rolling Stone and SPIN Magazine.

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