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| - Cute gift boutiques are rare in Champaign, which sometimes means necessary trips to Chicago when I need to shop for a friend's birthday. When I've got to pick up something on short notice, though, I know that The Promenade offers a solid assortment of potential gifts.
Unless you've attended a concert or performance at the Krannert Center, you've probably overlooked this tiny shop tucked into the south side of the building. (By the way, they stay open during evening shows, so you can stop in during intermission.)
The place isn't packed with stuff (probably takes 10 minutes to walk around), but there's a nice sample of different items: classic children's toys, clever little gadgets and knick-knacks, jewelry, clocks and other decorations, purses, and several shelves of greeting cards. Most of the items are related to art, music, or theatre--the perfect place to get a coloring book on 19th-Century Russian ballet (or something equally obscure).
Prices are reasonable, depending on what you want. I've afforded things here on my student wages, but there are also elegant figurines and jewelry luxurious enough to warrant safe-keeping behind glass cases.
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