Chicago, IL

So, somehow, in Chicago, April 17th - May 20th is a month. Namely, EARTH MONTH!! Who knew? The rest of the country get’s an earth day, but we get a whole month (or, technically, half of one month and half of another month). So, if you aren’t sick of hearing about how we’re all riding this home we call Earth on a blaze of fossil-fuel-driven-glory into an early grave, check out the website devoted to raising “awareness of the simple things all of us can do to improve the environment.” Right on. Here’s the link: BOOM
I, personally, decided that I’m going to buy my own cloth shopping bag, so that I don’t have to use the plastic bags at the grocery store. I watched something on TV (maybe the Today show?) talking about how much waste shopping bags create, and even paper bags aren’t much better.
Also, check out the calendar of events. There’s a clothing drive going on. It’s actually the perfect time of year to clean out your closet and get rid of some clothes. Don’t throw them away! It’s totally wasteful. Just ask my mom.

Earth Month, Earth Day, Chicago, Clothing Drive, environmentalism

There are many ways that you can see the sights in Chicago: boat, bus, on foot, and even on a Segway, thanks to Segway Experience of Chicago. Before the tour, you will receive training on how to operate a Segway. The tour includes a wide variety of Chicago landmarks, such as:

* Field Museum
* Millennium Park
* Shedd Aquarium
* Adler Planetarium
* Museum Campus
* Buckingham Fountain
* The Lakefront Bike Path

The tours run everyday of the year, rain or shine. Please note that this event is only for adults and children over the age of 12. Tickets are $70 for a 2-hour tour. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Segway Experience website.

Chicago, segway, chicago tours, segway tours, Chicago tourism

So, it’s nearing the beginning of the concert season in Chicago. I have been debating with myself whether I’m going to blow a huge pile of cash on a couple of really huge events, or stretch the love out over the whole summer with lots of smaller-venue cheapy shows. I’m definitely hitting the Chicago Folk and Roots Festival. Why? You ask?
Four words: Midwest. Invitational. Fiddle. Contest.
Boom.
Who would miss that? I ask you. Who?
Seriously, though. That’s probably one of those things that sounds really crazy and surreal, but is actually much, much less interesting.
The photos for the Folk and Roots fest are so totally bizarre. For example…this is a photo from the 2006 festival:

And so is this:

I’m totally intrigued.
Some of the photos are of kids dancing around in the grass, some old people, a hippy band, and then there’s one that looks like a publicity shot for the Pussycat Dolls. Sold. I’m there.
Tickets are $3-$7. July 14-15 Welles Park on Lincoln and Montrose. I’ll be the one with the T-shirt that says, “Folk Musicians do it Acoustically.” Because, really, when else am I going to get to wear that shirt.

Folk Music, Chicago Folk and Roots Festival, Concerts, Chicago, Acoustic Music

So, I’ve been trying to find something awesome to do this weekend…and in my search, I discovered that the most awesome musical ever - Ragtime: The Musical - is supposedly playing at The Theater Building. (BTW - I’ve decided to award The Theater Building the much coveted prize of “Most Creative Name Ever.”) Now, if any of you know anything about this musical, it is not something that just any theater can pull off. I wonder if it will be any good? The pictures look pretty interesting. They call it a “new jewel box production.” I think that means that it has a smaller cast and is being played on a smaller stage. That’s fine with me. But, Tickets range from $27 to $35! What’s up with that? I don’t know if I want to pay that much for something that may or may not be superb. I need to sit on this one for awhile. If any of you have seen it, let me know how it is.

From May 18-20, the city of Chicago will be hosting the “Great Chicago Places and Spaces” event.

On Saturday and Sunday, explore Chicago with more than 200 free tours throughout downtown and many of the city’s historic neighborhoods. Some exciting jaunts include tours of movie sites, gardens and parks, theaters, sculpture and stained glass, bungalows and skyscrapers. On these tours, visitors will discover the works of world famous architects including Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, Holabird & Roche/Root, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Gehry and Frank Lloyd Wright.

There are also several events planned for children, so there should be a tour for everyone. For more information or to register in advance, visit the Great Chicago Places website.

Chicago, chicagoland, great chicago places and spaces, architecture, city

The Illinois Railway Museum, located in Union, Illinois is home to a large, historic collection of locomotives, as well as other aspects of railroading. Throughout the various buildings that contain the trains, visitors can also see hundreds of old signs, such as railroad crossing signs and railway advertisements.

In addition to exploring the many barns filled with trains of the past, visitors to the museum can also experience a ride on one or more of the several historical trains that the museums runs.

For more information about visiting the Illinois Railway Museum, including hours, visit their website.

I felt kind of junky yesterday, so I decided to go to my favorite place on the planet. The Garfield Park Conservatory!

Seriously, if you have never been there, you need to go. (1) It’s free. (2) It’s tons and tons of super gorgeous exotic plants. If that sounds boring to you, you should go just to discover how really awesome it is to connect with nature. I promise you that it will blow your mind. What you need to do, though, is go by yourself when you feel sort of junky. It will totally change your outlook.

Plus, it’s the only place in the city that you can breathe actual air. Not the fossil-fuel injected smog-air that you breathe the rest of the time, but real - mother nature purified - AIR. It’s amazing.

And, as luck would have it, right now is the magical time when the Spring Flower Show overlaps with Niki in the Garden. The Spring Flower show is - exactly as it sounds - spring flowers, and Niki in the Garden is a pretty amazing sculpture exhibit. You can catch it daily from 9am to 5pm (8pm on Thursdays) until May 14th. Really, there’s no reason not to go. Just think GREEN! Take the green line to the Conservatory/Central Park Drive station.

Garfield Park Conservatory, botany, plants, Chicago

So, I didn’t make it to Spiderman 3 this weekend. But I did make it to Ipso Facto, a set of performance art pieces at Columbia College. It was pretty wild. Normally, performance art is a little stuffy for me. The first piece, for example, was a really preachy, irritating, and slightly offensive (to me, personally) one-woman monologue about comsumption and greed. She was basically saying that in modern society, we’re compensating for feeling inferior by being greedy. Overall, it was essentially unwatchable.
But, then, there were two pieces that were excellent. One was an almost-dance piece combined with video documentary footage of people on the street who were asked whether they thought the world was becoming more beautiful or more cruel. The other was a collection of short one-person scenes with a look at modern religion that, quite frankly, made me really emotional.
This is really why I go to strange, fruity things like performance art and modern dance. If it’s bad, it’s really bad. But, if it’s good, it’s REALLY good.
Still, though, I would have to say that my two favorite performance pieces of all time are: (1) The guy at the Blue Line Jackson stop that does one-man reinactments of “famous” movie scenes. One day, I skipped the train to see the ending of the scene from “Maid in Manhattan.” and (2) The time when I was working at UNLV, and my coworker caught a strong gust of wind. Her skirt blew up over her head in front of a group of about 60 incoming Freshman getting a Campus Tour. Brilliant.

Looking for a meaningful way to spend Mother’s Day with your mom or honor the memory of your mother? Consider walking or running in the Y-Me Breast Cancer Organization 5k. The event will begin at Grant Park at 9:00 a.m. on Mother’s Day, May 13. This event is always exciting and uplifting with thousands of runners and walkers participating. Last year saw more than 3000 men, women, and children showing support for a great cause. Entrants are asked to raise money for breast cancer research in the form of pledges.

You can register online until Friday May 11th or one at one of the packet pick-up locations. You can also register on race day prior to the event. For more information about the event visit the Y-Me website.

Chicago, Grant Park, 5k, running, walking, breast cancer, mother’s day, y-me

So, last night, I found myself wandering home at midnight. I was like, “Hey, I’ll take the red line!” Riiiiight. Aparantly, there were signs up somewhere indicating that the red line is operating on a one-track system all weekend, starting Thursday. So, it took me about 45 minutes to get from Addison to Jackson. (I was at iO watching a legendary show by The Reckoning.) Yeah, so, it basically sucked. I find myself having almost daily conversations with people that start with, “I hate the CTA.”
But, really, I’m not going to gripe about it, because it is a lot better than the public transportation in a lot of cities. Don’t even TRY to take a bus (or, God forbid the monorail) in Las Vegas. Terrifying.
The funniest part of the evening, though, was when I transferred to the Blue Line (also having work done and going through some kind of delays) and the normal middle-of-the-night crowd was in attendance - the few sleeping vagrants, some loud drunken people, and me - and suddenly, about 11 super spunky old ladies got on! They were all J-crew’d out and laughing and - strangely enough - not visibly drunk. It was truly bizarre.
Anyway, enough about that. There are literally thousands of things to do in Chicago tonight, and I’ll probably go see Spiderman 3. I don’t even really want to, but I will. I didn’t really like Spiderman 2, but that’s a long story for another time.

Peace out.

The city of Chicago has released the schedule for this summer’s Outdoor Film Festival. The movies are free and begin at sunset at Butler Field in Grant Park.

Here is this year’s line-up:

July 17 :Young Frankenstein

July 24 : Double Indemnity

July 31: Written on the Wind

August 7: The Awful Truth

August 14: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

August 21: Sweet Smell of Success

August 28: The Sound of Music

For more information, visit the city of Chicago website.

Chicago, outdoor film festival, movies, summer, outdoors

Summer is approaching, and one of the things that happens in Chicago in the summertime - which most people don’t realize - is that Second City sends a huge load of their best improvisers on cruise ships around the world. Now, this is great for the improv-comedy-loving world at large, but for Chicagoans, we miss out on seeing some of our favorites for a few months.
I, personally, am completely obsessed with the fabulous and talented Jet Eveleth. And she, sadly, is getting on a cruise ship very, very soon. I suggest that you get out and see her in The Reckoning tonight at 8pm at iO in Wrigleyville. The Reckoning is one of my favorite improv teams. A couple of weeks ago, they did a piece about a woman who marries a polar bear. Classic. I guess that sounds kind of lame when I write it here, but you’ll just have to believe me that on stage, it was magical. I don’t know how many of you realize that Chicago is the only city on earth that you can see true Long Form Improvisation every single night of the week. Go team!
Tickets are $12. iO is located on Clark and Addison - just south of Wrigley Field.

iO, Wrigleyville, Improv, The Reckoning, Jet Eveleth

The city and suburbs of Chicago are filled with miles of wonderful paths and trails for runners, walkers, and cyclists. The most well-known, and the most popular, is the Chicago Lake Front Path, which is maintained by the Chicago Park District. It extends from Bryn Mawr Avenue on the north side south to Jackson Park on the south side. The length of the trail is 18 miles and there are markers each mile. In addition to the “official” path, there are a series of other paths along the way that travel further inland from Lake Michigan.
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So, I’m just going to say this, and everyone can bite my head off, that’s fine. Aldi is CRAZY. Seriously. Aldi is crazy.
I just moved to the Wicker Park - ish area, and I was looking for a grocery store. For some reason, I wasn’t having much luck, but then - lo, and behold - I saw an Aldi. So, I wandered in…to the black hole of chaos where the universe began. I was getting body checked by 7 year-olds and I had to wrestle this 90 year old Korean lady for the last can of refried beans. Madness.
The best part, however, was the two really old drunk Cubans. One of them spoke mostly only spanish, and the other spoke mostly only english. Both were insanely drunk, and the spanish speaker was wandering around the store carrying bags of lettuce and talking to everyone in the loudest voice possible. The english speaker only said one thing…”We’re from Cuba, man. Cuba.”
It. Was. Awesome.
Then, finally, after my 2 hour wait in line, I made it out alive.
It’s amazing, I know.
So, for that reason, I designate today as “Learn more about Cuban Culture” day. Enjoy.

Aldi, Wicker Park,

Every year for one Sunday morning, Lake Shore Drive is closed to car traffic. What is normally a busy expressway filled with loud car noises, becomes peacefully quiet, except for the whirring of bicycles. It is quite a sight to behold and it is an extremely fun event to participate in.

The ride starts at Columbus and Balbo, bright and early at 5:30 a.m. Riders can choose to go north to Bryn Mawr Avenue or south to the Museum of Science and Industry. After the riders return back to Columbus and Balbo, they can then go in the opposite direction, time permitting. The full ride is 30 miles (15 miles in each direction). Lake Shore Drive re-opens to car traffic at approximately 10:30 a.m. Riders who are still out on the road at that time will be moved onto the lake front path to continue their ride. The event ends with a post-ride festival, which includes breakfast. For more information on Bike the Drive, or to register visit the official website.

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