Chicago, IL

I was on my way to lunch in downtown Chicago yesterday when I spotted this mounted police officer and her decorated horse. I wonder if anyone asked the horse if he wanted to wear a Santa hat? It is kind of like people who make their dogs wear Halloween costumes. What do you think, is the horse likes his decorative flair?

I always like seeing the different ways that the police officers in Chicago get around the city. My favorite is probably via horseback like the picture above. I have also seen police officers in cars (of course), four-wheeled all terrain vehicles, and even Segways. When patrolling down town it doesn’t really make sense to be in a car, especially when most of the people you are dealing with are on foot and not in a car. Segways are great for patrolling the parks, like Millenium Park and Grant Park because the paths are wide enough for it and they can patrol a large amount of area quickly.
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On day one of this 12 days of Chicago project, I wrote about the opportunities for shopping within the city limits of Chicago. However, if you are feeling adventurous, or are looking for some bargains, there are plenty of great shopping areas in the suburbs of Chicago. Here are two such places which I would recommend to someone looking to get out of the city and do some shopping this holiday season.

Gurnee Mills shopping plaza
6170 W. Grand Avenue, Gurnee IL (near Great America)
What’s makes it special: giant indoor outlet mall where you can get some great deals
Department Stores: Kohl’s, JcPenney, Sears Grand, Value City, Saks Fifth Avenue outlet
Places to eat after a long day of shopping: Two different food courts, Ruby Tuesday, The Rainforest Cafe
How to get there from the city: I-94 W to Gurnee Mills Circle East

I highly recommend Gurnee Mills as it is the kind of place that, after going once, was sad that I had not been before. Some tips, though: go early in the day because it gets incredibly crowded; wear comfortable walking shoes because it is a huge mall and your feet will get surprisingly tired. There is also a movie theater if you get bored with shopping and need to rest a while.

They have some unique stores that you cannot find in the city like Bass Pro Shops, Borders Outlet, and wide variety of others. For a full list of the store directory check out this listing here. They have varying hours over the next couple of weeks for the holidays, so be sure to check this link for hours before you head up there.
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The opportunities for good theater abound in Chicago year round. In addition to musical, plays, and comedy shows, there are also terrific dance performances and opera. During the holiday season, the city of Chicago adds some holiday-themed programming to its roster, allowing to get your theater fix, while also getting the holiday experience.

Here are a few options when it comes to holiday shows, although it is by no means an exhaustive list:

The Nutcracker
The Joffrey Ballet
December 12-30th (Friday-Sunday only)
Auditorium Theatre
50 E. Congress Parkway
I saw the Nutcracker performed when I was in the fourth grade it is a very memorable show, even to this day many years ago. It is a great show for younger kids, as well as adults. The music and performance is magical. Another version of The Nutcracker will be peformed in Naperville from December 14th-16th. Visit the North Central College website for more information.
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This holiday season, both of the major zoos in the Chicago area have special holiday events. Both the Lincoln Park Zoolights and the Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo have started and run through the end of the year.

Lincoln Park Zoolights
Hours: 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.; closed December 24th and 25th
Location: Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL
Highlights: Laser light show, visits with Santa, ice carving, storytelling, carousel, train rides
Cost: Free!
Official site

Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo
Hours: 9:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Location: Brookfield Zoo, First Avenue between Ogden Avenue and 31st Street in Brookfield, Illinois, just 14 miles west of downtown Chicago
Highlights: Nearly one million twinkling lights, ice-carving demonstrating, Santa visits, carolers, photo opportunities.
Cost: Admission to zoo is $10 for adults, $6 for kids. Parking will cost you another $8.
Official site

I think zoo lights events can be a lot of fun. Many young children love the sparkly holiday lights and get memorized by all of the elaborate displays. As an adult I must admit I can be pretty impressed by the lengths the light displays can go to. I wonder what all of the animals think about all the extra lights and nighttime visitors?

For more information on the events, check out the official websites, which are listed above in the descriptions.

This post is part of the 12 days of Chicago series, which brings you 12 fun and interesting things that you can do for the holidays in Chicago. In conjunction with the series, this blog is sponsoring a holiday contest, which you can read about here.

Chicago, Brookfield Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, zoolights, zoos

Looking for somewhere scary to go in the Chicago area for Halloween? Here are a few places that I have been to in previous Halloween seasons.

Statesville Haunted House - Located near the Stateville prison, this scare house was pretty scary for me as an adult and I would imagine that it would be even more scary for pre-teens or young teenagers. There are two different parts to the haunted house, making it a fairly lengthy walk. This is good because the tickets are pretty pricey.

The details
Tickets: $30 at the door, $40 online for VIP treatment
When: Now through Halloween, from 7-11 p.m. weekends, 7-10 p.m. weekdays
Where: 17250 S. Weber Road, Crest Hill, Illinois
For more information: (877) SCARED2 or you can visit the website here.
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I suppose that saying that Olney, Illinois is a suburb of Chicago is a bit of a stretch, as it is approximately 250 miles southeast of the city. However, Olney is worth mentioning for what I imagine is their number one tourist attraction: White Squirrels!

Albino squirrels are unheard of here in the city, but Olney apparently has quite the population of the cute critters, dating back to 1899. The city prides themselves in the squirrels so much that they even changed the leash law to include cats so that the squirrels would not be harmed by free-roaming felines.

Every year volunteers from the town spend several Saturdays counting the white creatures to determine whether or not the population is thriving or decreasing. This year’s count will take place October 13th, 20th, and 27th. If you are interesting in participating, you can call the Olney city hall at 618-395-7302.
For more information on the town of Olney, visit their official website.

Olney, White Squirrels, Illinois, Chicagoland

If you are expecting a new baby, or all have one or more youngters in your house, you may want to check out the Baby Expo at the Tinley Park Convention Center on September 29th.

There will be a wide variety of vendors there, will all of the latest products for babies and toddlers. Other booths include doctors, child care centers, and park districts.

There will also be fun for the kids, including a dino jump, pony rides, a booth from Radio Disney, and an acting stage for storytelling.

For more information on the event, visit the Baby Expo website.

Chicagoland, Tinley Park, Baby Expo

This Sunday, September 23rd, suburban Palos Heights will host the Lake Katherine Monarch Butterfly Festival. The event will feature a butterfly tent, a traveling science center, and a live insect museum. Children are encouraged to wear butterfly or other insect costumes.

Other events include:

Children’s games
Arts and crafts fair
Canoe Rentals
Face Painting
Hayrides
Scarecrow making

This sounds like a great fall event, with all of the fun things that I love about fall. Just add some cider and it sounds like a great fall day!

The event runs from 11:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and will be $6 for adults, $4 for kids ages three to twelve. The location of the event is 7402 W. Lake Katherine Drive in Palos Heights. For more information, you can call the Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic Gardens at (708) 361-1873.

Lake Katherine Nature Center and Botanic Gardens, Lake Katherine, Palo Heights, Monarch, butterfly

The Tall Grass Arts Association presents the Park Forest Art Fair on September 15th and 16th in downtown Park Forest, Illinois. This will be the 52nd iteration of the far, which will feature more than 100 artists. The event runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day.

Glassware, paintings, photographs, jewelry and other forms of fine art will be exhibited and available for purchase at the 52nd Annual Park Forest Art Fair. The public is invited and admission is free. The Park Forest Art Fair is one of the longest running suburban art fairs in existence; and has more than 100 artists displaying and selling original artworks and features live entertainment, a variety of foods, and activities for the children.

Park Forest Art Fair, Park Forest, Art Fair, Tall Grass Arts Association, Tall Grass

The top three finishers in the men’s competition at the Park Forest Scenic 10 Mile: Alene Reta (left) was first.

On Labor Day, the Chicago suburb of Park Forest, Illinois hosted the 30th anniversary of the Park Forest Scenic 10 mile. The event is a 10 mile race, with the first half going through a forest preserve and the second half going through the streets and neighborhoods of Park Forest. The town really puts a lot of effort into the event and the amount of volunteers, spectators, and cheering residents was impressive.

Because the event was commemorating the 30th anniversary, each half mile and mile marker had the name of a past winner of the event. The top finisher this year for the men was Alene Reta, with a time of 47 minutes 17 seconds and the top female finisher was Leah Kiprono, who finished in 55:06.

Park Forest, Scenic 10, Leah Kiprono, Alene Reta

If you are looking for a great venue to hear some wonderful music, you should visit Ravinia Festival in Highland Park. They host a wide variety of artists from different genres. For example, this week will feature B.B. King, the Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, and Diana Krall, on different nights of the week.

On Labor Day, Ravinia will host a “Labor Day Spectacular” which will feature the Ravinia Festival Orchestra playing many patriotic tunes, ending with a finale of Tchaikovsky’s “1812″ Overture, featuring live cannons.

At the outdoor venue, you have a choice of sitting in reserved seats or on the lawn. For more information on Ravinia, including directions, ticket prices, and schedules, check out the Ravinia Festival official site.

Photo source

The fire that claimed the lives of a Naperville mother and her two young children has been ruled a double murder-suicide. Police revealed that video surveillance at a nearby store showed Nimisha Tiwari purchasing a can of gasoline.

She was also seen purchasing toys at another store the same day. It is believed that the children may have been playing with the toys at the time that the fire began, as the Dora the Explorer and Thomas the Tank Engine toys were found near the bodies of 18-month-old Anaya, 4-year-old Vakadham. Although it is not believed that the mother poured gasoline onto the children, the police have not ruled out the possibility that the children were drugged prior to the fire.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Nimisha Tiwari and her husband, Anand Tiwari, had a troubled marriage, which included accusations of abuse and bad parenting from both parents. She previously alleged that he was controlling and abusive and he alleged that she acted erratically as a result of her multiple sclerosis. Police have said that the husband has been cleared as a suspect.

This weekend, the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village will be host to a professional-level cycling competition called the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove. There will be time trials for the big event on Saturday morning and races Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

Illinois native Christian Vandevelde will be among the contestants. Vandevele formerly raced on the same team as Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France and finished 24th in the Tour de France in 2006.

In addition to the professional cycling events, there will be several other categories of races, as well as a a 100 meter big-wheel race for the kids.

For more information on the Tour of Elk Grove, including the full schedule and directions, click here. The event is free.

Chicago, Elk Grove Village, Tour of Elk Grove, Christian Vandevelde, cycling, bicycling, Tour de France

A fun summer activity to do with the family is to head to a Chicago Bandits game in Lisle, Illinois. The Chicago Bandits are a professional women’s softball team, which is part of the National Pro Fastpitch league. Although the team has had some trouble this season and currently finds itself in the unfamiliar position of being in sixth place, they still provide a great night of entertainment.

The team has a lot of great players, the most famous being Jennie Finch, who won the gold medal with the United States Olympic team in 2004.

Compared with other professional sports, the tickets to see the Chicago Bandits are very inexpensive and a family of four can attend a game for only $40 total. If you attend on a Sunday, kids 14 and under can get grandstand seats for only $5, when accompanied by their parents.

The Chicago Bandits games are played on the softball field of Benedictine University. For information and directions, click here. For ticket information, click here.

Chicago Bandits, Chicago, national professional fastpitch, professional softball, softball, Benedictine University

Due to the temporary closure of the trails at Busse Woods, you may be looking for an alternate place to run or cycle. This past Saturday, I tried out a stretch of the Illinois Prairie Path which is located about a twenty minute drive southwest of Busse Woods. The Prairie Path extends from Maywood out to the western suburb of Wheaton, before branching out to Elgin and Aurora. I only ran from Elmhurst to around Villa Park before I headed back.

The path is primarily crushed limestone, although there are some stretches that are paved. There are some drinking fountains along the path, although I advise you to bring water because they are not as plentiful as other places, such as the lakefront path.

My main problem was that because the path extends through several suburbs, the path often crosses a street. As a result, runners and cyclists have to stop and wait for the traffic before crossing. This can be annoying if you are trying to keep a set pace or keep the heart rate elevated. The traffic was not too bad, though, when I was out from 7:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. The path got crowded around 8:00 a.m. or so and there are a few spots where passing is difficult (a couple of narrow bridges). Most of the people there understood proper path etiquette though, so it was not a problem.

If you are looking for a Busse Woods alternative and want to consider the Illinois Prairie Path, check out this link.

Chicago, Chicagoland, Elmhurst, running, running chicago, cycling, bicycling, Illinois Prairie Path, marathon training, Busse Woods