A crew of 4 did a surprise performance at my birthday party 9/13/14. They were amazing! They had…read morelots of energy and showed amazing skill & strength - lots of oohs & aaahs from the audience! They were very professional in all communications & arrived timely. We highly recommend them!

How can you not like North Coast?!…read more This is hands down my favorite festival in Chicago. I was going even before they switched over from Union Park in Chicago to Seatgeek Stadium in Bridgeview/Summit. I will say the change at first sucked since it's easier to get down to the city, but truly after going here a few times this location is great! Very spacious, no sound bleed, and there are a lot of hotels in the area that a lot of attendees stay at. Two years ago I stayed at a nearby hotel which was great. This year my friends and I drove back and forth each day; it was fine, but I recommend staying somewhere nearby or within walking distance to avoid the clusterhell of Ubers after the fest ends! Ubers cannot get to the grounds, so you'll have to walk a while to get out of the area to connect with one. There are a lot of random drivers offering rides there, too, but you've got to be careful accepting rides from them since they're random people. I always make sure they have the Uber/lyft sticker and will ask them to pull up their profile. The one bad part of North Coast is the getting out of the fest after it ends. The parking lot is a total nightmare and finding an Uber is impossible since police close off a lot of roads within the residential areas, which sucks for residents, Ubers, and the attendees! But that's not the fest's fault, plus it's a nightmare after every festival ends trying to get out. The lineup for North Coast never disappoints, and the pricing is incredible. I think I paid around $250 for a 3-day pass which is such an amazing price. The employees and security here are always super nice and fun. It's more of a lowkey festival compared to other Chicago fests which I prefer. They have various drinks, food trucks, and retailers. I love the merch here so much! You already know I'll be going next year!

This festival was awesome…read more The good ---the musical artists. Being able to face one way and see Lupe Fiasco in concert and when his set ends being able to watch Nas & Damian Marley...wow! It was just amazing!!! Added bonus, I love Mayer Hawthorne! --how close you can get to the stage! I've never been so close to a music artist before. The people in the front could reach out and touch Lupe or Nas and everyone pays the same price for the ticket. Love it. --the atmosphere. Everyone is having so much fun!!! As one of the only sober people there, the entire grounds reeked of weed and everyone was passing it around openly...which led to a lot of people having fun... but also a lot of crazy dancers obviously on something a bit stronger & also some rude people. I loved being able to bring chairs/blankets/whatever and just chill earlier in the day for Mayer Hawthorne. The bad --the food options. I had a very overpriced plate of what they called Pad Thai that was $11 for some pretty gross food. I know, I know, the festival isn't about the food but goodness. They need more food options more readily available and better options. --they need more bathrooms! --the parking. There is none. Zero. We parked over a mile away. I wish there was some type of solution to the parking problem. --after the last show it's madness. As expected tons of people are leaving but it's dark and everyone is high or drunk so at the very least I need to bring a flashlight. --It was odd going to a lounge/bar to pick up our will call tickets. Not sure what was up with that. If groupon offers tickets again and they have another sweet lineup, I'm down!

I've lived in Ravenswood for nearly decade and a half but I've never been to the Ravenswood Art…read moreWalk, how wild is that? I almost thought this weekend it wasn't going to work with the rain but luckily it cleared up and rather than just hang out in our living room I packed up the baby and we headed down the block. We didn't visit any of the studios; the weather is a little iffy and I didn't want to be too far away in case it started to turn. Also some of the studios don't seem to be in accessible buildings, which means I wouldn't have been able to get the stroller into them since there were stairs with no ramp. The "main" part of the festival, at Berteau & Ravenswood, has booths set up for various artists to sell. Some are local and some are not I think. There was also a structure constructed--temporarily, I think--for children to climb. There were several food trucks and a couple booths set up in the parking lot of the building there as well, and a band playing. There was a nice variety of artists in their tents, selling textiles, pottery, paintings, photography, jewelry, and so on. Next year I hope to visit again, especially if we still live here. And hopefully the weather will be nice so that we can walk the full thing instead of park for fear of a downpour!

A weekend event celebrating and showcasing the artists of Ravenswood. There is the opportunity to…read moremeet some of the artists in their studios. There was an outdoor market and blocks of studios and galleries . A selection of food trucks offered a variety of choices. There was live music throughout the event. It was easy to spend an afternoon in Ravenswood enjoying the creative talents in Ravenswood.

Probably one of the coolest unknown theatres in the city. Well it must known by some since it's…read morestayed in business since 1981, they mainly focus on adaptations from literature giants like Burroughs, Salinger, Bradbury, Dick, Twain, and Algren to name a couple. I had the pleasure of seeing a German interpretive play Seven Doors based on the seven deadly sins. At this times it was quite disturbing but overall the actors were phenomenal. The theatre is small and it might be easily overlooked from the street because it's a store front theatre but inside the place has depth. Only having two stages it's really set up for smaller crowds but you're not packed in. The walls are filled with colorful photo's and old posters from Chicago performances, these are really cool to look at. In my opinion it gives the theatre a historical presence. If you get a chance check it out, I'll be added it to my list of favorite theatres!! Support the arts!!

Very homey, cool vibes at this little hole in the wall theater…read more Performers from The Uploose Odditorium killed it last Friday! The monologues and interactive games were equally enjoyable. Performances were all impressive & don't forget to check the art on the walls in the hallway. Unique, all the way around!

Fun! Smallish studio, but the instructors were great! Easy to find in the Bridgeport Art Center…read more I booked online so I knew what we were painting. Would highly recommend for a date night, girls night out or whatever. Loved it and we will be back again.

So what you're not a natural artist. Here you don't have to be. With stencils and great instructors…read moreto guide you along the way, your picture still turns out a masterpiece. I simply love this place. You bring your own wine and they provided glasses for you to sip while painting. It's great for all ages and the paint selections are nice as well. You can have a private event or join in an open class. Such a relaxing thing to do. Plus you leave with a new piece of art to hang and admire in your home or office.

The place was packed, the lines were long and the weather was terrible but it was well worth it!…read moreFor occasional sippers with a low tolerance, cider is most appreciated. It is typically low in alcoholic content but full of flavor. It is great to see its growth in the marketplace and this event is great for consumers who are in search of ciders unknown. The Summit admission ticket included admission to a four hour session, a glass compliments of Binny's and 8-10 tickets. The tickets are used to sample ciders or cheese. Most cider tastings were 6 oz for one ticket. The higher end ciders were 2 tickets per tasting. There were tons of vendors, some of which are not even on the market yet. They range from dry to sweet and are made with different type apples and various processes. There were many vendors with no line at all. Not because they were not good, they were perhaps unknown or pretty popular (AppleTroew, Angry Orchard etc). The longest lines seem to have been for the Ice Ciders. It is a very unique flavor in comparison to traditional ciders. I tried one Prohibition (Sea Cider) that is reportedly paired best with BBQ or a sweet dessert. Other ciders were made with whiskey or mixed with other fruit flavors (Bluberries, Peach, Apricot, Pear and Cherry). I even tried a cider with a pecan and cinnamon flavor (Totally Toasted). Designated drivers received admission for $5 and it included a bottle of water. If you lacked a DD, Uber was onsite to offer rides and a $20 off discount for first time users.

I really enjoyed Cider Summit 2019! It seems like the organizers really listened to some past…read morecomplaints about the event, because this year it felt very organized and we had more tickets to use. I don't drink beer but I love hard ciders, and this event introduced me to so many new options!

This was me and The Heiress Apparent (La J) first time at this event. We are both lovers of Mac…read moreand Cheese, so of course when we heard about this event, we were in. Tickets were $65 for General Admission and and $105 for VIP. Both tickets got you all you can eat samples and five drink tickets. We got the VIP tickets because there was priority check in, free tee shirts and a VIP section we could sit in so we could be comfortable eating our mac and cheese. The VIP section was good, plenty of seats. This was our first time at the fest, so we have no comparison in terms of organization. But I would say that the event was very well organized. There were a good number of vendors representing different types of mac and cheese, very creative. The samples were a good size for getting a flavor of eat one. It was a brilliant idea to have the samples already out on the table ready to pick up. The only vendor that had a line was Public House (Chef Jeremy Tannehill) for the Chicken, Mac, & Waffles. It eventually settled down and we go to sample it...waffle cone, mac/cheese and a chicken meatball in hot sauce. It was good. Millie's Supper Club had a a great Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese. Texican (Chef Kim Dalton) Texas Chili Mac, Warren's Ale House (Chef Kevin Hay) Ghost Pepper Mac with Smoked BBQ Brisket (wasn't that hot and that was good), and ConeCepts (Chef Turn Cummings) Beer Braised Brisket Mac & Cheese were all good. Another favorite for me was Carmine's. They came up with a Mac and Cheese slider and it was so good. Other favorites were Carnivale's (Chef Rodolfo Cuadios) Mac & Cheese Cake Pops. I could not wrap my mind around a mac and cheese dessert, but it was like eating cheese cake. That was my personal favorite of all the vendors. La J enjoyed Mahoney's Pub & Grille's (Chef Alex Gomez) Strawberry Mac & Cheesecake and Kitty O'Sheas at the Hilton Chicago's (Chef Mario Garcia & Chef Erica McGhee) something like an apple crumble. Again, not thinking of mac and cheese as a dessert, but both worked. The five drink tickets were good and I ended up getting more from some nice people. Not sure what all was there for adult beverages as I hit the table serving wine. Pretty decent whites and they have a sparkling, so I was in heaven. The pours were very generous. We didn't get to hit all of the restaurants as we got so full! We had a plan of attack for hitting all of the vendors, but made the mistake of repeating samples that we liked. All and all, it was a good time and I look forward to doing this next year.

Tubular elbow pasta has been one of America's favorite comfort foods ever since Yankee Doodle stuck…read morea feather in his cap. This annual one-day indoor festival provides a venue for talented local chefs to flex their creative muscles and compete for the Golden Noodle Award, and for foodies to sample something potentially more awesome than the familiar Kraft product. Tickets are pricey but the event donates a portion of the proceeds to a worthy charity. This was the first time the Missus and I attended the Fest (we were invited as VIP lunch guests). Many of the offerings we tasted were truly a quantum leap above the comparatively bland grocery aisle version. Some had unusual twists. For example, mac & cheese cake pops (Carnivale), whose flavor is best described as cheddar cheesecake. My personal fave was the sweet-and-savory concoction of Kitty O'Shea's (a past award recipient); it was redolent of caramelized onions. Several of the booths were elaborately decorated. To wash down the high-carb repast, participants could choose from an array of 5 oz. pours of beers, wines, and hard ciders. A deejay spun contemporary songs. The feeding frenzy concluded with the announcement of the winner and runners-up (by popular vote) for the Golden Noodle Award, a trophy that looks like a drainpipe on a pedestal. What a hoot! We're longtime fans of food festivals, and this exceptionally well-run event was among the best we've attended.

Two of my children have attended Actors Garden summer camp for a total of 7 years and each year was…read moreincredibly meaningful and magical for them! They each grew so much, learned to take risks, speak up, sing & dance and made friends with the other campers and the wonderful counselors and co- directors. The original plays- scripts and music are all original- were such fun to watch and the kids adored performing them. They were each performed on a real stage at Dominican University and the highlights of our summer. Camp director, teacher and Actors Garden owner Gigi Hudson is a local treasure who is one of the most loving, enthusiastic and enjoyable teachers I've ever met. In addition to summer camp my kids have also taken Actors Garden classes with Gigi, Dave, Meredith, Jennifer, Angie and Kim since they were in 1st grade. The studio on Lombard is bright and welcoming with easy metered parking and next to the Buzz which is handy for parents who are in need of a place to hang out and grab a Coke while waiting for a class to finish.

My daughter started the summer camp this past summer and she loves it. So much that she joined the…read morefall session as well. GiGi is wonderful and the team is great as well. My daughter was very shy and The Actors Garden is helping her confidence soar! I can't say enough about this team.