We took 3 buses (!) and a helpful bus driver directed us to Western and Longwood. We walked up the…read moreLONG hill and found a spot in the sun. It was populated but not super crowded. We wanted to find a spot near a bar. (thankfully the Nationalist posters were either gone or yet to appear). The neighborhood is a good mix of businesses and residences, and some smart cookies brought lawn chairs. Except for one drunk guy hanging out the window yelling (silly stuff) everyone was festive, patient, and the kids got candy. The devotion to schools, unions and veterans was touching, so that when the occasional political figure emerged (Hi Lori!) or a corporation made a float, we didn't mind too much. I will post pictures later.

I experienced my first (still debating if its going to be my only) south side irish parade two…read moreyears ago. The only thing I really remembered about the parade itself was the little men wearing the little hats driving the little carpet cars. Bizarre, but memorable none the less! As for the rest of the "party" it was craziness. First there was taking the METRA down to the south side. Everyone on the train was drunk. There was no organization. I had no idea how to get a ticket or if I even needed one. Turns out I didnt need one, everyone rode free that day. At the train stop, I had a bit of ways to walk to get to the parade route. While watching the parade, everyone around me was having a good time. Then again they were all drunk. And they were smoking. Did I happen to mention I cant drink and hate smokers? Yah......totally not my scene but I wanted to check out what all the hype was about. I did have a good time with the company I was with. Everyone was nice and my bf had the hook up with a family friend who owns a shop on the route, so we had access to a bathroom and didnt have to resort to pissing in alleyways. THANK GOD. I heard last year CPD didnt allow drinking on the streets. Maybe that helps in taming the chaos?

Early Morning, April 4 (or actually July) Gay guys sing out…read morein the Chicagoland Sky Equal at last, it took all our lives But they could not take our Pride! In the name of love Parade in the name of love Being in Chicago for the Pride Parade was a real experience. It messes with traffic and messes with homophobic people of which there are plenty - especially in the rich suburbs of Chicagoland but I'll tell you what. This is one of the best Pride festivals and parades that you'll ever see. Some of the cops were making questionable statements about some of the people marching, which wasn't much fun to listen to. The whole area of town where they March is a very LGBTQ-friendly area to begin with and one of the coolest parts of town. It's a place where I hang out a lot anyway when I'm in Chicago. The third great city of the US makes a real effort and the buildings downtown are adorned with the rainbow flags and even though the already awful traffic of the weekend is made more awful, it's well worth coming in and checking it out for yourself. We loved every second. I didn't like that all the gay clubs around here closed really early or were not even open on the night of the parade and as I said, some of the cops that were hanging around after the parade was over were making unfortunate remarks and being a little bit stereotypical. BOSE is pretty stereo typical too. But in a good way.

June is nothing without Pride! I love celebrating and enjoying the marvelous performers. I have…read moreheard always wanted to explore Chicago's Pride festivities. I am glad I had the opportunity to check out the festival the week before the parade and concert. I enjoyed seeing all the people celebrating with joy and supporting local LGBTQA+ artists. There were great performers in 3 different stages at each side of the street. The festival was free with a $15 donation option. One can enter and exit as pleased as long as they kepy the sticker we receive upon entering. This was a family friendly event, so it was great to see families and little ones enjoying the festivities. The only draw backs were that the festival was a bit overcrowded and wished there were room to walk around and chances to sit and relax. We couldn't find many places and at times saw individuals with physical disabilities struggle getting around the crowd. Overall, It was a fun event to explore. I look forward to next year's festivities and catching the parade!

Open House Chicago is one of the favorite weekends of my annual Chicago calendar. On a Saturday and…read moreSunday every October, you can visit so many unique places throughout Chicago - all for free! My lovely wife and I will even volunteer for a few hours every year at one of the sites, it really gives you an opportunity to enjoy a venue in detail while experiencing the energy of the visitors whether they are locals or visitors from afar. Thank You Chicago Architecture Center for spearheading this annual architecture fest! Hey it's not just about architecture, but every year some prestigious architecture firms open their doors to curious visitors. You can visit some amazing spaces, rooftops, spaces, and you are sure to be wowed by the views of our great city.

I am appalled by this show supposing to show Chicago style and architecture. The first show I saw…read moreand immediately turned it off turned me off by I guess the "star" of the show wearing in a huge fur hat and a shiny red jumpsuit. What? I thought it would have been the previous real estate show actually showing actual real estate listings in Chicago and suburbs. many thumbs down.

La Palma by Chef Antonia is the best Puerto Rican food around! Always fresh and delicious authentic…read morePuerto Rican steak Pasteles plantains goat you name it they got it

If you weren't at the spot, I don't know what you were doing. Every year, the Puerto Rican Fest…read morebrings it! First things first about the Fest, it's free. That's right. No matter where you happen upon the Park to enter into a boricua wonderland, you won't have to pay a penny for the privilege of having some world class fun. You hear that, Art Fairs and Neighborhood fests??!! Here at the FP, there are no jack booted Chads and Trixies shaking folks down for a $20 'donation' just to enter the 'free' festival aka public streets and walkways [but what a great scam that is; wish I'd have thought of it]. If you're not a fabulous jet-setter like Vamsi or Preet (mm-hmm, that's right; I called you out for going to Puerto Rico and not taking me), this might be the next best thing. I like to enter the Park/Fest at North & California. I walk south down California, past the shirt, corn and other vendors and then cut up into the Park at the first closed gate. This route will also let you gaze into one of the many water ways of Humboldt Park and marvel at its beauty. Walk past the big rig trucks and you'll come upon the midway. Remember when you were a kid and went to the state fair? Well, all the awesome rides of your youth are here for you to enjoy: haunted house, tilt-a-whirl, bumper cars, etc. But watch out: there are plenty of youngsters and families about and, apparently, it's bad form to push the little kids out of the way so you can cut in line. Who knew? You need tickets to ride the ride, but there are plenty of booths that will trade your money for tickets. After you've thrown up from the rides (or been escorted out of line by the CPD, potato potatoe), play some carnival games (whack a mole, ring toss, dart throw, that water-gun-horse-game that makes no sense and a host of others) or get some grub! Games are everyday. Corn pancakes with melted cheese inside only comes once a year. There's so much food! Rice, pork, sweet plantains, pinchos (pronounce the "p"; otherwise it'll sound like you asked for a bicho which will get you either a slap or a date), empanadillas, pinonoes, alcapurrias and other fried deliciousness. As tempting as it will be to get food at the first booth you see, don't. Window shop, compare prices and go for the places with the longest lines. Some people walk and eat. Um, no. I need a seat. You can try to blend in with the bingo-playing grandmas (prime real estate with a tarp, chairs and everything) but they tend to side-eye you if you aren't playing. There are plenty of grassy tree lounges or benches. I don't do dirt, so I rec. the bench. Be aware that they are hot and you will burn your culo. Be prepared. Has all that food left you thirsty? If so, grab a hollowed-out pineapple filled with pina colada. They look great and are re-fillable. They're also huge (around $8). I heard that this is an alcohol-free event, but I also heard someone got a $10 strawberry daquiri that was 60% rum, 35% ice and 5% strawberries. I also heard this person fell down after drinking half of it. No, I don't have a bruise. While you sip your fruity beverage, tour the various booths. Register to vote, buy a quality knock-off (no Fendis out of trunks at this Fest), get some body oils, various Puerto Rican flag clothing or people watch. I saw a little kid with a tricked out tricycle that played, no, BUMPED, music and had a chrome box on the back. But for the witnesses, I would have jacked him for it. It was really nice. Still anxious for more? Good. The event producers are on top of their game and they have a ton of corporate sponsors. That means money for great music acts, quality sound systems, corporate tents (the Wrigley tent has Wii games to play, flavored oxygen to breathe and cooling centers) and various contests. My favorite contest is the reggaeton dance-for-concert-tickets contest which always devolves to an ass-shaking competition. It's awesome. There's plenty of popping, dropping, toe touching, wiggling, shaking, stripping and floor humping - and those are the men; seriously. But male contestants have to leave their shirts on. "There are kids in the audience." I've never stayed to see the night concerts. Invariably, I am sunburned, tipsy and in the early throes of a food coma. From what I hear, the night concerts are a lot of fun...but the frolicking family atmosphere of the day is replaced by the tomfoolery of teens and young adults. Since I am a brownstone stoop away from beating those self-same youngsters with a cane, I leave before dark. But the really good reggaeton, bachata, etc. acts are at night so...choose wisely according to interest. Forget what you heard about how 'scary' HP is and get to the Fest. It's so much fun. For a week, everyone is Puerto Rican. Get your flag, attach it to your car, cruise the circuit, honk your horn and viva boricua/Puerto Rico.

I wanted to share how much I enjoy the Carrera de Los Muertos 5K each year -- it's such a…read morebeautiful, culturally rich event that I truly look forward to. The atmosphere, community spirit, and celebration of tradition make it a standout race. That said, I do want to provide a bit of feedback about the packet pickup process. This year it took nearly two hours and felt very unorganized. When I received our team's packets, all the shirts were placed together in a box without the blue Dominican bags that were supposed to be included. In addition, there were no pins included with the 16 packets. Very disappointing experience with a 5k of this stature. It might help to offer an online option for group or team packet pickup, allowing one person to collect materials for multiple participants in an organized way. This would really streamline the process and make race weekend even smoother for everyone involved.

Every year the dead arise. Well sort of, with the Mexican Day of the dead this 5k run is made to…read morehonor those who have left us and it seems that every year the crowd gets bigger and bigger. For early birds who register for the race, you can put a creative name or tag on your flag. But this who wait too long will have to settle for their real name. The goo thing with this race is that with your paid registration you get a wonderful shirt with the Dia de los muertos logo and a few other goodies. Don't get It Twisted, this is NOT Halloween, so come in your best made up day of the dead look. I am sure you will be creative, but just in case, there are those who do face paintings for a small fee of course (come on make up is not cheap). So google Carrera de los muertos and you will see the wonderful photos of this years event. And while you're there you will be able to purchase items pertaining to the 5k and much more. The art is wonderful and the atmosphere is amazing. See ya next year for this wonderful event and of course, don't forget to check in.

Saturday October 24, 2015 marked a new tradition in Chicago: The first "Halloween Gathering" took…read moreplace on the Chicago Cultural Mile. The event consisted of tents scattered in Millennium Park, Grant Park and Maggie Daley Park; and an evening parade along Columbus Drive. It was the first year, and granted there were a few hiccups: I could not find the TheaTRICKS stage and there were not enough volunteers to help me find it, the parade started about 10 minutes late. But otherwise it was a great event for all ages. The main venue, called the Conjure Creative Tent, had free product samples (Mamma Chia drinks, Smartpop popcorn, and candy corn), free arts and crafts (create masks, lanterns, artwork), live music, and live entertainment. Maggie Daley Park had a kid's costume procession, dance performances, and hula-hooping. A couple other booths along the east side of Michigan Ave had things like magicians and tarot card readings. The nighttime parade was scheduled for 2 hours. The announcer mentioned the parade had 70 floats, but we only stayed for the first hour. There were entries from museums (Art Institute, Field Museum), schools (DePaul University, School of the Art Institute), dance companies (Joffrey Ballet), and various other cultural communities. There were a few marching bands, dance performances, and some cars with interesting hydraulics. It was great free event and I look forward to see how it will look in years to come!

I'm not a huge fan of this museum normally but I absolutely loved this!…read more This was breathtakingly beautiful and seeing how Christmas looked around the world was wonderful to be able to do. There were people of all ages & all kinds here, this is something that I think everyone can find something they'll like about out of. I hope to make this a yearly tradition with my family.

I've been coming to the Museum to see the Christmas trees since I was a kid. I even once performed…read moreUkrainian Christmas songs as part of a bandura ensemble in the days of my incompetent musical youth. Now I bring my kids to see the trees every year. If there is an institution that Chicago and the surrounding suburbs love too much, it has to be the Museum of Science & Industry. Coming here before Christmas, you'll be surrounded by legions of elementary school kids on field trips diligently taking notes about every tree they see. To outsmart them this year, we decided to go AFTER Christmas. Well, since school's out this time of year, the legions of kids arrived with their parents and siblings instead. The result was a long line to get in, snaking around the lower level for what amounted to a 25-minute wait just to get into the museum. Still, it moved pretty quickly once you were in line. All the IMAX movies, coal mine, U505 and Star Wars exhibits were sold out before noon! It's worth the wait as you get to explore the main floor with its towering tree in the middle and all the ethnic trees in the corridors around it. For the first time, they removed the performance area from the tree exhibit hall to a small theatre where you can sit and watch the kids performing a foreign Christmas carol on water-lined steel drums and maracas. Some of the Christmas trees have elegantly crafted ornaments made of white drinking straws, woven straw, origami, and wood. Then others can be downright tacky like the Hawaiian tree with its mini-Hawaiian shirt ornaments. You see lots of obscure Eastern European trees like Belarus, Slovenia, Estonia, Serbia and more. Then there's countries like China and Egypt, where you wonder if they really celebrate Christmas at all, yet they have a tree. And no, the Chinese tree did not have lead painted toys hanging from it... It's not the same every year either. Each year, my wife and I have our own unofficial judging of the best trees. For 2007, we loved: 1. South Korea - amazing garland made of pink paper flowers makes this tree stand out from far away 2. Tanzania - adorned with African masks, gourds and even a wooden giraffe protruding from the branches 3. Poland - mobiles made of straws and fake flowers, plus hand-painted ornate bird and flower designs. (photos of each included with review) And when you're done, go see the rest of the museum. Before you know it, 3 hours have gone by and you realize you still haven't seen all it has to offer.

This sail boat ride does not disappoint with beautiful views of Lake Michigan, Chicago skyline, and…read morefar away cities. The pirate show is always fun. The friendly staff allows patrons to hoist the sails. No umbrellas are allowed. I was really dark in the photo because my friend was fair skinned in the $30-plus same photo with steering wheel. I was disappointed to pay another $30 for electriconic verson. I would not pay for photos again because the electronic photo was not included in the price.

Took a firework sail on the Windy and it was great! Superb view of the fireworks, great cocktails,…read morefun and knowledgeable staff. A must for a trip to Chicago!