Charged an illegal fee for entry. Turned people away for…read morerefusing said illegal fee. Lied to city official about said fee.

This new 'festival' was fantastic and a great success in my opinion! Two live bands (16 Candles…read morebeing the one I caught) in the same corridor as the Sunday Farmers Market (from Morse to Lunt). + Free admission + Cheap drinks at sponsoring Glenwood + Composed crowd - I don't have to deal with all the drunk suburb tweens puking on the street during Pride... Okrrrr. - Long lines for the bathroom (Glenwood) or porta-potty. I heard there were around 2,000 that came to the festival, not bad for a 6 hour window after the parade. Hope they bring this back next year! Wish they would extend the area a bit though - perhaps open up the northbound side of Glenwood Ave for another stage/band, or maybe down Morse Ave (like during the Arts Fest).

This was my first time at this fest and we had a great time. There was a great selection of…read morevendors who had a wide variety of dogs and most also had a traditional Chicago dog as they should! We were there for 16 Candles and they are just pros at the festival circuit. I loved the Depression Dog from Enzo's, the Rahm and Obama from Chicago Doghouse. The Snoop Dog from flashy was good but I felt they were a little skimpy on the toppings and their lines were very confusing as they made people wait to order. And don't breeze past Taco in a Bag as they have fun takes on dogs! We did not go to the bouncy houses but that are looked awesome! There does need to be more porta pottys. We hit them at 730 on night one and was almost full and no tp! Would also love for there to be hand washing stations especially since hotdogs are eaten with your hands. Signage for having to purchase dog dollars and where to do it need to look different than the rest of the signage so people notice, or have it mentioned an beverage tent signage. I saw so many wait in line order drinks to have to leave them due to no dog dollars (although I also thought "have you never been to a festival before?"). All in all fun event! Glad there was Goode Island Green Line and happy to see the Chicago Dogs baseball team doing marketing there. Hope to be back next year!

This was my first time at the Chicago Hot Dog Festival, and I'm so glad to have checked it out…read more PARKING: It's close to Lincoln Park Zoo, so street parking is pretty much non-existent unless you get lucky. There IS a $20 lot directly across the street. We used Spot Hero to find something cheaper. EVENT: There is a $5 SUGGESTED donation. We didn't. :X Highlights: - Many jumpy/climby houses for the kiddies - Some craft/goods vendors - Live music - Tables w seats/umbrellas AND tall standing tables - FOOD, incl. ice cream, but c'mon: hot dogs. Duh. Aforementioned FOOD: Lines varied Sunday afternoon. The longest wait time was 10 minutes or so. 1/2 size hot dogs are usually $4-5, with fulls $8-10 (except Fatso's $5 Veggie). Bottled water is $2. Tip: as with any fest, bring your own water to cut costs. I had two halves: + Char Dog (Fatso's) - 4/5 flavor, 3/5 value Standard Chicago-style dog but charred. The char taste was great, but the size? An absolute teeny tiny "half." I'd argue the dog was 1/3 size a regular link. + Momona (Chubby Weiner) - 4/5 The dog was wrapped in BACON and topped with pineapple, bleu cheese crumbles, and a drizzle of some sort. Very good. The line backed up easily, though, since the two girls taking orders ignored customers and just meandered for a while. No joke. Very annoying. The only full-sized dog I ate: + Veggie (Fatso's) - 3.5/5 Panko-crusted eggplant, sweet potato, and bell pepper hotdog, Chi-style. It had good flavor, but was total mush to eat. That's not atypical since some veggie burgers can be like that, too, depending on the ingredients used. The amount of mustard and onions they put on overwhelmed the "dog" flavor. It's nice to see veggie options, though - and for only $5! I shared some fries ($4 for a massive portion at Edzo's), water, spent UNDER $20, and left STUFFED. I'm not quite sure how people can drop $50 unless they're spending it on alcohol (it's about $6 per beer) too. OVERALL: Great event to get your encased meats fix!

This is our 2nd year that we've attended Earth Day festivities at Maine Park. Normally it is held…read moreoutdoors on the expansive lawn of Maine Park's soccer fields from 11 AM-3 PM. Due to the clouds and occasional drizzle, the event took place in the field house instead. With the exception of tree climbing and nature walks through the nearby prairie and swamp, everything else was in the gym, the hallways, and individual classrooms in the building. I actually think it was better this way. In the gym, there were 2 inflatable bouncing things and a stage with a cover band playing classic rock staples from the Eagles, Wings, or other oldies favorites. Tables set up in the hallways demonstrated things you can do to help the environment, or provided information on identifying emerald ash borers, invasive species, and offered activities for kids. Morton Arboretum and Brookfield Zoo both had exhibits. In the different classrooms, there were stations set up for kids activities like decorating your own reusable grocery bag, planting seeds, digging for (Gummy) worms in the dirt, recyclable plastic bottle bucket game, or a board game played on the floor where the players are the game pieces hopping from square to square. One cool activity involved making your own recycled paper from a puree mix of shredded paper, colorant and glitter. My son made a sheet to bring home and dry. Touching it in a dry and finished state was really amazing to him. Perhaps the coolest thing to see there was a classroom with 3 bird handlers showing off live birds of prey. We got to see a large screech owl, a red-tailed hawk and a peregrine falcon! There was also a little owl sitting on the table that almost looked like a toy, but my kids were stunned when it turned its head and blinked its eyes at them. The little owl appeared nervous and kept watching the large hawk perched on the falconer's shoulder. As if that wasn't enough, in nearby Centennial Park, they had a recycling truck set up to accept all small electronics, old computer stuff, and even used car batteries - no fee! I got rid of my old computer finally and an expired battery to my sump pump. Cook County S.W.A.P. (Work Alternative Program) guys helped unload people's cars and load the truck. By mid-afternoon, the amount of stuff collected was incredible. My kids were excited about the whole Earth Day experience and will look forward to doing it again next year.

2014 It's that spooky time of year again!…read more All Hallows Eve is my favorite holiday for many reasons... trick and/ or treating (Providing my friends or the neighbor lets me borrow their kids.), the costume parties, scary movies, and pumpkin carving just to name a few. I thought it would be cool to share info for others to use. Things like activities, parties, plays, and costume shops for this Holiday. Like last few years of doing this, if you PM me I will add your links to this review. I appreciate the feed back every year! I hope you all enjoy and I can't wait to see all you ghouls soon!!! Also, check out my Spotify score to "The World Ends". Nothing like telling a scary story with music (think episode of Walking Dead). Time Out Chicago (Always the best source) http://www.timeout.com/chicago Sunny Acres http://www.sonnyacres.com/ Chicago Costume http://www.chicagocostume.com/ Lincoln Park Zoo http://www.lpzoo.org/events/calendar/spooky-zoo-spectacular Brookfield Zoo http://www.czs.org/CZS/boo Eventbrite has a list of parties and costume ideas https://www.eventbrite.com/l/2014-fall-guide-chicago/?utm_term=img_mainimg&UTM_CAMPAIGN=2014FG_CH&UTM_MEDIUM=email&UTM_SOURCE=eb_email Music Box Theatre http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/collections/rocky-horror-picture-show-halloween-2014 Chicago Park District http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/events/halloween/ Halloween Parade http://www.northalsted.com/pages/17th_annual_northalsted_halloween_parade/114.php Pumpkin Patches http://chicagofun.com/home/halloween/pumpkin_farms.html Haunted Houses http://www.hauntedhousechicago.com/

Evanston Summer Sounds was a lot of fun! Evanston has a summer concert series that they host from…read moreJune through September, each week a different band. It's held near Fountain Square and they close off the street for a couple blocks. I brought the baby to see Ida y Vuelta, a band I really like, and it wasn't crowded at all. There are no seats or anything besides the curb, so if you want to sit you'll need to bring your own chair (and are encouraged to do so). It's a short evening, this year from 5-7, but an enjoyable one. There were a few food trucks and a couple booths selling some food as well, a couple community/non-profit organizations, and a booth or two selling some sort of merchandise. I really enjoyed this little evening concert, as did my little one, and I'll keep my eye on the schedule for next year too.

It's a cute thing for kid and adults alike. The bands were fantastic always love music. The…read morelights are fun to see turned on. It's really a nice time for all and this year was not bad weather

Well worth the hour's wait in the chill. We weren't going to pop on down unless it had stopped…read moreraining, which it did! The crowd was just gathering at Chicago and Michigan Aves. so that "one hour early" was enough to ensure a front row look. Next year, would actually recommend standing at the north side of any intersection since the police and photogs tend to stand at the south side and they may obscure the view. It's pretty unique to see a dark Michigan Avenue at dusk. No lights are on along the Mile....they're awaiting the beginning of the parade which kicks off with Mickey and Minnie lighting up each section as they go. It's a high pitched "ahhhhhh!" from every section of crowd as the lead float progresses and the magic wand is waved over the lights! Other than the "Revenge of the Nutcracker!" (they couldn't get him upright due to the wind - which was gusty) every participant seemed to be proceeding along as planned. The giant Shedd octopus blew bubbles overhead as the Garrett Popcorn flies! Honestly, we left our spot to watch the procession as people screamed and ran after the Garrett's truck. And, Garretts really was tossing out some high quality Chicago mix bags. Worth the chase! Just like at Wrigley, I saw a guy holding an infant stretch out and grab a mid-air bag while never waking the kid! (It was funny to have a "Cubs" visual since that's the last parade I've been to!) It was fantastic to meet the parents of two kids in a marching band from downstate and also to visit with a traveler from Alberta, Canada. The Mag Mile was packed with holiday spirit and I'd recommend this parade if you want a fun way to kick off the holidays. End note: Sponsored by among others, BMO/Harris and Southwest Airlines (the official airlines of the Mag Mile in fact!) Loved the Harris Lion balloon and yes, SWA was tossing peanuts into the crowd. We also nabbed the new Frango mints. The website had great details about parade route, start time etc for your next year reference. PS! Pierrot Gourmet had a festive sidewalk scene for a couple hours post-parade...check it out next year!

Not too many words needed here, pictures are better. I have…read morestopped by at least for a short bit every year since about 2001! At times overcrowded and pretentious and a silly show At time genuine and human and showing the best side of non-judgmental acceptance A good place to make and meet friends of the same stripe and lash! Even if it's not your thing you should stop by to see what makes a lot of people pulse

The event that, in 1979, outgrew the Gold Coast bar it originated in, has over the thirty years…read moresince then outgrown a number of Chicago hotels; expanded from twelve contestants the first year to now drawing regularly over 50 or 60 from a number of countries; and now yearly draws thousands of assorted leather folk of all ages, races, genders and kinks to what is now felt by many to be the Leather Family Reunion. Salute!

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!