No I didn't do the walk. Totally wish I had, but throw drunk guys from our party into the mix and I…read morejust didn't want to risk the embarrassment, or see someone's very well-tended garden ruined. However I did enjoy the music and location of this festival. Of course you have your mix of super preppy yuppies and wasty 40-something men looking for 20-something boot-ay, but there's plenty of room to mill around and food fair other than the standard meat on a stick and piles of french fries. And thanks to the bar who so kindly thought to have misting water cascading down from their booth. It was a hot hot day and that cool cool water was just magical : )

A street festival serving Blue Moon? Splendid!…read more The U2 cover band, Elevation, was pretty good - however, the crowd just didn't seem to be feeling it. This was also an educational experience. I never knew that plaid shorts came in such a diverse array - short, long, small plaid, big plaid, men's, women's, kids, bright, dark - OVERWHELMED! I think about 50% of the population at this event were wearing said shorts. Other than the aforementioned attributes, I have very little to say. I was underwhelmed by the selection of things to entertain me. Decent food offerings. Good brews. No little kiosks selling useless crap. No second stage. WAY overpriced.

I was lucky enough to attend the Harvest Dinner which was put on by the Logan Square Camber of…read moreCommerce. The dinner brought together the neighborhoods best restaurants including Fonda del Mar, Urban Belly, Vella Cafe, Treat, Tiny Cakes, Rustic, Provenance, Orbit Room, and a few other area locals. The dinner was buffet style and each establishment did a dish. A few of the standouts where Vella's butternut squash au gratin, Treat's curry gnocci, and Urban belly had an outstanding eggplant dish. I eat very few sweets but Tiny Cakes did an soft and moist carrot cake muffin with some tasty cream cheese frosting. The event held about 100 locals at the Stan Mansion, there was a silent auction and proceeds went to the Logan Square Farmers Market. It was a relaxing casual event and I will look forward to attending again.

I attended the Chicago Green Festival Kickoff Gala on May 21, 2001 at the Marom Grand. This event…read morewas excellent. I enjoyed dressing up for the gala and tasting the delicious food from many local green restaurants. These included City Provisions, Dawali, Fig, Lula cafe and sweets from XoXo. I also liked meeting the ladies from Allyu spa. Including the Palo Santo aromatic incense with their card was a nice touch. The gala was nicely organized starting from the blow up screen projector to the group of young men that came by and picked up our plates, cups and forks for recycling. I enjoyed the talk given by Dr. Kevin Danaher on global and local sustainability and appreciate his zeal to bring little bit of San Francisco to Chicago. I also enjoyed Blanca's Alexander candid talk about what inspired her in her life to become an advocate for conscious living. Nonetheless I did see the bar pass some plastic water bottles

For some reason I was under the illusion that I had written a review for this festival, at least in…read more2008. I remember attending that one and liking it. I would have rated it 5 stars. Lots of good green content to fill your mind and soul with. I learned much about new vendors offering innovative technologies to assist in daily household living from a green standpoint as well as advances in alternate sources of power. Information wise and through photos and other marketing, there was much to see. Now in 2012, there wasn't much. Maybe my expectations for it were set too high. I recently returned from living on the West coast. For those that don't know, in many areas of California people are trying their best to be green. Whether they want to do it for the good of the earth, to feel better about doing or get some kudos from all the green loving people, businesses and consumers alike are trying. Upon return back to Chicagoland, I had hoped for more out of Green fest. Instead, there was a ton of marketing for the Ford motor company. As well as these random people that wouldn't divulge who they were with but asking if you would participate in surveys. Jaik S. mentioned if you see anyone's foot touch the carpet where Ford was displayed, someone would eventually ask you to take a survey. Green shit in the sense of the word green. Like vegan food, green vegetable smoothies and living with more greens in your diet. Really? That's all. A few foo foo stores which offer organic products. I didn't connect with any of the content and couldn't find anything that grabbed my attention. Maybe a few vendors. There was one vendor I found pretty funny. It was something like "Green singles dot com". We aren't talking about clean dollar bills, folks. One vendor sold recycled glass for use in homes. When asked what was the difference between their product and Home Depot the guy responded.."Do you want crap or high quality?". What a silly salesperson. Please don't come out to a festival if you can't explain to me benefits of your product and how and why your company claims to be green. I researched the company and later discovered they import granite from Italy and in manufacturing plants here in the U.S. use glass from recycled beer bottles, glass containers, etc to give their granite countertops a more interesting look. In 2008 I spent the whole day at the festival. In 2012, I walked the entire festival in an hour or less. I think we spent the most time in the beer & mead garden. Which by the way, happened to be the most popular area. The largest number of people stood in a tiny 20' x 20' space. Ideas for future Green Fests from Jacob - If Ford or any other car maker decides to be a big contributor to this again, have them show data on fuel efficiency for their new line of alternative energy running automobiles. What to expect for the future of the brand. What new innovative technology they are working towards. Plans for moving towards creating more efficient types of transportation. The savings a person can expect from going to a green vehicle, etc. Passing out free samples of gluten free nachos with salsa or packs of organic popcorn is fine for the average festival attendee, but not everyone. I desire information. Or what is Ford doing for the environment beyond offering green vehicles ? - Alike this, there are companies around the Midwest which currently offer biofuels. How about someone talking about alternative fuels for different kinds of vehicles. I.e. diesel, electric, NGV (natural gas vehicle), bio-diesel. Where can a person find fueling stations, or get reps here from those stations. Map fliers which indicate where in Chicagoland these resources can be found. - Chicago has green roofs, what are people planting up there and where can we find more information about doing it. Are there Chicagoland companies which offer service to get you started, etc? What are current issues concerned folks are working on for the advancement of a Greener Chicago ? At one point a year or more ago I heard something about the possibility of petroleum based plastic bags not being used any longer in Chicago supermarkets, is that real or fake? I realize for some this might have been an eye opener. Every year more people are waking up and realizing how to recycle or searching for greener ways of operating their everyday life. For those this festival is probably a source of information but for someone already doing their part but wanting a bit more, well I hope next years festival is better.

My husband and son were like two kids in a candy store! 2025 Opening Ceremony was energetic! So…read morehappy to see starter players and Hall of Famers. Lines were very long but if you were willing to wait then you could get autographs that you wanted. Cub Bingo was a blast and prizes were good. Will be going back 2026!

I have to start this review off that the majority of the info in regards to the Cub convention is…read moreon www.cubs.com. If you choose to make a hotel reservation for the convention itself, call the Hilton and Towers, specify that you want a room for the CC, and you will get 10 dollar passes with your room for the whole weekend. I think the reason why I'm giving this review 5 stars is for the pure fact that I've had so many great memories with my family here. The majority of the days are spent waiting in line for autographs, and fighting the crowds, but I always manage to have a great time. I've met Cub greats such as Dawson, Sandberg, Williams, Banks, Sutcliff, and so on. I've also gotten their autographs as well. This is the biggest thrill for me...actually meeting them! On the Friday night of the convention, they have Cub "bingo." While the room is overcrowded, and the chances of you are winning are slim to none, it's still fun. Saturday night they have a "dance" that features all the golden oldies that your parents grew up with. It's a lot of fun, because sometimes the retired players come to this party and dance it up with ya! I had a fun time dancing with Jodi Davis one time. It was so much fun! It's worth it to check out at least once if you're a die hard Cub fan!

I really liked the event because I love the idea of drinks, food and fun. The place combines…read morewhirlyball, bowling and laser tag with food and drinks. It makes for a fun adult time out with friends, coworkers, date night, etc. I went to this event with my dad and we had a good time. I was worried that he wouldn't be able to do whirlyball with his bad knees but luckily was just able to fit in the bumper car. The food was great and there were a lot of vegetarian options with some healthier options as well. I really liked the broccoli and the I guess it was a healthier margarita like pizza with balsalmic glaze on top. It made a full dinner and the two drink tickets a person was very generous. We just kind of shared everything. It was only a touch difficult to go right from eating a dinner and drinking with then being full to go right to whirlyball but I guess there wasn't a better option. Then we started a game of bowling but weren't able to finish as the lanes shut off precisely at 8pm. I understand the event ended officially then but with only being open 1 more hour and without other people waiting I don't know why they couldn't just let us finish the game. I really loved the event and thought everything went smoothly it was just too rushed. That being said we did arrive a touch late from traffic but we still wouldn't have been able to do all the activities provided. I don't even know if anyone got a chance at laser tag or not. One employee even threatened they would take our drinks that we weren't yet finished with but then changed their mind. It just was a let down to be unwelcome suddenly instead of just making the event a 3 hour time which I think would have been a lot more appropriate. In any case that's what they chose to offer and it was still a great event. If I were choosing to go here on my own I definitely would have wanted a longer than 2 hour visit.

Fashion Focus 2008 is Chicago's own fashion week. This week is chalk-full of runway shows, shopping…read moreevents, neighborhood shopping, and educational seminars. It really is one of the very few opportunities Chicago has for the creative minds of fashion to unite, network, socialize, and flaunt their products! Many different organizations & institutions come together to put on the week, such as GenArt, Mayor's Fashion Council, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago fashion schools, local designers & boutiques, etc. It really does involve so many people from around the city & that's why it's such a special & unique week. Everything the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs puts on is free-ranging from runway shows to educational seminars. There is one downfall, but it will be fixed next year-the amount of people attending vs. the amount of seats/open spots in the runway tent. Since the event is free (a rarity in the fashion world) many people attend, so it gets a little chaotic. We're hoping to fix it by next year to ensure seating for those who RSVP. Fashion Focus 2008 ends tomorrow, but check out our website for other fashion-related events, internships, resume postings, and up-and-coming designers. Keep your eye out for next years Fashion Week Chicago & all the fun you can take part in!!

I love this mural in Bucktown. Just half a block west of Ashland, you'll find Vivian Maier involved…read morein the pastime that brought her such great posthumous fame and acclaim. Maier took over 100,000 photos in her lifetime. Most of these were in Chicago, though she did take some in other cities. She was a mystery in life; most of her life she spent as a nanny in Chicago, though at one time she was a house cleaner for Phil Donahue. It may have been serendipity that her failure to pay rent on a storage unit led to its being auctioned off. A few folks in Chicago purchased her thousands of negatives, and they went viral after on of the new owners posted them online. Maier is one of the most important amateur photographers in American history--probably the most important, history. I like this little mural, depicting Maier engaging in her life's work. We're lucky she quietly documented Chicago's history from the 50's through 80's. There are documentaries to learn more about her, and your can find her work exhibited on occasion in various places.

Friendly people and very welcoming. It's ok if you struggle to catch on. You will be encouraged as…read morewell.

I have been dancing here every Monday for the last 10 months and it's great! Everyone is welcoming…read moreto newbies and great to dance with. I love contra for this reason. It's easy to learn and even if it takes you a while to pick it up everyone is really patient and the emphasis is on having fun! There is often cake for various birthdays and other sweets to munch on. The live music is great and the callers are fun. Dancers dance both rolls-gender swapping is encouraged! If you come, make sure to save me a dance! Lead or follow! And look us up on Facebook if you need a car pool to or from the dance!