This is a review of the gift shop considering the museum was closed when we visited…read more But overall, it was such an enjoyable experience that I wanted to go ahead and write about this great spot -- with hopes of coming back to see the museum some day as well. My family and I made the trip to see the St. Lucia celebration that the Swedish American Museum puts on. My husband's family is part-Swedish, and it's been something we've always wanted to attend. Unfortunately, a snow storm on our way from Kentucky to Chicago added a few hours to our road trip, so we missed the processional. But we did get to check out the gift shop and ended up spending a lot of money there. We got my daughter, who is also named Lucia, a St. Lucia crown -- though with fake candles, not real ones. We also got my son a Star Boy hat and star scepter. This shop had a great selection of books and housewares, and we picked up some as gifts. It also had some lovely ornaments and food. We got some delicious bread, cheese and crackers. The clerks were very nice and patient as we browsed. We want to make attending the St. Lucia celebration and visiting family in the area an annual tradition. Next time, we'll check out the museum too!

I decided to visit the Swedish American Museum with my toddler one afternoon when we were looking…read moreto get out of the house. I've heard so many great things about Brunk's Children Museum and we were excited to check it out! We live down the street so it's been on our list to check out for a while now. When got there on a Saturday afternoon and it was really quiet inside. We paid $6 for admissions and I can confirm it was totally worth the 6 bucks! The children's museum is located on the third floor. We were the only ones there for the first 30 minutes or so, and had fun exploring the space. The museum focuses on the journey of immigration from Sweden to the United States. It starts in a farmhouse in Sweden compete with a cow, hens, and lots of fun old-timey home items like a butter churner. That leads you to the ticket booth to board the large steam boat, which takes you to a log cabin in the US! There was a pretend garden, fishing rods, and lots of interactive fun for the kiddos. My son is only one and a half, but still had so much fun! Some older kids (around 6-7) came and also had a blast. It's the perfect place to come on a rainy day and you want to get out of the house.

I have volunteered at Gerber/Hart for the last five years, and I encourage anyone interested in…read moreLGBTQ history to check it out! Gerber/Hart has a circulating library, exhibits, and an incredible archives. The book sales (usually 1-2 per year) are always great, and I've stocked my library with incredible finds each year! Stop by and learn more about Chicago's LGBTQ history! This space is fantastic!

This gem of an institution has amazing LGBTQ rotating exhibits. Always worth a weekend or week…read morenight visit. They also have archives and special collections open for research. Glad to see this established anchor in the north gayborhood.

The Dank Haus is such a staple in the Lincoln Square community. If you haven't been here yet,…read morefollow their socials and get on their newsletter to find an event that interests you. On our latest visit, during the annual Open House Chicago architecture event throughout the city, we came in to appreciate the beauty of this big building. We popped up to the second floor bar to enjoy some beer and enjoyed watching the indoor shooting (not as scary as it sounds). The volunteers, regulars, and fellow patrons are always a good group to hang out with. If you're lucky enough to attend an event on the sixth floor, be sure to take photos out on the patio as the views are pretty nice! As far as transportation, it's right off the Western CTA Brown Line stop. There's paid parking on the closest streets (or lots). If you're willing to walk a few minutes, almost everything west of Western is free neighborhood parking.

They really make the space count!…read more I decided to become a member ($50 a year for an individual) since I'm currently taking one of the virtual adult German classes. The membership gave me a discount on the class and so much more! I highly recommend the classes. My instructor is good about making everyone feel comfortable and included and has creative but fun ways to ensure everyone enjoys even the most challenging of topics, like grammar! Yes, I truly mean that German grammar can be fun! In addition to german classes, Dank Haus has so many different, affordable activities that you can sign up for. I've done the bilingual yoga classes - the meditation is all in English and the yoga part is all in German. Don't let the yoga all in German scare you off though! If you don't understand, you can just watch the instructor and mimic her. She's really good. The wild part is...the yoga classes only cost $5 each! Crazy! They were outside in the summer (on the terrace with a gorgeous view!) and soon to start up again this fall indoors. The cooking classes are also loads of fun. I've only been to one so far, but everyone was so kind and welcoming considering I went to it solo. I came out of the class happy I made some friends! Not to mention, each cooking class includes a drink in the price (choice of alcoholic or non-alcoholic) so they're a great deal! If you're interested in touring the place, they offer guided tours and self guided tours by appt. You can do it via their website. I did a self-guided tour where I picked up a paper in the lobby of the highlights of what to see on each floor. I was surprised at how much history was crammed into even the hallways! There's definitely more than you think there is... I also requested to visit their library of books in German, since the public library is kinda lacking in that department. Their selection is excellent. They have everything from books to learn German to easy readers (short stories that aren't super wordy) to full fledged adult fiction to cookbooks. Id argue Dank Haus is a great place whether you know German, want to learn German, or know German. I wish I had learned about all the affordable activities they had sooner! All I know is I'll definitely keep on taking advantage of them

Croatians are extremely good at drinking, and the Cultural Center serves us lushes cheaply, quickly…read moreand happily. Expect to see loads of Croatian men singing homeland anthems off-key and swaying back and forth... this you'll see at the beginning. If you make it to the end, you might witness two belligerents duking it out in the parking lot. I haven't been back since the smoking ban went into effect-- eau de Marlboro Red was the only drawback, really. I'll be back for the Velika Gospa after-party. God, help me :)

Not too bad for a concert venue. I came here for the first time to see Prljavo Kazaliste and while…read moreI am still not sure if it was worth the $55, or even would have been worth $45 for the whole experience, I had a decent time, yummy drinks, was able to get up to the front of the crowd and found parking. I couldn't ask for much more than that. Considering how many people they could host, the parking lot is small. It's one of the drawbacks. But since most people don't show up until the scheduled start time, you'll be able to snag a spot if you show up about an hour early. Don't fret - they have a full bar to pass the time. The bar was a big disappointment. How can the CROATIAN cultural center not have a single CROATIAN imported beer? Someone thought they might have a single case of Karlovacko, but the bartenders said I couldn't have it, because "If [I] have it then everyone else will want it." Well, yea, because CROATIAN beer is awesome! So I was forced to go with cranberry vodka, which was served in a dinky cup the first time and then a huge one the second round. Both were $5. Still can't figure that one out... The banquet hall seems great for a wedding or large party. It's elegant, but all of the historical/locational pictures are a bit kitsch. You'll understand if you're Eastern European. They are nice, but overwhelming. And that is the reason I love it. We felt like we were at prom.

I went to the Japanese Cultural Center to take free trial class from Grupo Capoeira Brazil. Not…read moreknowing what to expect, they quickly welcomed me to the group and got me working up a sweat almost instantly. I came into the class with some martial arts experience, which really helped when it came down to footwork, kicking, and coordination; however, I began to learn techniques that helped me understand my body's capabilities that I couldn't really have developed in other forms of martial arts. Who knew that I would thank my younger self for taking the time to learn how to cartwheel! And even if you're one of those individuals who hasn't taken a day of Capoeira class in their life, I highly recommend you come in for a class just to try it out. The dojo is always filled with friendly faces that will take care of you and provide you with a safe learning environment. There are two floors padded with floor mats to practice martial arts so there's plenty of room. Just don't forget to take off your shoes before you enter. :-) Formanda Colibri is the instructor over there and you can just tell that she is just so passionate about all aspects of Capoeira. She works very well with beginners, and you will never feel left out of the class for being a novice. She is also constantly challenging her students to become better at Capoeira during every class, and you will never forget how amazing she is when you first see her play Capoeira. Class sizes range from a personable size where the instructor can work with you and the other students one on one to a room packed with capoeiristas filling the center with crazy energy! Capoeira is a great form of exercise that will make you leave the class feeling relieved and thankful that you got up, took a chance, and spent an hour and a half working practically every muscle in your body. One of the best things about Capoeira is that you don't need to bring anything to class! (well, maybe a water bottle because you need to stay hydrated!) They provide the music and floor mats. All you have to do is show up, have an open mind, and willingness to learn.

This location of capoeira Brazil is the best, not only is the space clean, peaceful, and…read morecomfortable the people in the group are welcoming and caring. I love training with Mestre Colibri who is a strong, passionate, knowledgeable, and compassionate leader. Starting capoeira can be intimidating at first, but this group makes you feel at home not matter what your experience level or background. I would recommend that anyone who is interested in taking a class come do try it!

This is part of the American Indian Center, and I love the community events they put on,…read moreparticularly their annual t-shirt art festival that features anti-racist art, screen prints galore, and lots of interesting local artists. They don't bat an eye when this White guy walks in, and I've walked out happy with t-shirts and screen prints in my hands, delicious, greasy fry bread in my mouth, and a great beat in my head from their traditional drummers.

I love archery so when I saw a Living Social deal I jumped all over it!…read moreI scheduled my appointment with Al as he was very flexible on the timing. Once I showed up he had someone inside shooting and he was able to work with the both of us, but spending more time with me as she was a frequent visitor of the place. Al worked with me on techniques and aim in addition to showing me how awesome the compound bow is. He told me if I wanted to bring a group that it was more than welcome in which I may do in the near future. Equipment is all up to date and the people that come here seem to enjoy themselves...grea hobby to pick up!

Some friends and I took the Archery class here - such a fun class! It felt like Robin Hood and The…read moreHunger games all mixed into one night! Michael was an awesome teacher/coach - lots of fun, helped a bunch, and gave tips if he saw you struggling. I'd totally come back to do this class again. In fact, I had a bunch of friends who saw pictures I posted, ask about doing the class. I bought this class off of Dabble - and it was only $20. https://dabble.co/chicago/archery--2/classes/archery-at-american-indian-center-with-al-eastman

Soups on! I've…read morewanted to attend the Soup & Rice event they have for some time... but like so much, then the pandemic happened. This month however I made my way over and it was a gear event, worth it! It is a donation event, so you pay what you can; they give the proceeds to a charitable organization; this month it was Care for Real, which fights food insecurity. Each month they have volunteers bring a variety of soups or soup-like dishes. This month there was seolleongtang, a Korean soup; a couple of curries; a corn and coconut soup; and Italian sausage and kale soup. My favorite was the sausage and kale; irresistible. I also tried the battleship curry and it was so good! I've never had a curry that had cheese in it. It didn't taste all that different from lots of other curries and it wasn't particularly spicy, but it was great. There was rice to accompany it, and some sweets too. One person brought some inigiri which I love. All in all it was a fun night. There were about 25 people total. I'm looking forward to the next few months and I'm already trying to figure out what soup I'd like to bring.

This review is for the people who aren't Japanese American who come here to take classes. Your…read moreclass fees may seem rather small but this organization can do a lot with with very little as it's mostly volunteers. When we moved to Chicago and then for many years after there was considerable racism against Japanese immigrants. JASC was a safe haven for my mother's generation. Today, ethnocentric White people have decided they know better than Japanese how to make ramen, how to make sushi, how to be Buddhist. But the wonderful open minded Americans who come here to learn some authentic Japanese cuisine and art, I think you're great. I learned origami from my mother, but actually the class here is better.