A lot of what happens on in Millennium Park is in the Pritzker Pavillion (Photo by J Jacobs)
Chicago Blues Festival
Go to Downtown Chicago to Millenium Park for the Chicago Blues Festival, June 8-11, 2023.
It celebrates Chicago contributions to soul, R&B, gospel, rock and hip hop. And it’s free. Visitors can bring a chair or spread out but lots of folks stand to watch because others are standing.
Hours: Thurs: 5:30-9 p.m., Friday-Sunday: noon – 9 p.m. Enter from Michigan Ave. at Washington St. or Madison St., Randolph St. or Monroe St. Millenium Park is free and has a Welcome Center on Randolph Street that is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. but open later on performance nights. For Blues Festival information visit City of Chicago :: Chicago Blues Festival
Or go to Skokie for MadKap Productions’ 2023 Short Play Festival June 10 at 7:30 p.m. and June 11 at 2 p.m. It’s just $15.
Plays are each about 10 minutes and written include pieces by David Alex, DC Cathro, Eric Coble, Eva Schultz and Judy Schindler
For more information visit Skokie Theatre. The theater is at 7924 Lincoln Ave., downtown Skokie near the S.W. corner of Lincoln and Oakton Avenues.
Navy Pier (J Jacobs photo)
In addition, there is Chi-Soul Fest, a free, two-day music/comedy festival throughout Navy Pier.
The Fest runs from 2 to 11 p.m. June 10 and 2 to 8 p.m. June 11. For the entertainment line-up and location on the Pier visit CHI-SOUL FEST 2023 | Navy Pier. Navy Pier is at 600 E. Grand Ave. Phone is 800 595-PIER (7437).
Art on theMART debuts of new season. (Photo courtesy of Art on theMART)
It’s not about a guy named Art but a broad cultural happening. COVID restrictions from 2020-2022 must be over because April 2023 has all of a sudden become Art Month in Chicago.
First, EXPO Chicago, once a big fall event centered at Navy Pier and that later moved to late Spring, is going on right now across the city’s art venues as Expo Art Week, April 10 through April 16. BTW, EXPO is a shortened version of International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art.
Secondly, Art on the Mart is premiering its new season/year Friday, April 14, after sunset.
And third but not last, the Art Institute of Chicago is showing “Salvador Dali: The Image Disappears,” a major AIC exhibition now through June 12.
ART EXPO WEEK
Working with Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism site and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events known as DCASE, EXPO Chicago’s Art Week has what it Featured Alignments with museums, galleries and hotels. See the list plus Screenings and South Side Openings + Events at After Hours events at Featured Alignments.
Art on the Mart
Actually written as Art on theMart, the display is considered the largest permanent digital art projection anywhere. It is a projection of contemporary and classical art on the 2.5 acre façade of theMART facing the Chicago River. Beginning April 14, 2023 it will feature “Funtime Unicorn: Ruby Rides through four Seasons. Beginning in May and going through the fall is Nick Cave, Ba Ba Boom.
AIC presents Salvador Dali: the Image Disappears
The Dali exhibition is the museums’ first, in depth presentation of the Spanish artist’s surrealism works and primarily features his 1930’s period. For hours and tickets information visit AIC.
Shedd Aquarium has ways to celebrate Earth Day and Month (Photo courtesy of Shedd Aquarium)
From learning more about such aquarium residents as penguins and beluga whales in Animal Spotlights and assisting in cleaning up natural areas on Teen Nature Days to restoring beaches and forest areas during Action Days, Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is definitely “on it” when it comes to a variety of Earth Day/Week/Month activities for all ages and dates.
Families(all age groups)
Visit the aquarium and attend an animal spotlight (included in general admission). It goes into the behaviors and adaptations of dolphins, belugas and sea lions. Guests leave with a greater understanding of these Shedd residents plus how to protect our blue planet for these animals and their wild counterparts. Tickets support Shedd’s efforts to care for the aquarium residents and research in wild aquatic ecosystems. For more information visit Animal Spotlights | Shedd Aquarium.
Teens
Teen Nature Daysexplore local beaches, waterways and forest preserves, while helping to restore and protect them. Go by bus (provided free) from the Shedd to the locations and back. Activity is free but needs an online registration. For more information visit Teen Nature Days with Shedd Aquarium | Shedd Aquarium
All age groups
Join free Shedd-led Action Days in local community habitats. Guests support animals from frogs to fish while having fun and helping to restore and protect nearby beaches, waterways, and forest preserves. There are a variety of dates at different locations. For more info and to register visit Shedd Aquarium Action Days | Shedd Aquarium
Other action
Three other ways to take action for animals this Earth Day: *reduce the use of single-use plastic
* reach out to state lawmakers to let them know you support plastic reduction and reuse efforts at the policy level
*discuss the importance of caring for our natural environments your friends and family
Shedd Aquarium1200 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
Crabtree Earth Day fun. (Photo courtesy of Forest Preserves of Cook County)
Plan now to contribute some elbow grease or plant or play with planet Earth in mind during April 2023 Earth Week or April 22 Earth Day.
A couple of Lake County Forest Preserves activities are already full. But there are still activities at both the Lake and Cook County Forest Preserves plus at Brookfield Zoo.
Forest Preserves of Cook County
Participate in a Celebrate Earth Day Play,Paint and Pretend event at Crabtree Nature center, April 22 from noon to 3 p,m,. The activity is free. The Center is at 3 Stover Rd., Barrington. For more information visit Forest Preserves of Cook County/NaturePlay or call (847) 381-6592.
Lake County Forest Preserves
There are a limited number of seats left but “Planting for Pollinators,” is still open April 19 at Ryerson Nature Center, Riverwoods, 3-4 p.m. Visit Planting for registration and address. (Adults)
Get down and dirty to help the planet at “Restoration Middlefork” from 9 a.m. to noon April 22. Visit Restoration Workday. (Age 10 through adults)
Brookfield Zoo
The Brookfield Zoo is encouraging families to make a difference for wildlife and the natural world with three events at the zoo: “A Party for the Planet” recycling event, help plant a tree, and “Earth Day Run.”
The recycling event, presented by the Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program, is April 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Zoo’s main parking lot at 8400 31st St., Brookfield. (Enter through gate on 31st Street, just west of Golfview Avenue.) This is a chance to dispose of electronics, textiles, and used books in an environmentally-friendly way. For a complete list of acceptable recyclables, visit czs.org/PartyPlanet.
Zoo visitors can head to the South Mall at 10:30 a.m. to assist groundskeepers in planting a tree to commemorate the holiday, then spend the day seeing your favorite animals.
Earth Day Run
The annual Earth Day Fun Run, a non-competitive 2.2 miles, begins at 8 a.m. and is for all ages. The fee is $35 per person and includes admission to the Zoo. All participants receive an Earth Day Run commemorative medal and a bookmark with flower seeds to spread in your own garden at home. Proceeds from the event benefit the Chicago Zoological Society’s Animal Care and Conservation Fund that supports research and education efforts at the Zoo and around the world. For more information visit czs.org/EarthDayRun.
Oscar Nominees announced. (Photo of Oscars courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for news sites.)
Based on all the awards ceremonies that have already taken place this year “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is expected to walk off with the most awards. But tune in any way when the 956th Academy Awards are announced March 12, 2023 for movies released in 2022 to see the gowns and tuxes, hear the best songs performed and guess the other awards.
If hosting and need trivia or want to see the list of nominees or which films and people took awards from 1929 to 2023 go to Oscars/Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The years and their winners are listed in a timeline. It’s fascinating.
Frank B won Best Director for Dramatic Picture in 1929. (Phot courtesy of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
As an example, In the 1929 Oscars Frank Borzage won Best Directing for Dramatic Picture with “7th Heaven” and “Wings” took the first Oscar ever for Best Picture.
The site also lists this year’s Dikrecting nominees as Martin Mcdonagh for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Known as the two Daniels) for “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Steven Spielberg for “The Fabelmans,” Todd Field for “Tar” and Ruben Östlund for “Triangle of Sadness.”
No matter who wins what film makers are hoping for is full recovery at theaters so audiences are back after the Pandemic.
Chicago River is turned green for St Patrick’s Day each year. Photo Courtesy City of Chicago
Writers Theatre in Glencoe is celebrating March with “Once” a wonderfully performed musical about hope and love wrapped in Irish tunes.
Grocery stores such as Sunset Foods in the northern and northwest suburbs are celebrating with pots of four-leaf clovers.
Many bakeries throughout the Chicago area are celebrating March with cakes, cookies and cupcakes topped with green frosting.
And luck is wished to everyone because the Chicago area loves to celebrate all things Irish during St. Patrick’s month of March.
So, get out the calendar to pencil in top events. But first know that you will be welcomed with the word Fáilte, toasted with the word sláinte pronounced slahn-che (to good health) and will hear the lovely phrase, Céad Míle Fáilte: A hundred thousand welcomes.
PARADES
Chicago St Patrick’s Day parade. (Photo courtesy of Choose Chicago, the city’s tourist site)
Thanks to the Plumbers’ Union, the Chicago River turns green the morning of March 11 at 10 a.m. followed by the Plumbers’ Union sponsored parade at 12:30 p.m. Go early to see the river dying between State Street and Columbus Drive on Wacker or along the Riverwalk. Hang out downtown until the parade steps off from Balboa at Grant Park and heads north along Columbus Drive to Monroe. Among the largest in the country, it’s three hours of bagpipers, floats and Irish Step Dancers. (And politicians)
Two good parades are also held March 12 in Chicago neighborhoods: Southside Irish and Northwest Side Irish.
The Southside Irish Parade is noon to 3 p.m. along Western Avenue starting at 103rd Street going south to
to 115th. It’s a family friendly parade that started in 1981 with a couple of families and has grown to where it attracts people from all over the city. It does not tolerate drinking but neighborhood pubs are open after the parade.
The Northwest Side Irish Parade, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is the same day, same time. Find official parade and after party info at Northside Irish. The parade goes along Neola Avenue to Northwest Highway to Harlem Avenue as it winds through the Norwood Park neighborhood.
Fifth Province Pub at Irish American Heritage Center. (Photo courtesy of IAHC)
PUBS
Pubs throughout the Chicago area are ready to party. Most will have specials on Irish beer. Some pubs will feature entertainment by talented Irish Step Dancers and soulful musicians.
Among the most popular pubs celebrating St. Patrick’s Day isChief O’Neills, 3471 N. Elston, Chicago. It will be open from 8 a.m March 11 through 2 a.m. Msrch 12 with a cover charge of $10 from noon on. But more festiviies will be on March 12 with no cover charge. O’Neills will feature traditional Irish dishes and entertainment on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 with a cover charge at 4 p.m. See more about O’Neills festivities. at St Patrick’s Festival 2023.
In Beverly, the Southside Irish Parade neighborhood, the Cork and Kerry at 10614 S, Western Ave., is popular.
In the northern suburbs, Hackney’s on Lake, a longtime favorite restaurant and bar in Glenview with Irish roots, celebrates with good Irish beer and an extensive menu. The original Hackneyh’s on Harmes (more than 80 years old) is also still around as an intimate dining spot known by word of mouth.
Where to go after the Downtown Parade March 11. (Both require tickets)
Wear green and celebrate the Irish way at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N Knox Ave. Chicago. Its St. Patrick’s Day Festival is perfect for all ages with Irish food, music, dance, children’s activities and Irish gifts on sale from 1 to 11 p.m. Also, its Fifth Province Pub is a traditional Irish pub.
Shamrock’n the Block at Old St. Patrick’s Church on DesPlaines Street between Monroe & Adams (700 W. Adams) in Chicago’s West Loop, does an annual Irish pub pop-up with a heated beer garden tent, food and entertainment plus shamrock craft packs for kids. from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Go celebrate and remember the popular Irish toast: “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back.”
Orchids up close and magnified at Chicago botanic Garden Orchid Show. (Photos by Jillian Getter)
Visitors ready to enter the Chicago Botanic Garden’s 2023 Orchid Show leave the main hall of the Regenstein Center to walk around what looks like a giant floral covered zoom lens.
The structure introduces another way to look at and appreciating orchids – through magnifying glass.
Past shows have featured orchid occasions and locations. The 2023 show, titled “Magnified,” asks visitors to notice orchids’ different characteristics.
Floral covered zoom lens introduces the Chicago Botanic Garden Orchid Show.
Jodi Zombolo, Botanic Garden associate vice president of programs and volunteers, calls “Magnified” an “immersive” experience.
“This show provides a playful opportunity to connect with and admire each orchid part,” says Zombolo. She hoped the experience would leave visitors “inspired and wowed.”
On the long walls across from the greenhouses, visitors can view single orchids through strong lenses. Next to them are labels that suggest what to look for.
They then get the larger picture when strolling through the greenhouses. Some orchids like to grow in columns and others will be seen growing individually and in bunches.
Orchids along the wall near the greenhouses are admired individually
To turn the Orchid show into a special event, come to After-Hours or when a sale is taking place.
Events
After-Hours are Thursdays 5-8 p.m. (Requires a different ticket). The Illinois Orchid Society Spring Show and Sales are March 11-12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Orchids in Greenhouse at Chicago botanic Garden showOrchids in Greenhouse at Chicago botanic Garden show
Market Place \Weekend with venders is March 25-26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Post Orchid Show Plant Sale is March 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Chicago Botanic Garden Orchid show is now through March 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Chicago Botanic Garden is 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, just east of Edens Exp. For tickets and more information visit Chicago Botanic Garden Orchids Magnified.
Old Scottsdale is a fun, historic lace to visit, eat and shop. J Jacobs phot o)
You survived the Chicago area’s recent torrential downpour and downed tree limbs but the weather weaves back and forth between icy and OK. Not bad. However, you are still talking about seeing your baseball team in action. So, go. MLB has 15 teams playing in Arizona’s Cactus League beginning Feb. 24 and continuing to March 28, 2023.
That means even if you can’t get your tickets from the Cubs or White Sox in their home park you can see them play in one of the other parks. None are farther than 40 minutes away in the Phoenix- Scottsdale- Glendala-Mesa area.
Spring training tickets are less expensive than during regular season and the players are good about autographs. Plus, the atmosphere is fun and casual.
Speaking of fun, see Visit Phoenix/Things to do where you can scroll down to a map titled “Explore Greater Phoenix.” Find the town where your team plays and tap on it for places to stay, restaurants and what to do.
As an example, when clicking on Mesa in greater Phoenix’s Southeast Valley, you see it has the Cub’s spring training base of Sloan Park. The Cubs begin at Sloan, Feb 25, against the San Francisco Giants.
Mesa is also home to Hohokum, the Oakland Athletics Stadium, several art galleries and such fun restaurants as Worth Takeaway and Jalapeño Bucks (known for its brisket).
By tapping Glendale, an area northwest of downtown Phoenix, you find Camelback Ranch, the spring home of the Chicago White Sox and the LA Dodgers.
Glendale has historic Main Street, an area of turn-of-century homes and lots of restaurants. Visit Cactus League at Camelback Ranch for good ideas on where to stay and what to do.
Which brings us to when and where to go: the Spring Training teams and schedule. MLB has 15 teams that play in the Cactus League from Feb. 24 to March 28, 2023. Find when and where your team is playing.
*Warning: When looking for info and tickets the websites that appear are primarily resale and other sites. Be safe by going to an official MLB site for tickets. Type in your team and MLB.com.
Tapping a sugar maple for sap to turn into maple syrup. (Lake county Forest Preserves photo)
Even though the weather has been wavering between what has been balmy for February and normal chilliness, maple trees at Ryerson Woods in Riverwoods, IL have been ready to be tapped.
Which means the Lake County Forest Preserves’ maple season starts now with a festival Feb. 25 at Ryerson followed by maple syrup family hikes the first three weekends in March. In addition are a program for seniors and then a Spring Break program the last week in March.
Why tap now?
“You need days above freezing and nights below freezing. The sap was stored in the tree over the winter. Now you get a big rush as the pressure moves it up the tree,” said LCFPD Environmental Educator Jennifer Berlinghof, maple syrup programming coordinator.
Berlinghof explained that the sap travels up the xylem (plant’s vascular tissue that moves the sap of water and dissolved minerals up from the roots).
She noted that even though the current period for the maple syrup temperature change was “anything but typical,” the forest preserves’ staff were able to tap enough to have small tastings for families who sign up for Maple Syrup Hikes.
How much sap?
Berlinghof estimated that 40 gallons of sap are needed to produce one gallon of syrup. To bring home the point, she said that Ryerson has several containers stacked around the district’s evaporator where they boil out the sap’s water content to produce the syrup.
What to expect?
Families who register for the hour-long hikes go past sugar maple trees hear about the process and learn about drilling a hole to get sap. “The trees have already been tapped,” Berlinghof said, but she added that participants could see what it is like by drilling on the logs.
The hikes go to the where the sap is boiled down to syrup and, of course, participants get a taste of the final product.
Maple Syrup Festival
First is the free Maple Syrup Festival at Ryerson Woods, 21950 North Riverwoods Rd, Riverwoods, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Running from 9 -11 a.m., no registration is needed. Activities are inside the Ryerson Woods Welcome Center and outside on the trails. Daisy from WTTW Nature Cat will be there.
Maple Syrup Family Hikes
Hikes are Saturdays and Sundays, March 4 to March 19. They start every half-hour from noon to 2 p.m. from the Ryerson Woods Welcome Center and are led by Lake County Forest Preserves educators. Open to all ages, tickets are $6 per person. Children ages 3 and under are free. Spaces fill quickly. To register and obtain a ticket go to lcfpd maple syrup and scroll to the date you want or call (847) 968-3321. Scout and other groups can make special arrangements.
Spring Break Syruping
Learn about the collecting and making of maple syrup March 28, 11 a.m. to noon at Ryerson Woods. Register at Spring Break Maple Syruping. Limited attendance. Tickets $6, ages 3 and under free.
Senior Maple Syrup Hike
A hike for seniors age 62 and older is March 30 from 11 a.m. to Noon. Free to Lake County residents, tickets are $3 for nonresidents. Register at Senior Series.
Old time signs, and spaces are fun to check out at the Chicago History Museum. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago History Museum
Maybe you know that Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was Feb. 12 and that some states considered the date a state holiday. In Illinois, it was celebrated in Springfield. But schools and federal businesses are also off in Illinois on Presidents Day, the third Monday of February to recognize George Washington’s birthday. It was Feb. 22, 1732 on the Georgian calendar.
A couple of fun places to become immersed in history on Presidents Day are the Chicago History Museum in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and The Dunn Museum in north suburban Libertyville.
Chicago History Museum borders Lincoln Park and Clark Street. (Photo courtesy of Chicago History Museum)
Go any time this weekend but if you visit Feb. 20, 2023, admission is free to Illinois residents and the museum has family events.
Among them are Oval Office activities that include an interactive Oval Office where the president works, a chance to design an Oval Office that would work for you and an “I Spy” game using President Joe Biden’s Oval Office.
OK, you know that Abe Lincoln once called Illinois “home.” But can you ID three other US presidents who lived in Illinois? The family events day includes an activity that connects facts and quotes from four US presidents who spent significant time in the state.
Clues: one was a military commander with a home in Galena; a second one was born in Illinois and grew up in Dixon and third was a recent president with a Hyde Park home, connections to the University of Chicago Law Schoo and soon-to-be presidential library and museum. Places to visit these presidential connections are at the Illinois tour site of Enjoy Illinois.
Visitors step onto an old platform and walk the aisle of L Car No. 1. (Photo courtesy of Chicago History Museum)
The family events are interesting and fun but this is a once-upon-at-time museum so figure enough minutes in your visit to see and experience forgotten times showcased in Chicago: Crossroads of America.
Walk the aisle of L car no. 1 which took riders from the Loop to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park. Once upon a time old L cars had stained-glass windows and fine woodwork.
Although usually closed on Mondays, the museum will be open for Presidents Day. Upcoming 2023 Illinois resident free days include: February 14–17, 20–24, 28. For more information and tickets visit Home – Chicago History Museum.
Lake County Forest Preserves’ Dunn Museum in Libertyville (J Jacobs photo)
But visit the museum now, during Presidents Day, to take advantage of what is called a “commemorative” day off school and work to honor two influential men in United States history.
A small treasure operated by the Lake Country Forest Preserves, the museum is an easy to stroll through history.
Small dinosaur at Dunn Museum Libertyville (Photo by Jillian getter)
Visitors take photos of the prehistoric bones of a Dryptosaurus , a small tyrannosaur that roamed Lake County 67 million years ago and a fossil rock about 420 million years old.
Moving along they walk into a wigwam that is a full-scale reproduction constructed with help from a local Native American tribe. Arrowheads and other Native American artifacts are in cases further down.
As to Lincoln’s time, the museum has American Civil War uniforms and equipment plus agriculture implements. The region was settled since the early 1830s and manned the 96th Illinois volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.
A fun stop for youngsters is the museum’s recreation of a one-room schoolhouse with a small stove, blackboard and benches.
One-room schoolhouse reproduced at Dunn Museum, Libertyville (Jillian Getter photo)
For hours, tickets and more information visit Dunn Museum.
