The weather in Chicago right now is fantastic. Seventy-five degrees with a slight breeze is all anyone who lives in this two season town can ask for. This fabulous day has gotten me thinking about all of the amazing summer activities.
The Taste of Chicago
June 26- July 5
The 29th annual Taste of Chicago that spans all of Grant Park (the park where President Obama gave his victory speech on election night) in downtown Chicago near the lakefront is a must-see if you're a tourist and a maybe if you have lived in Chicago for more than five years. With over 50 restaurants offering more than 200 menu items, The Taste (as it's called) is the largest food festival in the United States. Admission is free if you would just like to walk the grounds and get squished by the crowd, but if you'd like to sample the food tickets run for $8 (plus a $2 surcharge) for a strip of twelve. Be warned: This is not an inexpensive outing. Most of the items cost anywhere from 3-6 tickets, so if you'd like to sample more than two restaurants be ready to shell out more dough. The best thing about the Taste (and what us local Chicagoans really take advantage of) are the free music acts offered during the two week festival.
Movies in the Park
Every Tuesday night beginning July 14 to August 25
Also staged in Grant Park, is the family, and couple friendly Movies in the Park. Staged in Grant Park not far off of Lake Shore Drive this is one of my favorite summer outings. Be sure to bring a chair or blanket and snacks - but no alcohol- this is expressly forbidden and your booze will be confiscated if you're caught. Please mind Movie in the Park etiquette: Don't sit you chair in front of people with blankets. And if you're a blanket owner do not sit with blank grass in front of you. Someone will simply plop their stuff in front of you and you'll be craning to see the entire night. Honestly, if you can't get there at least an hour before the film starts don't bother. Once it's close to film time the park is insanely crowded. The lineup this year:
July 14 at 8:58pm: Sunset Boulevard (1950)
July 21 at 8:52pm: Duck Soup (1933)
July 28 at 8:45pm: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1950)
August 4 at 8:37pm: Born Yesterday (1933)
August 11 at 8:27: Psycho (1960)
August 18 at 8:17pm:Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
August 25 at 8:05pm: Tootsie (1982)
Lollapalooza
August 7- 9
As I stated in my last post this is my current musical obsession. Just when you think that the Lollapalooza organizers could not top last year's lineup which included Radiohead and Kanye West, this year's lineup is AMAZING: Depeche Mode (assuming that David Gahan will be well enough to continue with their tour- I'm keeping hope alive),The Killers, Thievery Corporation, Beastie Boys, Snoop Dogg, Andrew Bird, Lykke Li, Cold War Kids and Vampire Weekend- just to name a few. The early bird 3-day passes for $175 are all sold out. Advanced 3-day tickets are currently $190. The Lolla peeps are being pishers right now and are not releasing the daily schedule or offering single day tickets so if you want to be sure you'll have access to all of the bands I say go ahead and buy the 3-day pass. I'm leaning towards doing this myself.
