Highlights Around Town for the Month of July

Looking for some summer fun? Try one of these events!

• The River North scene will take center stage again at the Taste of River North, Saturday, July 17th 12pm-10pm and Sunday, July 18th 11am-8pm. Located in and around magnificent Erie Park, this fest gives food lovers and weary art shoppers a taste of the best of everything the trendy River North neighborhood has to offer along a picturesque green riverfront setting. Near Erie & Kingsbury.

• The Dearborn Garden Walk, Sunday, July 18, and the Chicago Yacht Club’s Race to Mackinac, Saturday, July 24! These two colorful & memorable events have always made the middle of summer most enjoyable by showcasing warm weather enjoyment on land and in water!

• Your love of flowers will flourish on as you also enjoy the Sheffield Garden Walk, July 17 & 18 as well as the continuing Summer Tropical Flower Show at the Garfield Park Conservatory here through September 26. The show is featuring Chicago-weather friendly fauna to enjoy throughout the year.

• Enjoy an evening of music in one of our many intimate music venues in and around Chicago! David Sanborn will be performing his long known sweet jazz saxophone Saturday, July 31 in Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College in Naperville. Andrea Marcovicci will serenade you with her soft & melancholy voice July 14 – 18 At Davenport’s Piano Bar & Cabaret. For something a little hotter, enjoy Chichito Valdes Afro-Cuban Ensemble July 23 & 24 at the Green Mill

• Want to get away? Day-Tripping is the way to go! A day in the country is a sure way to revive yourself from the daily city grind! County fairs abound with all the fun food and events that are a traditional part of them! The Kane County Fair in St. Charles, July 14-18; The DuPage County Fair in Wheaton, July 21-24; The Lake County Fair in Grayslake, July 27 though Aug 1

• Still can’t come back inside because the weather is so nice? How about an outdoor concert? Millennium Park & Ravinia are offering a wonderful line-up of classical favorites! If classic rock is more your style, Chicago will be performing with the Doobie Brothers on Friday, July 16 and REO Speedwagon along with Pat Benatar, Sunday, July 18 at Carter One Pavilion at Northerly Island.

• Art fairs are also a wonderful way to get a nice walk in as part of your exercise routine while enjoying the talents of many local and national artists as they showcase their sculptures and painting. The North Shore Festival of Art will be held July 25 - 26 in Skokie.

• The Gold Coast Art Fair! This year the fair has a new address…Butler Field in Grant Park! Save the Date! Aug 20-22

NOTICE OF MOVIE FILMING IN THE AREA

DW Studios Productions is currently filming scenes for the upcoming motion picture “Transformers 3” in the area. One of the principal locations in the film is Michigan Avenue in the vicinity of the Chicago River. Major filming with special effects is scheduled for Friday, July 16th, Saturday, July 17th and Sunday, July 18th from approximately 7am until 7pm. Scenes will include low flying helicopters and special effects such as gunfire, spark hits, explosions, fireballs and black smoke.


Please note the following proposed schedule for the area:

Tuesday, July 13th 8am to mid-morning: 1-2 helicopters flying closely at the top of the Trump Tower.

Thursday, July 15th 8pm – Monday, July 19th 5am: Michigan Avenue between Ohio and Wacker Drive will be closed. Lower Michigan Avenue will be available to vehicular traffic until Friday July 16th at 8pm. During these days, the loudest stunts and special effects will be filmed. Please note that gunfire and explosions will take place after 8am on Saturday, July 17th and Sunday, July 18th.

Saturday, July 17th and Sunday, July 18th from 7am throughout the morning: Precision skydivers with parachutes will be flying around the building and landing on the Michigan Avenue Bridge. They will be circling along the Chicago River. This will result in occasional closures for 10-15 minute periods for affected streets below the fly zone. This will include a lockdown of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Areas expected to be affected include:
Hubbard between Clark and State
Kinzie between Clark & State
Dearborn between Wacker and Hubbard
State between Wacker and Hubbard
Wabash between Wacker and Kinzie

Monday, July 19th from 10am-4pm: 3 Base jumpers will be jumping from the Trump Tower roof to the south side of the Tower. The River Walk will be closed during this time. Additional closures may occur as necessary.

Tuesday, July 20th from 10am-4pm: If weather is inclement on Monday, July 19th this is the back-up date for the base jumpers.

Monday, July 19th - Wednesday, July 21st: Filming will occur at Hotel 71 and expected closures include Wacker from Michigan to Wabash as well as intermittent traffic control on nearby streets.

Saturday, July 24th – Tuesday, July 27th and Saturday, July 31st - Sunday, August 1st: Filming will occur at 35 E. Wacker and expected closures include portions of Wabash and Wacker as well as intermittent traffic control on nearby streets.

Tuesday, July 27th: Filming will occur in immediate areas surrounding Trump Tower and there will be intermittent traffic control in the area. Filming will also include helicopters.

Please note that businesses in the affected areas are scheduled to remain open during this time. Bus stops on North Michigan Avenue between Ontario and Wacker will be relocated. Signs are expected to be posted. Please be advised that loading zones for boats along the river may be relocated and signage will be posted indicating the alternate loading zones.

Public Assistance personnel will be placed at the pedestrian lock-up points and will provide detour information. The personnel will be wearing yellow shirts with the “Transformers” logo.

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Far From Shore

This is written by one of my best child-hood friends from Rugby Row in Madison, Wisconsin. I've known Marge since she was 3 and this is a true story of what happened to one of her sons just a few years ago in California. Riveting!

Far From Shore: A Mother's Memoir of a Shark Attack

Available on Amazon
Please visit our website

Florida? No Thanks!

Hard as it may seem to believe, some people actually choose to vacation in Chicago in the dead of winter. From ice skating in Millenium Park to browsing the shops on Montrose Avenue in Ravenswood, there is plenty to do in this city of ours without being overrun by those creatures no one wants to see, much less admit to being (i.e. tourists). Go here to post your own tips!

Baroque Chicago?

Check out this NY Times article on the anti-minimalist Richard Dreihaus. The Richard H. Driehaus Museum of Decorative Arts is due to open in the spring in the Nickerson Mansion, quite possibly "the most expensive residence ever built in Chicago." Watch this space for details.

Holiday Shopping Edition: Swiss Chocolate

Not everyone can buy Teuscher chocolate in the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, Switzerland. Fortunately, we have our own Teuscher here in Chicago. For the story of how Swiss chocolatiers are conquering the world, see this article in the New York Times. The trend is toward exotic flavors (chili pepper and even goat cheese) and darker chocolate. But the Swiss are obliged to turn their attentions abroad -- at 25 pounds of chocolate per capita per year, their compatriots couldn't eat more of the stuff if they tried (or unless they were British, who eat more -- and indeed I even know some Swiss people who prefer Cadbury to Spruengli!). But no one can beat Teuscher for presentation, so if you are looking for a special gift, check them out.

Photo by Dominic Buettner for the New York Times.

Should Chicago Take the Gamble?

Chicago politicians are tired of seeing a potential source of huge income leave the city and even the state. Should Chicago, with its checkered history, get into the casino business? Listen to the story here. NPR funnyman and Chicago native imagines "da casino" here

The Secret Is Out!

Check out this article on the Indiana Dunes -- only forty miles from our fair city! -- and its real estate.

Are You (Female) Waiting Too Long for Your Latte?

A new study in Boston reveals that women have to wait an average of 20 seconds longer than men to be served in coffee shops -- unless the staff is all female! I must say I never noticed -- but I will now start paying more attention...