Summer Lovin'

Each and every summer I fall back in love with Chicago. The city comes alive!  There is SO much to do!  By way of the Chicago Park Districts, sponsors, non-for-profit groups, ect several activities are held throughout the city from about May to October for FREE and cater to the arts. In addition, street festivals are rampant in the neighborhoods of Chicago. There is usually one on every weekend. from June to early September. I have to say, I haven’t been to many at all because of how hot and humid this summer has been. However, a couple of my friends had a rooftop party during Roscoe Village’s Burger Fest. Their apartment was on the same corner as the main stage. The headliner that night was Rusted Root. Oh, 1999 memories came back! It was good times. B and I did have intentions of getting a burger since I read that some top notch restaurants were vending, but it was SO PACKED! We navigated through the crowd to my friend’s apartment and happily situated ourselves on the rooftop. 

Sidenote: even though a suggested donation is asked at the entry of all festivals, you don’t HAVE to pay. I’ve been to festivals that haven’t been great and I’ve left shortly after arriving. Then, I’ve been to festivals that are great and I’ll stay and fork out cash on the drink and grub. As I see it, they get my money that way!.

On what felt like one of the hottest days of the year, we saw Death Cab for Cutie in Grant Park, located on the southern end of downtown. Yes, you guessed it.. for free. The show was part of a weeklong event called the Taste of Chicago. Seated tickets were sold for 25 buck, but the lawn was free to the public. The lawn wasn’t far from the stage and jumbo screens were set up. The sound was incredible.. Oh and the topper, (in all of the below) it’s OK to pack a picnic and booze.

 

Bryan on his own stumbled upon a concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, located at the Northern end of downtown. I love this park. The view is breath taking (in my opinion) as the city’s skyline makes for a stellar backdrop.  The concert was part of the “Downtown Sounds” series held during the day. It would be a lovely lunch break event during the workday. Since I mention Bryan was on his own he didn’t take a picture.  Here is one I found on the internet. I have seen many concerts here and plan to catch a few more before the cold comes creeping in.

I added in a night time shot to show just how deadly the city looks! (again, in my opinion)

This past weekend we took in a play and movie.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater launched just this summer Shakespeare in the Parks. Bryan, I and few friends took in a production of Taming of the Shrew in Wells Park, located steps from my apartment. We all had a great time… maybe too good of a time! I think some of the people around us would have appreciated less entertainment from our group.

 

The next night Bryan and I headed to a park in Lincoln Park, (hehe), to see North by Northwest by Alfred Hitchcock. Bryan and I adore films - for him, especially anything by Hitchcock. This was my first Hitchcock film and it definitely won’t be the last.  

Even with all the free events, we still forked out cash for food and drink, but hey… overall it is still cheaper than a night on the town and we are still taking in the city!