Thread: Nonrev Correspondent - Chicago

Hi Kristen/Barracudababy, welcome aboard.
Always nice to see another Chicagoan on the board.

So is it, Uno, Giordano's or do you have a new contender?

Keep'em flying

Fun facts about Chicago
(all figures represent the city proper and not Chicagoland as a whole unless otherwise noted)

33 million visitors a year
30,000 hotel rooms
6,500 restaurants
1,212 neighborhood taverns
83 hotels

1,800 hot dog stands
150 million Vienna Beef hot dogs are sold annually
6 million Giordano's pizzas sold (10 million in Chicagoland)

29% of Chicagoland adults 21 and older drank a light beer in the last month
26% drank an import
24% had regular beer
6% a microbrew
18% drank vodka

32,859 parking meters
2,675,238 parking tickets written through November
3,025,214 written in 2005

50 Wards
198 Neighborhoods
552 public parks
70 museums
200 parades per year

5,012 firefighters and paramedics
47,330 fire hydrants
148,000 manholes

13,000 licensed taxi drivers
6,300 taxis are on the streets at any given moment of the day.
8 motion pictures were shot in the city and suburbs this year
217 since 1980

48% of Chicagoans are male
52% female
26% are under 18 years old
33.1 is the median age
37% of Chicagoans speak a language other than English as their primary/first tongue.

39% are white
36% black
5% Asian
20% of other races
29% Hispanic
(totals include mixed race persons who fall in one or more category, thus exceeding a 100% total)

22% were born in another country
78% were born in America (including territories/possessions)
58% were born in Illinois

293,703 take public transportation to work daily
63,580 walk to work daily
34.3 minutes is the average commute.

(Source: The Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Outdoor Film Festival-Grant Park

Butler Field, Grant Park
100 S. Lake Shore Drive

Grab a blanket, pack a picnic and spend Tuesday nights watching classic movies for free under the stars.

Read about this year's flick picks.

Films will be shown in rainy weather as long as lightning, strong winds or other severe conditions are not present. Cyclists can take advantage of free bike valet parking at the northwest corner of Lake Shore Drive and Monroe Street. No bikes, dogs or alcohol are allowed in the seating area.

Jul. 17: 8:56 p.m. 'Young Frankenstein" (1974)
Jul. 24: 8:50 p.m. "Double Indemnity" (1944)
Jul. 31: 8:42 p.m. "Written on the Wind" (1956)
Aug. 7: 8:34 p.m. "The Awful Truth" (1937)
Aug. 14: 8:24 p.m. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969)
Aug. 21: 8:13 p.m. "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957)
Aug. 28: 8:01 p.m. "The Sound of Music" (1965)

Price: Free!

Family fun alert!

The Art of Play: Summer in Chicago 2007

Did you know the Ferris Wheel, Lincoln Logs, and Tinkertoys were Chicago inventions? This summer Chicagoans and visitors of all ages can enjoy more than 150 interactive events, performances, demonstrations, tours and exhibits featuring toys and games during Art of Play: Summer in Chicago 2007 (June 1 - September 30).

Niki in the Garden
Touch, sit, and climb on more than 30 gigantic, brightly colored sculptures during Niki in the Garden (May 4 - October 31) at the Garfield Park Conservatory. The whole family will enjoy these enormous animals, mythical figures, totems, Nanas--oversized, powerful women--and sports heroes covered with mirrors, glass, semi-precious stones and ceramic moasics by internationally renowned artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

World of Games
Challenge a friend to a larger-than-life-sized round of Candyland, Checkers, and other favorites at our XXL Games event; sample pastimes and diversions from around the globe at World of Games. Whether you join a dance contest or a wagon race, play musical chairs, or sign up for a scavenger hunt, Chicago will be your playground this summer!

Theater Games
See some of Chicago's hottest actors and comedians think fast on their feet during an improv game show! Even more fun awaits you this summer: enjoy puppet shows, a game-related film series, dance performances infused with a spirit of play.

The Art of Play Center
Pull up a seat, play a game, and learn about all of these exciting events at the Art of Play Center (72 E. Randolph Street.) Meet a game inventor and enjoy a demonstration of a never-seen-before game, and learn about the history of toys and games that were created and made in Chicago.

Click here for details.

Chicago Blues Festival

As the largest of the city's music festivals, the Chicago Blues Festival draws more than 750,000 people who enjoy four days and six stages of blues music in Grant Park, at Columbus and Jackson.

June 7-10, 2007
Grant Park in Downtown Chicago
Free Admission
11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Click for info.

The Taste of Chicago

June 29-July 8, 2007
Grant Park (100-700 S. Columbus Dr.)
Taste of Chicago opens each day at 11 a.m. and closes most nights at 9 p.m. Taste food booths will remain open until 9:30 p.m. on July 3; the festival closes at 8 p.m. on July 8.

At the first "Taste" in 1980 more than 250,000 showed up. Today some 70 restaurants dish up Chicago's finest for more than 3.5 million people!

More info, including entertainment and concerts at the Taste.

The Chicago Country Music Festival

The Chicago Country Music Festival brings a Western flavor for two days to the Taste of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, on Columbus between Monroe and Van Buren.

June 30-July 1, 2007
Grant Park Downtown Chicago
11am-9:30pm

Free Admission!

Complete details including venues and lineup.

Venetian Night

July 28, 2007
Along Lake Michigan between the Shedd Aquarium at Roosevelt Road and the Chicago Yacht Club at Monroe Street
8:30pm