This festival claims to be the largest, longest running world music festival on the planet. And…read moreI'm not one to dispute this claim since this year's festival covered 21 venues and I don't even care to count how many nationalities of music. Based around the Chicago Cultural Center, which has a free radio broadcast most mornings of the festival and hosts the closing night blowout of nine or so bands, the festival kicks off the indoor festival season with a bang (or multiple ones), some tribal wailings, digiradoos, and some other vocables (including, oddly enough, yelping) which are not present in most rock music. And the best part is some of the concerts are free. Though maybe I'm just being nostalgic in these rough economic times but I seem to recall a lot more free shows in past years. I fondly recall seeing Rodrigo y Gabriela on the ground floor of one of the buildings at Columbia College (on nothing but a set of low rafters) after they were already an established charting band in Europe for free. I also recall there only being five people there with me, but that's just my brain bragging. Really there were more like 100. This year it seemed that for every two bit band with an instrument besides a guitar or two, a bass, and some drums the average charge was $15 or more. Apparently a couple of sponsors pulled out (and it was more expensive to get bands into the country) raising the ticket prices. Still, the free concerts at the Chicago Cultural Center for this week or so with that venue's beautiful acoustics and views saved this festival. The final night's performances there blended beautifully with Calexico playing across the street in Millenium Park at the Pritzker Pavilion (also part of the festival and accompanied by a full mariachi band). This indoor festival is an incredibly intimate experience overall with the bands very accessible and the venues small. And I'm glad we have it since it shows the world how international a city Chicago is. I just wish they would lower the ticket prices again so they didn't combine into the price of a flight to Mexico if you went to one show a night.

My favorite week to go out in Chicago. Over the years there have been so many great memories;…read moreGorgo Bordello, Nouvelle Vague, Cheb i Sabbah, and DJ Joe Bryl opening for Seu Jorge at Millennium Park. This festival is as precious to Chicago as Buckingham fountain or the Art Institute , and yet it is so horribly under funded. Every year we travel (without leaving our City) to other cultures through exotic music and performance and we gain many valuable lessons; compassion, understanding, empathy, and the realization that the world doesn't just revolve around us. This festival is not only one of the most entertaining but one of our City's most enlightening events.

My friend and I went to the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade this past weekend. I've lived in Chicago…read moremy whole life, watching it many times on TV but never made the trek there myself. I like sleeping in on Thanksgiving and tuning in to watch WGN from the comfort of my warm & cozy home! But alas! VIP tickets popped up and I jumped on them. We had seats in the VIP section and I have to say this is the only way I'd see the parade in the future. We got there right before the allowed people to start sitting at about 6:50 am. VIP ticket scanning & seating started at 7am. The actual show started at 8am but in that first hour we got to see a lot happening behind the scenes including practices. It actually went by pretty quickly! Also in the VIP section, they had a McDonald's food truck for us serving up hot chocolate & yogurts. Some sponsored booth was also there with energy drinks & Halloween skittles, kinda funny. Everyone working/volunteering was so friendly though! Also in the VIP section, you get nice bleacher seats (bring a blanket to sit on & a blanket to cover yourself with because it's cold as HECK out there. We had seats right in the center and our friends were sending us photos of our smiling faces front & center during the opening acts. Those around me were thankful for my silly Hello Kitty which helped their families & friends easily find them in the crowd. So this parade has been around since the 1930s originally started to bring joy during the depression! Since then it's switched sponsorship a bunch and has become quite the spectacle. From 8-9am are all the acts. You'll find them in the parade, as well, but they get some time to put on some mini shows during this time. Some people were dressed in clothes not made for Chicago winter's and I felt so bad for them! From 9-11am is the actual parade and there is a lot to look it. Tons of bands & dance acts, a few floats, a few blown up balloon floats but NO balloons like you see in the Macy's NYC parade which was kind of disappointing, no candy tossing, a bunch of random trucks & advertisements which was weird. All in all, glad I went to finally experience it but for me it's a one and done type of thing. Sitting outside in thirty degree weather for four hours was just too much for me!

Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday after halloween and this past Thanksgiving I spent the…read moreholiday in Chicago. So this being my first time spending Thanksgiving out of town I was determined to make the most of it. Chicago has a Thanksgiving day parade and I wanted to see it up close and personal. I woke up at 5am and walked two blocks down the street from our hotel to catch the parade on State Street. Let me tell you that not a single soul was out at 5am waiting for this 8am parade to start. I was literally the very first person to get out to the parade. Hey I'm from New Orleans where people camp out the night before or even days before for a prime spot. Once the parade started it got pretty crowded. The parade itself had huge balloons that were both funny and cute. Tweety bird was our favorite! They also had a few bands, small floats, entertainers, etc. The parade wasn't that long or entertaining to be honest. I would probably skip it if I'm ever in town again during Thanksgiving. I had to see it at least once just to see how it was right?

This was me and The Heiress Apparent (La J) first time at this event. We are both lovers of Mac…read moreand Cheese, so of course when we heard about this event, we were in. Tickets were $65 for General Admission and and $105 for VIP. Both tickets got you all you can eat samples and five drink tickets. We got the VIP tickets because there was priority check in, free tee shirts and a VIP section we could sit in so we could be comfortable eating our mac and cheese. The VIP section was good, plenty of seats. This was our first time at the fest, so we have no comparison in terms of organization. But I would say that the event was very well organized. There were a good number of vendors representing different types of mac and cheese, very creative. The samples were a good size for getting a flavor of eat one. It was a brilliant idea to have the samples already out on the table ready to pick up. The only vendor that had a line was Public House (Chef Jeremy Tannehill) for the Chicken, Mac, & Waffles. It eventually settled down and we go to sample it...waffle cone, mac/cheese and a chicken meatball in hot sauce. It was good. Millie's Supper Club had a a great Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese. Texican (Chef Kim Dalton) Texas Chili Mac, Warren's Ale House (Chef Kevin Hay) Ghost Pepper Mac with Smoked BBQ Brisket (wasn't that hot and that was good), and ConeCepts (Chef Turn Cummings) Beer Braised Brisket Mac & Cheese were all good. Another favorite for me was Carmine's. They came up with a Mac and Cheese slider and it was so good. Other favorites were Carnivale's (Chef Rodolfo Cuadios) Mac & Cheese Cake Pops. I could not wrap my mind around a mac and cheese dessert, but it was like eating cheese cake. That was my personal favorite of all the vendors. La J enjoyed Mahoney's Pub & Grille's (Chef Alex Gomez) Strawberry Mac & Cheesecake and Kitty O'Sheas at the Hilton Chicago's (Chef Mario Garcia & Chef Erica McGhee) something like an apple crumble. Again, not thinking of mac and cheese as a dessert, but both worked. The five drink tickets were good and I ended up getting more from some nice people. Not sure what all was there for adult beverages as I hit the table serving wine. Pretty decent whites and they have a sparkling, so I was in heaven. The pours were very generous. We didn't get to hit all of the restaurants as we got so full! We had a plan of attack for hitting all of the vendors, but made the mistake of repeating samples that we liked. All and all, it was a good time and I look forward to doing this next year.

Tubular elbow pasta has been one of America's favorite comfort foods ever since Yankee Doodle stuck…read morea feather in his cap. This annual one-day indoor festival provides a venue for talented local chefs to flex their creative muscles and compete for the Golden Noodle Award, and for foodies to sample something potentially more awesome than the familiar Kraft product. Tickets are pricey but the event donates a portion of the proceeds to a worthy charity. This was the first time the Missus and I attended the Fest (we were invited as VIP lunch guests). Many of the offerings we tasted were truly a quantum leap above the comparatively bland grocery aisle version. Some had unusual twists. For example, mac & cheese cake pops (Carnivale), whose flavor is best described as cheddar cheesecake. My personal fave was the sweet-and-savory concoction of Kitty O'Shea's (a past award recipient); it was redolent of caramelized onions. Several of the booths were elaborately decorated. To wash down the high-carb repast, participants could choose from an array of 5 oz. pours of beers, wines, and hard ciders. A deejay spun contemporary songs. The feeding frenzy concluded with the announcement of the winner and runners-up (by popular vote) for the Golden Noodle Award, a trophy that looks like a drainpipe on a pedestal. What a hoot! We're longtime fans of food festivals, and this exceptionally well-run event was among the best we've attended.

So I role up to the Daley Center at 11am yesterday and realized I was starving…read more Inflation is real and lunch shouldn't cost $20. That's ridiculous. I'm weighing my options and wound up at the Sausagefest Truck. A decent hotdog with all the trimmings (no fries) and a Diet Coke was twelve bucks. (Welcome to Chicago). The people were friendly and efficient. It was the best I was going to do in that predicament. If You find yourself in the same position - go get a dog.

A minimalistic festival with lots of tree shade, beer, touch of sausages, and a bunch of talented…read moreband. Tables/Chairs -- sporadic high tables, no chairs except for the dethroning of Renaissance Nobles. Sound System -- background sound is dominant than vocal. $5 suggested donation

First off if you like meat, love beer and great entertainment then you just missed one of the best…read moreevents this year. This was my first time attending the Windy City BBQ Classic which was held at Solider Fields and I already can't wait for next year. This event was better than the Taste of Chicago to me. The price range was $59, $79 and $99 dollars and it was well worth it. It was unlimited Beer, food and dessert. It also included 5 drink tickets for Tito's and Ole Smokey Moonshine. I'm not sure if they have early bird specials for the event but I say don't let the price detour you from checking this event out. The $99 dollar ticket was a Premium ticket the people that had that ticket received their own seating section, pictures, Bloody Mary and an hour early entry into the event. It was so well organized and I didn't see one person that wasn't smiling and saying they were glad that they came to the event. I was a tad disappointed in Tito's because they are usually one of my favorite vodkas but the drinks tasted watered down and I almost hated that I gave up one of my drink tickets. The coolest thing was the cup which I kept to drink my Moonshine. Ole Smokey had these cherry infused Moonshine and now I won't be able to have a regular cherry again. I did also wish it was a few more sides to eat along with meat but that wasn't a big thing it was just a wish...lol I first thought I would still be hungry from the bite size treats of meats but I was more than full after I left the event. I even had a chance to take some of the food with me. I think my favorite BBQ came from Honkey Tonk so tender and seasoned to perfection. I even won a T-Shirt from Big Guy BBQ who had the best rub and boneless rib there. There were so many awesome vendors there and I can't remember all their names but it was few things that I tasted and didn't like. The vendors were so kind and you can tell they were passionate about their food and were glad to share their passion with all the people that were there. We danced to a great DJ which I didn't get his name but I sure wish I had because he was playing a mix of old school and new school that kept us at the booth for awhile dancing with the owners. BB Kings daughter was there singing her butt off and I truly thought I was going to have time to take a few pictures of her performing but I was so busy eating that I missed my chance. They also took time to have several different types of desserts. There was this pumpkin spice shake that was to die for and I'm not even a fan of pumpkin flavored drinks. I didn't think we would stay the entire time but we ended up closing the place down and so did a few others as we danced the night away. Laughing, Full and already Ready for next year! Enjoy!!!

A whole of assortment of different meats to taste, and a few while pigs. And some fantastic drinks…read moretoo. Oh yeah!

Enjoyable I enjoyed the Fashions…read more The Food. Just a wonderful few moments of Conversation and meeting other people.

MODA is a student organization at the University of Chicago that began in 2003 with the intention…read moreof utilizing fashion as a creative outlet, one that encompasses all field: design, style, art, photography, parties and so much more. By showcasing fashion on campus, promoting the city's fashion scene, MODA has cemented its role as a resource for students interested in fashion. Through its Designer Bootcamp program, quarterly fashion events, annual magazine, and blog, MODA has established itself as a prominent organization at the University of Chicago. By expanding partnerships with industry professionals, corporate sponsors, and the media, MODA has continuously connected the University of Chicago campus to the greater Chicago fashion scene, and beyond. Fashion Shows Every quarter, MODA produces and participates in fashion events on campus and downtown. All shows feature students modeling student designs as well as designs from local boutiques and established brands (Ann Taylor, Rent the Runway, and more). These fashion shows have grown enormously over the past years, becoming a staple in the Chicago fashion calendar, even taking over venues like Chicago's Union Station and attracting audiences of over 1,000 people. This year's date: February 21st, 2014

Random assortment of pics…read more.. The very 1st year where they offer 2 different parking lots - $40 (a block & half away) or $25 (4 blocks away). Yet the $40 lot was completely full when we left. Admission was an $8 donation, so it was voluntary. Proceeds go to Pilsen. My 2 chicken tacos & 1 Oaxaqueño tamale (peppers & cheese) were yummy. My horchata came in a plastic resealable bottle, which was unexpected yet clever. Suddenly, hoards of people came! We were prepared to shop & eat more, but there were SSSOOO many people that we couldn't even breathe!, so we had no choice but to leave. 3 stars - Parking fees are waayyy too high. The food was quite expensive, considering seating arrangements were scarce. Please limit the quantity of people allowed in at 1 time.

TACOS Y MAS TACOS PERO POCO TAMALES TACOS & MORE TACOS BUT…read moreFEW TAMALES We hit up the Tacos & Tamales Festival on July 20, 2019. It was incredibly hot and muggy. We had a steak Torta and Al pastor tacos. We tried several steak tacos. I was supposed to get 5 tacos. Two Al Pastor and 3 steak tacos ($10). I received 1 al pastor and 3 steak tacos (not 5). I had to ask (beg is more like it) for napkins. I was disappointed how bland the steak tacos tasted. I got the tacos from a food truck "Tacos Mario's" from 4540 W 63rd St., Chicago. The meat was good. The Al pastor was very good, but I inhaled it, before I could take a picture of the Al pastor. We never tried tamales. There were more vendors selling their goods than there were vendors selling food. I did not see very many food trucks. I noticed only 2 food vendors selling tamales. There were tacos, tacos and more tacos. There were tortas and burritos and elotes. I had high expectations believing the food would be more high quality Mexican food. I was disappointed. It was pricey. The quality was missing and so was the sabor (flavor). They had a DJ spinning music on one end of the festival. On the extreme end of the festival was an excellent mariachi band. Sadly, there were only 5 people listening to them perform. My husband and I listened but the heat, humidity and blazing hot sun were too much for us to continue listening. The heat and humidity contributed to people leaving quickly. We arrived at 12:00 and left by 1:30 p.m. There was an area with tables and chairs quite a distance from the food vendors. These areas were very difficult, if not impossible, to get in and out of. It was poorly designed. You had to squeeze through huge blocks of concrete in order to get to the tables and chairs. Who the "F" was the genius, or should I say idiot, who put the chairs and tables underneath these tents (this is a rhetorical question)? I am very petite, weigh less than 135 lbs and had a hard time climbing over these concrete blocks to sit down at a table. Seriously, this was an accident waiting to happen. There was a table at the main entrance stating $5 Donation (not required, but optional). We made the $5 donation, paid $10 to park in a parking lot. We spent $30 on food (excluding the $5 donation and $10 for parking). This is only their 4th Year, but they still need to work out a lot of issues. They need MORE tables and chairs much closer to the food vendors, please. They need MORE napkins. MORE water. They need MORE food vendors. They need MORE forks & spoons. They need to display their name and location because many didn't have this information displayed. Very few food vendirs had business cards for the taking. Many of the food vendors did not have napkins, forks or spoons. I asked. WTF! I had to use my fingers to pick up the meat that was spilling out of my steak tacos. One of my pet peeves is touching food with my fingers. It is not something I like doing. Please have less vendors selling their "stuff" and cheap souvenirs. I believe this Festival has potential and it CAN be successful if they make some improvements and changes. Of course, I hope someone in charge of this Festival reads this review and takes this as constructive criticism for improving the Festival. Maybe they need to drop "Tamale" from the festival name, because there weren't many vendors selling tamales. Maybe they should consider changing the name to "Tacos, Tortas and Burritos" instead.

I was impressed by the Chicago Cocktail Social. The range, creativity, and quality of the drinks…read morewas fantastic. The food was delicious. There were lines, but that was to be expected. The location was perfectly suited for the event.