I learnt about the Winnetka Community House when we went to the North Shore Art League for the…read morefirst time to attend the opening reception of their new exhibit -- "Summer Open".  The art league is located on the second floor of the Winnetka Community House.  The Community House was completed in 1911, and it has been expanded several times since.  That's why it was interesting for us to enter a historic building that's over 100 years old, but discovered a modern extension where the art gallery is after climbing a flight of old-fashioned stairs. Apparently, the center hosts many performing arts programs that include dance, theater, music and more.  When we were viewing artwork of the exhibit, a friendly elderly actor of the center greeted us while taking a break on a comfy couch.  We could hear music rehearsal in the theatre when we passed by. They also have education programs, youth sports programs, a full-service fitness center, classes and lectures -- all kinds of activities that help enrich lives of residents of not just Winnetka, but of the broader North Shore. When I read their Yelp reviews, I learnt that the center is even a popular weddings and events venue!  It is truly a versatile community house! As a privately supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Community House is not funded through tax dollars.  It's good to know that donations are 100% tax deductible.

We're so grateful to have found Community House Winnetka! Of all the venues in the Chicago area,…read morethis venue felt like "us" - plus the venue was so affordable compared to the Chicago market. Sahra, the venue coordinator, was such a great communicator which was such a relief because we were planning this wedding from out of state. She was so responsive to our questions and kept everything running smoothly with our vendors on our wedding day. While this venue is a community center, our wedding felt completely private. Any locals in the community who happened across us while taking photos in the early afternoon were so kind and respectful, and our wedding ceremony and reception was completely private. The fact that this venue also has an indoor space to be used as a back-up plan in case of weather also gave us peace of mind. The venue has so many cute areas for photos, and the courtyard was absolutely stunning. So grateful to have found this place!

My first time here. I ordered a Reuben sandwich. I expect a little fat when you order corned beef,…read morebut this was over the top; there was way too much. The lady in charge asked if something was wrong. I said, " Yes, there's way too much fat, more than an acceptable amount." The lady took the sandwich back to the kitchen to let the chef know. She said it would be a good idea to order something different, so I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, which was good. I will definitely be back. It's too bad they're not open on Saturday, which would be a good day for me to have lunch with a friend who can't do lunch during the week.

I find it odd that a nun who took a vow of poverty gave herself $105,844 in 2022, when the poverty…read moreline in 2022 for a single person in Illinois was $13,590 , bought a new car every year and personalized plates. Now we have a priest who makes a six figure salary. I know not all priests take a vow of poverty but as someone else in a review said make sure to take things into consideration when donating. This place has $104 million dollar operating budget yet takes in $23 million dollars more than that. Many smaller underfunded places to give. There are also Reported conflict of interest transactions. This has been going on for many years. This place doesn't take on the most needy. It takes on the least needy actually. The families who can afford to take care of their own family get accepted first and foremost. Then these families drop their family members off for someone else to deal with while they write checks. Misericordia enables this from wealthy families. The families that don't have money and are accepted are required to volunteer for them and take their family member home once a month and keep their mouths shut if they have any issues. If they don't they risk their child being kicked out. Residents have went blind , been paralyzed, choked and died etc from staff neglect. You won't hear about that though as parents are terrified of their children having no where to go . Another thing mentioned in the reviews was their resale shop. Resale shop consists of donations that are meant for the residents yet instead sold! So yeah consider this when thinking of donating. You aren't helping the neediest. You are helping the rich not have to deal with their family members. You are helping another white person make a six figured salary. I could go on and on. The few wards of the state here are token residents who are left behind on field trips because there's no body who cares or checks on how they are treated.

Beautiful venue with friendly staff! Parking here is super easy and I enjoyed reading up on the…read moreexciting programs that the offer. Their educational programs are ideal for adults of all ages.

Although I'm not yet a senior, I find myself frequently taking advantage of many of Patty Turner…read moreSenior Center's amenities. I live in the neighboring condominium community, and Patty Turner frequently hosts our monthly board meetings. As well, many local city meetings will convene here when the Deerfield Library is overbooked. On occasion, several city and county sponsored day trips will board here. The Patty Turner building also houses the toilet and drinking fountain facilities for Brickyards Park during the spring and summer seasons, where many festivities are hosted (particularly the 4th of July). The Patty Turner Center features plenty of parking, including more than average handicapped parking spots right near the building. The inside of the building is spacious, with many places to sit and offering many amenities to area seniors. Their meeting rooms are also very spacious, offering lots of comfortable seating, and are lovingly decorated. The indoor facilities are all ADA-compliant handicap accessible, and well-maintained. Every area is well lit; most featuring room-wide windows and skylights for natural lighting in the daytime. It's quite apparent Deerfield cares very much for its seniors, based on how much care the Deerfield Park District puts into the Patty Turner Center. I think it's one of the top community features of the whole town.

I wasn't aware this place existed, as it's a bit out of my usual distance for going to events. But…read moreI saw an instagram ad for Michael Cavanaugh and couldn't pass up the opportunity to see him (Movin' Out is one of my favorite Broadway shows). The location is very convenient to the Metra, and there's free parking in the lot for the building, which is always appreciated. The venue itself is nice -- intimate and a community-based feeling (there was a community band of some sort rehearsing in a room outside the theater when I left, which is charming). The theater itself isn't elaborate, but it's a nice space. It's great for this type of event. The show itself was great -- he's a fantastic performer, and I loved the set list and how interactive he tried to be with the audience (more on that later). I also loved that I was able to get a discounted seat because I bought a single seat in between seats that had already sold, so it was half price. (I don't know if they always do this, or if it was just because there were still quite a few seats left at the time I bought my ticket 2 weeks beforehand. Regardless, my frugal self appreciated it. I wish more places did that.). There were a few times during the show that the house lights randomly came on during a song, and it didn't seem like it was intentional. Maybe it was the light board operator hitting the wrong thing, or maybe a house manager bumped a switch. It was a little odd though and it happened a few times, which kind of took me out of the performance and made me think something was going on. But oh man, the crowd itself was an interesting experience from a people-watching perspective. It must be a Lake Forest thing? 96% of the audience seemed to think they were in the waiting room of a dentist office waiting for a root canal, and about 1% of the audience thought they were at Coachella (including the three 55-65 year old women next to me, who I'm pretty sure were drinking vodka out of a water bottle because they were getting progressively more wasted during the show despite only drinking from a clear water bottle lol. No judgement. We've all been there...I just haven't been there since I was 21 and trying to sneak my own alcohol into a street festival because I was cheap and not going to pay for overpriced drinks. But hey, you do you. YOLO!). The other 3% were like myself and wanted to get into it, but because everyone else seemed like they were afraid to move, we were holding back (because we didn't want to be "those people", like the ladies next to me...although honestly they seemed like they had a GREAT time, by the way they were grooving and had their hands up in the air even though not another soul in the theater did lol. I can only hope I'm that carefree when I grow up. I'm certainly not at this stage in my life). I almost feel bad for Michael, because I assume he wanted the audience to be a bit more into it than they were. He asked people to clap along a few times and he would start it and then as soon as he put his hands back on the piano to play, people stopped clapping (then he would start clapping again to try to get people going, and they would until he went back to playing. My dudes....he wanted you to clap along to the beat during the song. That's literally how that song works). I tried to keep it going but it was awkward (and bless the people next to me...they tried to clap but the alcohol was definitely impacting their ability to find and stay on the beat. I was fighting a losing battle trying to guide them haha). Also, the crowd here could stand to learn a few things about technology to avoid annoying everyone around them. Obviously people are going to take videos and photos, which is fine. I did too. But it seems like no one knew to turn down their screen brightness in a dark theater so you don't blind the people around you. It was super distracting and headache-inducing to see super bright phone screens out of the corner of my eye every few minutes (maybe it was just the section where I was seated). It would be nice if the ushers or house manager could've said something to folks or reminded people at the beginning not to let their phones be distractions. I was a house manager out in the western suburbs for a similarly sized theater while I was in grad school, and I worked at a theater that held concerts like this in high school, so I've worked at (and attended) hundreds of concerts just like this. This was definitely the strangest experience of an audience I've ever encountered. Apparently this is par for the course, though, because I made an IG story post describing my people observations during intermission and my friend asked me if I was at Gorton Center...I asked her how she knew and she said it was because of the audience description I gave lol. I'd go back and I'm glad I went. I'd just need to prepare myself so I'm not so jarred by the bizarre audience vibes.

Great community center! I had an office here for about 10 years and ran a non profit and watched…read morethe center grow from well appointed but not fully utilized community center into a bustling hub of classes, shows, private events, parties for the town. Rents are reasonable for private events. Shows are very reasonably priced. Classes are well attended.

Ravinia is an essential Chicago area experience. And when things go well, they're great. But in you…read morehave to have a plan to make it work. It's a festival in two parts; the newly renovated Pavilion and the Lawn. The Pavilion is more expensive but every seat has a view of the stage. There is a limit to what you can enjoy in the seats, whereas the lawn is bring your own (mostly) everything (legal). You can pregame on the lawn and then enjoy the pavilion if you get Pavilion tickets. You won't be allowed into the pavilion until 30-60 minutes before the show starts. The shows generally start on time. The lawn is where the party is at. It's broken in sections, some is reserved for group tickets. The rest is generally first come first served. You can bring blankets, chairs, food and drink. You can buy libations and snacks from the shop but they can be spendy. Folks get very creative with their BYO. You may or may not be able to see anything on the lawn but the sound is pretty good since they renovated. Rental chairs are available but can sell out, best to reserve in advance. There are a couple restaurants onsite. Best to make a reservation if possible. There may be bar seats available depending on the show and timing. Getting there can be what makes or breaks your experience. Best practice is to get there as early as possible to ensure you get parking or an early train. If you miss out on parking, there are overflow lots but they also sell out. The shuttles get full and you can end up waiting long times. The Metra can be convenient but at the end of the night it leaves almost an hour after the show ends. We've seen quite a few amazing shows in this unique under the stars boutique experience, including: Buddy Guy Johnny Lang Rob Thomas Violent Femmes with the Chicago Philharmonic KT Tunstell Roger Daltrey Dolly Parton John Fogerty Ricky Martin Paul Simon Can't wait to see what next season brings'

I've been going to Ravinia for many years. It's a beautiful place but you gotta know the ins and…read moreouts... And (I think) I finally have it all down to a science. Basically though one of the main things you have to decide if you want to actually see the act or not. If it's classical, a picnic on the lawn maybe fine. Sound is great anywhere in the park except maybe the farthest corners. There is a usually big lawn screen for pop/rock acts, but the lawn is very crowded over there. If you want to actually see the act, you really must buy pavillion seats. Ravinia made it extra difficult after the 2026 remodel to get a glimpse of the acts while standing outside the pavillion. Otherwise I would have recommended that in the past as an option. For most acts we get to the park early, picnic on the lawn, and then move to our pavillion seats before the show starts. The picnic is fun and relaxing, and it is obviously so much less expensive than the food served in the park. Otherwise in a nutshell - Ticket prices: Fair, compared to other venues. And no gawdawful TicketMaster fees. Ticket ordering: A disaster. All tickets for the season go on sale the same day. Lawn: Nice but overcrowded. Can't see the act (except if near the big lawn screen). Very good sound. Pavilion: Very nice. 2026: New padded (wider?) seats. Excellent sound and views. Parking: A disaster, get there very early. I don't know about the train, it's not an option for me. Food and drink: Not very good and overpriced. Bring your own, it's a great perk about Ravinia actually.

Both of my kids do the Little Tones class and they love it. They've learned a lot in just a few…read moreclasses. Highly recommend!

This is my go to coffee shop in the area, especially when I have a hankering for a non-chain cup of…read morejoe! My latest pick-me-up has been that oatmeal cookie latte. The secret (or part of it) is the oat milk! So comforting and so delicious! Mondays are double punch card day! Instead of one punch per drink, you get two! Also, February is North Shore restaurant month, so RH is giving 15% off purchases! Tag's Bakery (Evanston) makes the goodies (donuts, cookies, scones) sold here. Me thinks I'll have to pop in tomorrow! Easy street parking outside.

Best VFW in the area. This place continues to grow and serve their community. We always feel…read morewelcome and have a blast at their events.

Quiet neighborhood VFW. Handicap street parking in front. But bar is not handicap accessible. It…read morehas three steps to go up. Seating at the bar at least 12+. Bathrooms adaquate. A pool room is separate from bar. Two flat screen TV's. Modern wall digital jukebox. Padded barstools with backs. Drinks quite reasonable. Variety of beer and spirits is average. There is a hall that you can rent. The hall is handicap accessible. But bathrooms are not due to three stairs into the bar. Hall holds a least 75 people and also has a bar inside the hall for parties. A place to hang up coats. Soft padded chairs. Outdoor patio/backyard area with a bbq grill. Veterans and patrons are friendly and inviting.

I never really spent time here until a few weeks ago, even though we go hiking at Ryerson Woods…read morepretty regularly. It's a cute building with rotating exhibits and they also have scheduled and open crafting hours. My sister and I participated in a wreath making create and sip last night which was so fun and extremely reasonable at $20/per person when they supply the materials. Since their supplies are donated, it was really interesting to see all the different styles of wreaths that were made. We would definitely come back for another craft and sip.

I never knew this place existed until my neighbor told me about Ryerson Woods a few weeks ago and…read moresuggested I go because it was peak autumn. She told me there is a gallery, too. I made it up just in time before they closed for the day. It's a cute building and they have various collaborations. The first time I went their featured art was from the Highland Park Art Center. This past weekend I went back for their Soundscapes exhibit, which is a partnership with various non-profits and focused on art made by veterans and their families. I went to the opening reception, which was free, and included performances/spotlights on the participating partner organizations and some of the artists featured. It was a moving event (especially being Veteran's Day weekend) and a powerful exhibit. This is a great space and I loved learning more about how they support the local community and partner with other non-profits to bring art to the space and make art accessible. Highly recommend. Also, the surrounding area is stunning, so being able to see art and enjoy nature is a double dose of joy.