Take a snow day to get away from political campaigns and shrug off Super Bowl 50 hype.
Lake Geneva, WI annual hosts the US Snow Sculpting Competition the first week in February. Teams from across the country that already won their local championships are now competing for national recognition.
And it doesn’t matter what Mother Nature has in store. Snow blocks are made at the Grand Geneva Resort because it needs the machines for its ski slopes.
The blocks are dropped off in the park near the Riviera on Geneva Lake (no typo, the lake really is a reverse of the town name).
Teams start carving their snow blocks this week to be ready for the judging this Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. There are professional judges but visitors also get to vote for the “People’s Choice Award.”
You really have to see the snow sculptures to believe how incredible they look and the skill it takes to make them.
But snow sculpting isn’t all that is happening at this vacation town this weekend. The competition is part of Winterfest which includes helicopter rides, ice skating on a nearby lake, skiing and a slew of other activities at the Grand Geneva Resort plus open houses at several stores and galleries in town.
Parking is free for the week but there also is a shuttle bus from the nearby Home Depot.
Lake Geneva is a charming town about an hour’s drive northwest of Chicago just over the Wisconsin border. However, there is enough to see and do to it make it an overnight getaway. Check Visit Lake Geneva for accommodations and full list of activities.
The Broad is a don’t miss experience no matter what style or period of art peaks your interest
The Broad experience begins in an unusual lobby
What do you try to visit when you travel?
Certainly scenic views are high on my list as well as most travelers’. But next to nature’s wonders I seek out art museums. So luckily our California daughter picked up tickets for The Broad, a new museum downtown LA where visitors may wait in line for hours for a ticket if not reserved in advance.
And yes, it is worth the wait if need be. But if going to LA, reserve tickets ahead of time. Admission is free but the museum just opened in September 2015 so is still on everyone’s to-do list.
BTW, the building and art collection is a gift of Eli and Edythe Broad (pronounced Brode with a long o) to the public, thus the free admission. However, special exhibits and programs will have fees. Check programs.
Much of the free museum collection is on the first and second floor. The third floor will have special installations.
So why all the excitement? First, the building, itself, is an architectural attraction. Described as a “veil and vault” construction, it was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Gensler for about $140 million. Indeed, as visitors descend from the second floor they can peer through a window into the vault that holds more art works. The veil is the building’s honeycombed-style roof and sides.
Another $200 million has been put in trust by the Broads to cover maintenance, operating expenses and acquisitions. The “docents” there will tell you they really are paid staff with art backgrounds and not volunteers.
Peek through a window to see the vault
Secondly, the collection is an art history lesson of some of the best examples of works from the 1950s to now. Not all pieces in the 2,000 work collection are up at one time. To see some of the collection and its artists on line click here.
Among them are works by Henry Moore, Ed Ruscha, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Cy Twombly. Chicagoans who have recently seen the “New Contemporary” exhibit recently donated to the Art Institute of Chicago will recognize editions of some of the same and similar pieces.
If you go, stop in a darkened room to see “The Visitors,” a video installation by Ragnar Kjartansson that shows eight musicians in different places and on different screens but all playing the same music.
The other must-do stop is “Infinity.” To go in to it you have to sign in at a registration screen in the lobby because only one person is allowed entry at a time so entrance is a time slot.
A Roy Lichtenstein sculpture is set off by the honeycomb's reflected light
The Broad is a don’t miss experience no matter what style or period of art peaks your interest. For more information visit The Broad.
Museum gift shops are a treasure trove of unique, artistic items.
First, toss away the idea that museums visits are just for occasional drop-ins to see current exhibits. Their gift shops are a treasure trove of unique, artistic items.
Secondly, think two-for-one when shopping at a museum store. You are getting a special item and a portion of the price goes to the museum so you are helping a not-for profit place you enjoy visiting.
Third, you can go in person to spend some fun hours browsing or shop at the museum store online.
Here are three museums with fun and fascinating gifts for the holidays.
Find artistic gifts at the Art Institute of Chicago
It’s fun to walk through the main store in the original building to see cases of jewelry, shelves of ties, stationery, cards and books and displays of pottery and art glass. But don’t forget the shop in the Modern Wing for its home decorative items. Many of the items are online so you can go to art institute shop and call 1-855-301-9612. If you go in person be sure to stop downstairs to see how some of the Thorne Rooms are decorated for the holidays.
The museum is always worth a visit to see dinosaurs, American Indian artifacts and wander inside an Egyptian pyramid tomb. But for the holidays also go to lose yourself in The Field Museum’s huge shop where you roam among large stuffed animals, exotic art items, out-of-the-ordinary jewelry and clothing and fun t-shirts. Best plan is to visit in person but when time doesn’t allow go to fieldstore.
Go to see the museum’s Grand Tree in the Rotunda and the 50 smaller trees that for years are a holiday tradition because they are decorated by Chicago’s ethnic communities. While there go through the museum’s Mirror Maze and visit the robots currently moving around a special exhibit area. However, the museum store is also a good place to find a great gift for your budding scientist or an historic photo for someone’s wall from the photography store.
You can hike, bike, kayak and canoe. To say bird watch would be an understatement. Thousands of ducks and Canada geese land here each fall.
Pair of cranes photographed in Wisconsin
You can capture two fall happenings at one time by traveling over to Horicon Marsh in Eastern Wisconsin. Horicon is a 33,000 acre (right, count the zeros) of wildlife, freshwater plants and a fall bird migration stop just south of Fond du Lac and about 1.5 hours north of either Madison or Milwaukee. Its bordering trees make photos here picture perfect.
Divided by two government entities, the north two thirds is operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. The southern third is managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area.
You can hike, bike, kayak and canoe. To say bird watch would be an understatement. Thousands of ducks and Canada geese land here each fall.
The marsh is the largest redhead duck nesting place east of the Mississippi and sees the largest migrating flock of Canada geese. Mid-September is fine but to capture nearly 200,000 geese in your lens go in mid-October. As with TV that ads say, “wait, there is more,” you are likely to see some of the marsh’s 300 bird species including cranes and pelicans.
Among the largest freshwater marshes in the United States, Horicon is filled with muskrats, fish, frogs and red fox. Check events at the HoriconMarsh.org site for hikes.
There will be a guided hike and bird watch event Oct. 3 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Also a sunset crane watch is at the Palmatory Overlook, 1210 N. Palmatory St., Oct.17 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
A stay at the Honeybee B&B turns a Horicon visit into a vacation
A good intro to the marsh is the Emporium, a new interactive center that is fun for kids and adults.
Turn the trip into a vacation by staying nearby at the Honeybee Inn. The breakfasts are great, the rooms comfy and innkeepers/owners Barb and Fred Ruka are knowledgeable about the marsh and other area sights.
The Horicon National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is on the east side of Horicon Marsh, 3.5 miles south of State Highway 49 on County Road Z at W4279 Headquarters Road, Mayville, WI 53050, 920-387-2658. The Wildlife Center is at N7725 HIGHWAY 28, Horicon, WI 53032, 920-387-7890.
you have heard of the Great Chicago Fire and probably are aware that John Dillinger got his at a Chicago movie theater
Of course you have heard of the Great Chicago Fire and probably are aware that John Dillinger got his at a Chicago movie theater. So, if you have time when visiting Chicago to see some sites either laden with history or are city landmarks, then check out these remarkable places.
Biograph Theater is where John Dillinger caught FBI bullets
Lincoln Avenue has lots of good restaurants and shops but a good place to stop is the theater at 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Designed by Samuel N. Crowen in 1914 it was where FBI agents shot John Dillinger in 1934. Dillinger had been watching a gangster movie inside then was shotin the alley as he left the place. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a Chicago Landmark. The theater is now home to Victory Gardens Theater, a stage venue known for excellent productions. Although remodeled, the theater still has its grand staircase
At night you might spy the huge, gorgeous Buckingham Fountain by its aura of changing lights. During the day, find it by walking south from the Art Institute of Chicago along Michigan Avenue and see if you can spot a really high water spout. A designated Chicago Landmark, the fountain was dedicated in 1927 after Kate Buckingham had it built in memory of her brother, Clarence. Yes, it’s pretty fancy. It was inspired by the Palace of Versailles’ Latona Fountain. The waters put on a 20-minute show from about mid-April through mid-October.
Navy Pier has had many lives ranging from Military to college and entertainment
Sticking out 3,300 feet into Lake Michigan from Grand Avenue, Navy Pier really does have military roots. Its Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Children’s Museum and restaurants make it a fun place to visit, today. But its air of holiday fun also dates back 1916 when it was designed by Daniel Burnham as a multi-purpose pier. Over the years it has housed Navy operations, some Army personnel and the Red Cross. It also served as a campus for the University of Illinois Chicago. Ships still do dock there but instead of carrying military personnel or freight they are tourist excursion boats, and sometimes, the Tall Ships that sail the Great Lakes.
A conflagration that destroyed about 3.3 square miles, the Great Chicago Fire burned from Oct. 8 to Oct. 10, 1871. Mrs. O’Leary’s cow has been exonerated but the fire did first burn down the O’Leary’s shed. “Pillar of Fire,” a sculpture of a flame by Egon Weiner, was erected there in 1961. To see the spot go to West DeKoven and South Jefferson Streets. It is next to a City of Chicago Fire Academy.
A historic location where tourists are bound to walk without knowing its unhappy story is the northwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive at the Chicago River. Look for a
Look for Fort Dearborn plaques at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive
plaque that mentions Fort Dearborn. Built next to the river in 1803, it was destroyed during the War of 1812 and later rebuilt in 1816. But it was during its first existence that its residents were ambushed and killed by Potawatomi Indians when they left the fort.
Wait until Groundhog Day Feb. 2 to find out when Spring will come or try one of these four remedies.
Cabin fever? It’s early January but cold and snow have already moved Spring up high on the wish list.
We can wait with fingers crossed until Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, 2015, to hear what Punxsutawney Phil has to say in Pennsylvania or Woodstock Willie in Illinois when they predict Spring’s coming. Or we can bring spring closer with these steps.
Woodstock Willie predicted lots more winter last year
1. Go to the Chicago Travel and Adventure Show Jan. 17-18 to collect ideas and colorful brochures on places to go for spring or summer vacation. The show is in the west suburban Donald E, Stephens convention center in Rosemont. Turn it into a mini break by staying at the nearby Loews Hotel near the upscale Fashion Outlet mall.
Feast the eyes on colorful plants and breath warm air inside a greenhouse when outside temps dips way below freezing.
3. Host a Super Bowl party with a desert theme. NFL’s Super Bowl XLIX is February 1 in sunny Arizona at the U Of Phoenix stadium, Glendale. Turn up the heat, wear shorts, serve margaritas and be inspired by some of Phoenix’s Mexican restaurant menus.
4. Or just celebrate winter with a trip to Lake Geneva, WI for the National Snow Sculpting Championship the last weekend in January. Teams come from across the United State to sculpt amazing, fantastical forms and vignettes. The town will be celebrating Winterfest with lots of food and fun. Stay the weekend at the Grand Geneva Resort for its ski slopes and spa.
But before packing the car and heading out check the following five tips to make the trip fun, not frustrating.
Deep reds are already tipping the tops of some trees. Drops of crimson sprinkle others. Gold leaves are beginning to line parks and parkways. Enjoy the local scenery, however, to feed that inner urge for a vista of color look for state and national forests nearby and in neighboring states. But before packing the car and heading out check the following five tips to make the trip fun, not frustrating.
A state park in Door County glistens with gold
1.Don’t use your neighborhood color changes as the definitive guide. Colors in states or area of your state to the north and west may be in full fall color palette or just beginning to change south or east. In the Midwest visit these state information sites: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
2. Take advantage of local Visitors Bureaus to find accommodations. As an example, Door County in northeastern Wisconsin, and Traverse City in northern Michigan (below the Upper Peninsula) and Brown County (Bloomington and Nashville) in central Indiana keep tabs on what is available and know price points and type.
3. A GPS works some places but not all so stop at the area’s Information Center for maps, brochures and suggestions.
4. Because you are driving, not flying, throw those extra boots, hiking shoes, jackets, sun protector hats and sprays, water bottles, first-aid kits and backpacks into the car.
Bright reds dot a peninsula road near Traverse City
5. Don’t forget chargers for phones, ipads, cameras or whatever other electronics you take everywhere. Also check your accommodations before you leave, they already have enough chargers from previous visitors.
From crimson and copper to delicate pinks and sherbert oranges, colorful leaves surprise drivers around every corner in the upper Midwest. Just get in the car and go.
Here are some of the nuggets I picked up while interviewing the Antiques Roadshow’s directors, executives, experts and people who brought items to be valued.
Antiques Roadshow Chicago visitors wait near the appropriate table to see an appraisal expert.
I recently had the good fortune to cover the Antiques Roadshow when it taped in Chicago this summer. It was fun, interesting and surprising. Here are some of the nuggets I picked up while interviewing its directors, executives, experts and people who brought items to be valued.
1. If you live in Albuquerque, NM, Chicago, IL, New York, NY, Charleston, WV, Austin, TX, Birmingham, AL, Santa Clara, CA, Bismark, ND, the towns visited this spring and summer, you can check Antiques Roadshow about late September or early October to see when the segment closest to home will air in 2015.
2. To get more information about the 2014 summer tour click here. To see photos of some gems taped during the 2014 summer tour, go to behind the scenes.
3. If you want to attend an Antiques Roadshow appraisal event, check the first Monday in January when the show premiers its 19th season. Announcements are made on line and usually at the premier about where the show will tape that spring and summer. Look online for ticket application information. Tickets are given out by random drawing, not first come, but be sure to get yours in before the deadline, usually early April. Two tickets are given free of charge to the applicant drawn.
Surprises
A century-old German doll with all its original clothes was worth much more than its owner thought.
There’s more to an Antiques Roadshow event than the expected wow. Yes, some items are valued much higher than the people who brought them think. But other items are chosen for their education value as copies, tourist market objects or fakes. An art object brought to the Chicago taping could be worth $20,000 if authenticated but would be $2,000 as a decorative piece, if not.
Among the surprises in Chicago was that even though 3,000 people received two tickets each and could bring two items, meaning that the experts had 18,000 objects to consider, the appraisals and discussions were all done in one Saturday starting with 8 a.m. ticket holders and not ending until all 5 p.m. ticket holders were seen.
Another amazing tidbit is that the experts pay their own way to come to the cities being taped. They do get television exposure but they cannot hand their cards to the people they meet. Of the approximately 150 experts on the show’s roster, about 70 came to the Chicago taping.
Reaction to an appraisal value is often a surprise. During a Chicago taping that evaluated a century-old doll, its owner became emotional when learning she would have to add a zero to the couple hundred dollars she thought it would bring. She kept it in a closet but originally was going to sell it. After the appraisal she changed her mind.
Keeping an object after appraisal is not surprising according to Executive Producer Marsha Bemko who speaks to groups across the country. “ One of the interesting things is whether its business or another group, 20-year-olds, 60 or 80, they have a question in common: what happened to the objects after a person leaves the Roadshow. I tell them it’s about the relationship. It does not matter what the object is worth. They never sell the objects,” Bemko said. She added that a few exceptions did occur when the object was picked up cheap at a garage sale and had no family value.
Visitors were divided according to objects they brought by a generalist appraiser who gave them a ticket for the right table and area.
Interesting
No matter where the Antiques Roadshow visits and how the the town’s convention center is configured, the set where the appraisals and taping are done will be the same. Windows are shut off and backdrops are set up.
Each town’s one-day taping is divided into three episodes. Host Mark Walberg introduces three visits outside the convention center using a different expert at each place. The outside visits, typically to a museum, a person’s collection or a significant building, is to give a sense of place to the town visited, according to Bemko. “Otherwise, all you see is the convention center,” she said.
In Chicago, the outside the convention center visits were to the Art Institute of Chicago, the Lyric Opera and Crab Tree Farm in the northern suburbs.
For more Antiques Roadshow interesting insight visit the Roadshow Scene
Fun
Merely circulating among the experts, camera crew and folks carrying paintings, sculptures, vases and carefully wrapped treasures was fun. It was also delightful to talk with people who loved coming even though their objects were not worth much
To learn about some of the items that will appear on Chicago segments click Chicago
When downtown you now have another concierge desk ready to answer those “where are” and “how do you get there” questions.
Visiting Chicago can be overwhelming without a little concierge help. You know to toss questions at a hotel concierge but when downtown you now have another concierge desk ready to answer those “where are” and “how do you get there” questions.
A new Chicago Visitors Center recently opened at Macy's on State Street
Macy’s on State Street added a terrific Visitor Information Center in June in conjunction with Choose Chicago, the city’s main tourist information bureau.
The Macy’s center has a concierge desk, maps, brochures and interactive kiosks that have dining, attractions and shopping suggestions.
When you stop in the store, ask for directions to the fountain and its main escalators. Then go down to lower level near the candy and food area to find the Visitor Information Center.
The kiosks there will not merely light up with restaurant suggestions for several types of cuisines and tell you how to get to your restaurant of choice by bus, car or walking, it will also print out the directions so you don’t have to write them down. Same goes for attractions such as museums and shopping categories.
Restaurant choices and how to get there are on interactive kiosks
However, you can also check at the desk for savings passes and other information.
Macy’s has the International and Domestic Savings Program that gives a 10 percent discount on most store purchases to visitors from outside the store’s shopping region. Qualifying documentation such as a government issued ID is needed. The Savings Pass can be printed at interactive kiosks or from the concierge desk. BTW, remember on your travels to ask for a Macy’s savings pass when at the company’s other stores.
If you are merely in and out of the city for a quick visit, try to get tickets to a show downtown. At the least, you will see a grand, historic venue.
Chicago doesn’t promote that it is a great theater town with about 200 stage companies in its metropolitan area. But if you are merely in and out of the city for a quick visit, try to get tickets to a show downtown. At the least, you will see a grand, historic venue.
However, production companies know that Chicago audiences are sophisticated theater-goers with high expectations so you are likely to see an exceptional performance.
Don’t worry if you don’t have time to go to several shows. You can admire their venue’s architecture and, in some cases, over-the-top décor. Many Chicago’s stages are in glorious marble, gold, exotic “palaces.”
Theater venues is the fourth category in the downtown Chicago walks series that includes, art, architecture, restaurants and shopping. Some theaters conduct tours but even if a theater is closed, box offices are often open so at least you can peak into some lobbies.
If in the south end of the Loop for art or architecture definitely stop by the Auditorium Theatre at 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60605 adjacent to Michigan Avenue. Extending around the corner onto Michigan Avenue, the building has been home to Roosevelt University for more than half a century.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark, the building was designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan. When completed in 1889, it was the city’s tallest building. Notice its arches. They are Sullivan hallmarks.
Try to schedule a tour ahead of time. Built as an opera house, its auditorium is gorgeous. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, it has wonderful acoustics.
When walking in the central Loop area west of the Art Institute of Chicago, peer into the Bank of America Theatre in the Majestic Building.
Sitting just west of State Street at 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago, IL 60603, the building and its playhouse, the Majestic Theatre, date to 1906. A vaudeville playhouse, the theatre featured such entertainers as Harry Houdini, Al Jolson and Fanny Brice.
Closed during the Great Depression, it reopened in 1945 as the Sam Shubert Theatre. It was the place to go to see such post war musicals as “South Pacific” and “Guys and Dolls.” Later, it was the LaSalle Bank Theatre. Bank of America acquired the LaSalle and renamed the venue in 2008. The theatre is popular for pre-Broadway premieres from The Good-by Girl in 1993 to “Kinky Boots” in 2012 and hosts Broadway in Chicago productions.
To do a theater walk, start at the Cadillac Palace, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. 60601.
Inside, large mirrors, crystal chandeliers and violet and white marble will have you believing you have moved through space to the palaces of France.
Built during the extravagant mid-1920s, the Palace Theatre (later the Cadillac Palace) was an Orpheum Circuit vaudeville playhouse. During its many lives, the venue was a movie house, banquet hall, rock venue and playhouse called the Bismark Theatre.
Renovated in 1999, it became the Cadillac Palace, hosting pre-Broadway openings of “The Producers and “Mamma Mia” and also other hit shows.
Walk east on Randolph past the impressive glass James Thompson Center, then north a block to the internationally renowned Goodman Theatre at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60601.
When the Goodman Theatre moved from its Art Institute of Chicago space to Dearborn Street, it kept the historic facades of former landmark theatres but redid the inside as comfortable and casual.
Housed in a north wing of the Art Institute of Chicago built for the Goodman in the 1920s and opened in 1925, the theatre moved to its Dearborn location in 2000. It is on the former site and incorporates the former landmark facades of the Selwyn and Harris Theaters.
Totally unlike the ornate 1920s theater palaces, its main stage, the Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre, is a comfortable, casual space with side balconies somewhat old-world reminiscent of the Globe Theatre.
Artistic Director Robert Falls has staged and overseen several world premieres and notable productions. Among them is “The Iceman Cometh” starring Brian Dennehy. The Goodman’s annual presentation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” has become a Chicago area family tradition.
Return to Randolph Street, to walk east to the Oriental Theatre, 24 W Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601.
This is the site of the Iroquois Theater, whose deadly 1903 fire led to improved theater safety standards across the country. Designed by George and Cornelius Rapp and opened by Balaban and Katz as a movie palace in 1926, the theater’s Far East carvings, color and decor has visitors oohing and aahing before the show starts.
Closed due to disrepair in 1981, the theater underwent restoration and was renamed the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in 1997. It reopened in 1998 with the premiere of “Ragtime.”
The Oriental is just west of State Street so make the last stop the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St. Chicago, IL 60601.
Built in 1921 for $4 million, it is arguably the Balaban and Katz venue that made the statement: movie theater lobbies and auditoriums should look like palaces. The Rapps designed this theater in French Baroque style. Make a reservation for a tour to stand on the stage and go back stage.
Great entertainers have performed on Chicago’s downtown stages. World premieres and memorable performances have taken place there. So be sure to put Chicago theaters on the to-do list.
