Community Blog

With Labor Day weekend ahead, it’s only right that we make plans to celebrate, right? For some, it’ll be hard to say goodbye to summer, but think about it– you’ll be able to celebrate a new season full of fall festivals and events.  And while these events may not involve as many cookouts and pool parties as before, you’ll be able to enjoy the cool breeze and autumn colors of the year!

Here’s a few events that you should check out this weekend in Chicago:

Fireworks over Navy Pier – Saturday and Sunday

• Celebrate Labor Day by watching the Chicago sky light up with near the pier.

Made in Chicago – Jazz Prelude at Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion – Thursday

• Start your weekend off early by hanging out at Pritzker Pavilion this evening (around 6:30 p.m.) for the  Chicago Jazz Fest.

Chicago White Sox vs. the Boston Red Sox at Home – Friday through Tuesday

• Get ready for a four-day series between the White Sox and the Red Sox at the U.S. Cellular.  It’ll be one of the best Labor Day match-ups ever!

• Friday at 7:11 p.m.
• Saturday at 3:05 p.m.
• Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
• Monday at 1:05 p.m.

North Coast Music Festival

• If you love hip hop, rock and electronic music, then the North Coast Music Festival is the place to be! The fun is from Sept. 3 – Sept. 5 in Union Park (1501 W Randolph Street Chicago IL, 60607)

Since Evanston is only 30 minutes from Chicago, Park at Evanston residents will have a lot of places to go this weekend!

(photo courtesy of  Vironevaeh from Flickr)

(photo courtesy of Donnay from Flickr)

What are you doing this weekend? Visiting the Magnificent Mile perhaps? There’s so much to do down there!  It’s like a shopping, dining, and music scene all together!

From now until September 6, the Mile will keep you entertained with live performances !  It’s a beautiful place to find yourself around this time of the year. My favorite place to go is Howl at the Moon, which is a  piano bar on Hubbard Street.  You can expect to have a good time on any night!

So before the summer comes to an end, be sure to enjoy the available summer activities!!!

Need directions from The Park Evanston?  Mapquest it!

Image via Wikipedia

Which season do you know has as many songs about it than summer?  There are soooo many fun things to do during this time of year!  As we make room for the fall, let’s take some time and think about all of the things we’ve done this summer.  I upgraded my wardrobe and added summer colors into my decor at The Park Evanston. But besides the major things, I’ve enjoy doing things like:

• Making fresh lemonade.
• Music fests at Millennium Park.
• Taste of Chicago.
• Taking a swim at the pool.
• Barbecues!!!
• Summer holidays and festivals (Memorial Day, 4th of July, etc.)
• Beautiful flowers.

These are just a few.

Have you done everything you wanted to do this summer?  Did you change some things around?

There are other things that really make summertime a special time, like:

What will you miss about summer?

(photo courtesy of  Joel Bedford from Flickr)

Get ready for the ultimate opera performance.

The North Shore Opera Hour will present Carmen on August 22 at 7:30 p.m.  The production is based off the 1984 production, La Tragedie de Carmen, which won a Tony Award for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Theatre. It’s classified as a tragedy, so I’m sure the music will be emotionally beautiful.

The main characters in this play will be Carmen, Don Jose, Micaela and Escamillo.

For additional information, call the Skokie Theatre at 847.677.7761!

Enjoy!

(photo courtesy of  TurboFreddy from Flickr)

Related articles:

• Carmen | Opera review (guardian.co.uk)

Looking to get into something after work? How about browse through this list of events. I’m sure there’s something that will catch your eye:

Music:

• Del Castillo; tonight at 7:30p.m- 9:00 p.m.- Dawes Park Sheridan Rd. at Church St in Evanston, IL.  This event is FREE!

• The Musical Offering Presents: Chopin and Styzens; tonight 7pm @ Space- 1245 Chicago Ave, at Dempster St., Evanston, IL 847.492.8860.

Art:

• “Brush and Needle.” Today-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. @ Noyes Cultural Arts Center. 927 Noyes St, Evanston, IL 847.448.8260.

• “Kay Westhues: A Sense of Place.” Today until 7:00 p.m.  @ Noyes Cultural Arts Center. 927 Noyes St, Evanston, IL 847.448.8260.

Most of these events are FREE, too!  And we’re looking to save some money these days!

Enjoy!

Ready to dance the stress away?

Come get your boogie on downtown Evanston on the outdoor dance floor!  There will be a live band playing, along with a professional dance teacher.

And guess what??? It’s FREE!!! That’s right, I said it!

After I leave work, I will find myself at 909 Davis St. Plaza, at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Church Street ( at the Davis St. Metra stop).

Dance instruction is from 6:00-7:00 p.m.  The will play all evening until 8:30 p.m.  And they don’t just play to one tune… you’ll hear a little bit of R&B, Latin, Cajun, ballroom and more!

Don’t miss it!!!!!

(image courtesy of ThisIsIt2’s photostream from Flickr)

There are some things in your place that you dread cleaning.  Take the vacuum for instance; I absolutely HATE it when i have to dump it out!  All of the dust starts flying and I end up getting some of what was picked up back on the floor!

But then I found some cleaning tips on realsimple.com that have made me look cleaning the vacuum in a different light; apparently, there’s an easier way to do that, just like there are other ways to clean other things around the house with less of a hassle.

• Getting the dead bugs out of your light fixture: Turn off the light and climb up a ladder to reach your fixture destination.  Unscrew the fixture and dust your light bulb.  Climb back down and empty the bugs into the trashcan.  Run some warm water with soap in your kitchen sink and let the fixture soak for a few minutes. Rinse and wipe clean.  Replace the fixture when you’ve finished.
• Cleaning the ceiling fan blades: Turn the fan’s switch off.  Lay drop cloths on the floor to catch any dust that will fall.  Add water and a little bit of vinegar to a spray bottle.  Lightly spray the inside of a cloth shoe bag or an old pillowcase.  Standing on a tall step-ladder, place the pillowcase over the fan blades and wipe.  Repeat this with all blades.

There’s more where that came from!!!!  Visit realsimple.com for more easy cleaning tips!

(image courtesy of  Schnittke from Flickr)

Related articles by Zemanta

• New Apartment Natural Cleaning Tips (natural-products.suite101.com)

Can you think of anything better than good, free entertainment in our wonderful city of Evanston?

OK maybe you can–you know, world peace would be nice. But, for now, I think music on the lake at no cost sounds pretty sweet. The Starlight Concert Series has been going on all summer 2010, and the performance tomorrow should be quite exciting. The Megitza Quartet is all about stirring eastern European Folk and gypsy music. You can see them tomorrow at Dawes Park from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

If you’re undecided on whether you should go or not, watch them perform one of their songs:

When I heard about the Megitza Quartet, I started wondering about gypsy music and what this means. Here are a few things I learned from my research about gypsy music.

• Gypsies (Roma) were originally from North Central India.
• The designation “Gypsy” emerged in the 1400’s when these dark-skinned strangers were thought to come from Egypt.
• Their traditional skills are the following: horse trading, metal working, fortune telling, begging, and music.
• One of the most important and influential of all Roma musicians was Django Reinhardt.
• The music combines many styles.

What other ideas do you have for entertainment in Evanston this week?

Photo Credit: Haags Uitburo

Chicago is only about 30 minutes away from Evanston, Illinois, and it’s a great city for walking.

Don’t take my word for it. Consider this: Chicago was named one of the top 10 walkable cities in the U.S. by The Daily Green.

Most likely, you go to this city quite often, but do you ever take time to walk around?

Chicago’s Loop is the city’s official downtown area, and it’s a wonderful spot to interact with on foot. This area received a Walk Score of 98–nearly perfect. The streets are packed with public art, such as untitled work by Pablo Picasso at Daley Center Plaza.

You could also walk or run the 18-mile recreational path along the waterway.

Check out this architectural and historical walking tour of Chicago. This will be a conversational tour, and you’ll be able to ask questions.

Every now and then, it’s nice to get out of your apartment and try new things. How often do you go for a walk?

Photo Credit: Lance Shields

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