The Chicago Traveler

It has been a long, memorable couple of weeks, and the Olympic Games will soon be coming to a close. However, Chicagoans will remain Olympic-minded for at least another year. That’s because Chicago is one of the four finalists bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee will make its final decision on a host city on October 2, 2009 in Denmark.
The Chicago 2016 Committee has created a new commercial, highlighting all that is great about the Windy City. It is narrated by Chicago native William Peterson. I have to admit, while parts of it are a …read more

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To the incredible joy of many Windy City residents and athletes, Chicago is now one of the four finalists bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. On Wednesday in Athens, the International Olympic Committee announced their picks of “capable” cities: Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro. (Doha in Qatar, Baku in Azerbaijan, and Prague of the Czech Republic were eliminated from the list.) The IOC will make its final decision on a host city on October 2, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Local organizers are planning a pep rally at Daley Plaza at 11:30 a.m. on Friday to thank the city …read more

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Looptopia, the annual dusk-till-dawn artistic and cultural celebration, lights up the downtown area again this Friday, May 2. This all-night festivity features 300 artists in 100 venues for 14 hours. More than 100,000 people attended last year. Locals, tourists, students, families, artists, musicians—Looptopia invites and entertains them all.
Just to give you an idea, here’s what you can expect to find:

Over 50 groups and soloists offering everything from jazz to electronica to pop to classical.
20 performers show off their moves in ballet, bellydancing, tap, salsa, fire dancing, and more.
Acrobats, circus performers, shadow puppets, experimental artists, and a preview of the 2016 …read more

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Chicagoans have a love-hate relationship with Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island. Many of us love what it has to offer, but we hate how it came to be and how it has to exist.
Northerly Island, a manmade peninsula that extends into Lake Michigan, was the home of former Meigs Field, a single-strip airport. Numerous VIPs, including celebrities and political figures, used this airport to easily maintain security without inconveniencing Chicago traffic.
However, in 2003, Mayor Richard M. Daley ordered private crews to destroy the runway in the middle of the night, bulldozing huge X-shaped gashes into the runway surface, rendering …read more

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Unlike the stereotypical guy, I don’t actively follow any sports, and there are very few that I’ll actually sit and watch. One of those few is boxing. And for the next couple of weeks, hundreds of the world’s best amateur boxers will be right here in Chicago for the largest-ever world boxing championships.
The AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur) World Boxing Championships, taking place today through November 3, qualifies top finishers for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Over 600 fighters from 120 countries will be competing in the two rings at UIC Pavilion on the University of Illinois-Chicago campus. …read more

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