The Chicago Traveler

• The annual German festival Mayfest is stuffed with plenty of brats, beer, and bands. The official opening ceremony on Friday features a traditional keg tapping and May Queen crowning. Prost! (May 29-June 1)
• The 24th Annual Chicago Gospel Music Festival is three days of more than 50 performances on three stages in Millennium Park. (May 30-June 1)
• Foodies can sample dishes from more than 50 chefs from local restaurants at the 16th Annual Great Chefs Tasting Party at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, hosted by the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Chicago. Participating restaurants include David Burke’s …read more

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The Illinois Bureau of Tourism asked the state’s residents and visitors to nominate their favorite destinations in Illinois. In May of 2007, seven of these were selected as the Seven Wonders of Illinois.

• Chicago: Wrigley Field. The atmosphere, neighborhood, and fans put this stadium in a league of its own. It’s not just a ballpark; it’s an experience.
• Chicagoland: The Baha’I House of Worship. This unforgettable sight is beautiful both inside and out. Its intricate construction took nearly 30 years to complete.
• Northern: Starved Rock State Park. Visitors can witness firsthand the results of Mother Nature’s power: 18 canyons framed …read more

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This season of the Bravo network’s Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This week’s Quickfire challenge required each of the chefs to create a dish using no more than five ingredients (excluding salt, pepper, sugar, and oil), either from the Top Chef pantry or purchased at Chicago’s Green City Market.
The Green City Market is a farmers’ market held outdoors from May through October on Saturdays and Wednesdays. It’s great for top chefs along with amateur dabblers, featuring a multitude of products …read more

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Despite what many Chicagoans would like to believe, there is more to Illinois than just the Windy City. Rend Lake is one of Southern Illinois’ foremost vacation spots, offering an incredible array of outdoor activities. Visitors can enjoy golfing, hunting, fishing, boating, waterskiing, horseback riding, hiking, biking, swimming or just relaxing on the beach.
Rend Lake is actually an artificial lake, a reservoir created by the Illinois Department of Conservation, the Rend Lake Conservancy District, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Construction began in 1965, but the lake was not completed and filled until March 1973. It contains 18,900 acres …read more

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With about two million visits annually, the John G. Shedd Aquarium is one of the most popular cultural attractions in Chicago, second only to the Field Museum of Natural History. This massive indoor aquarium holds 5 million gallons (19 million liters) of water and is the home of 2100 species of fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects.
The Caribbean coral reef is a must-see, a massive 90,000-gallon (340,000+ liters) exhibit featuring sharks, angelfish, parrotfish, rays, barracuda, tarpon, eels, whitedowns, and a green sea turtle. TV projectors provide detailed information on each of the sea creatures. If you have a …read more

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I was born and raised an urbanite, but even I can appreciate the magnificence that nature has to offer. When city dwellers want to get away from the lights and the noise, many of them head to Starved Rock State Park in Utica, approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Chicago. The park has 13 miles (21 km) of hiking trails and 18 sandstone canyons and is located along the south side of the Illinois River.
Camping, boating, fishing, picnicking, and horseback riding are all popular activities at Starved Rock, and rental gear is available. Due to the fragile nature …read more

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Founded in 1868, Lincoln Park Zoo is among the oldest zoos in the country, providing entertainment and education for free to visitors of all ages. The winding paths in this 35-acre attraction lead to a multitude of indoor and outdoor exhibits, all located just off Lake Michigan. Open year-round, the zoo is also dotted with numerous shops and restaurants, so there’s always somewhere heated or air-conditioned to step into.
Now, aside from the penguins, vultures, giraffes, polar bears, monkeys, lions, seals, bears, snakes, swans, flamingos, antelope, eagles, rhinos, brown bears, tigers, otters, bats, ducks, geese, zebras, owls, ostriches, wolves, tamarins, takin… …read more

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