The Chicago Traveler

• The African Festival of the Arts is Chicago’s largest neighborhood festival, featuring three music stages, ethnic cuisine, and more than 300 vendors selling everything from fine art to skin care products. Presentations include book discussions and dance workshops. (Aug 29 – Sept 1)
• The 30th annual Chicago Jazz Festival is the city’s longest-running lakefront music festival and features local, national, and international performers on several stages. (Aug 28-31)
• Get your fill of pierogi, Polish sausage, and sauerkraut at the Taste of Polonia, where you can listen to live bands play everything from rock to polka. (Aug 29 – Sept …read more

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• The 11th annual Taste of Randolph Street stretches from Peoria Street to Racine Avenue and features food from local restaurants, a wine garden, chef demos, and art vendors. (June 20-22)
• At the Daley Plaza, the Thai Festival Chicago 2008 presents dance performances, Thai boxing demonstrations, food, fashion, and more. (June 19-20)
• Watch the Chicago White Sox take on the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in the Crosstown Classic. (June 27-29)
• Beverly Arts Center dance instructor Chris Nasadowski hosts Bringin’ It from the Streets III, a showcase of amateur and professional tap, hip-hop, and modern dance troupes. (June 20)
• Tracy …read more

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On Wednesday night, the Chicago Cubs became the second major-league team with 10,000 victories. And their opponents, the Colorado Rockies, certainly didn’t make it easy for them.
It took the Cubs ten innings to defeat the Rockies, coming back in the ninth on a two-run homer and then a two-out RBI single from Ryan Theriot. The exciting game was the Cubs’ sixth straight victory this season and was the franchise’s 10,000th win. Only the New York Giants have more with 10,192 (as of Wednesday).
Of course, most of this year’s team had no idea about the milestone, nor did they seem very …read more

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Many kids have faked an illness in order to stay home from school. That, however, would never work for me. My parents’ theory seemed to be: “Can you walk? Can you breathe? Then you’re going to school.” One famous fictional teenager gets away with it and decides that he’s not going to waste his day off school by staying home; he’s going to have an all-out adventure in downtown Chicago. Of course, I’m talking about Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 1986

Directed by:
John Hughes

Produced by:
John Hughes
Tom Jacobson

Starring:
Matthew Broderick
Alan Ruck
Mia Sara
Jeffrey Jones
Jennifer Grey

Distributed by:
Paramount Pictures

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This 1986 comedy follows …read more

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As I reported on Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs honored Ernie Banks with his very own bronze statue in front of Wrigley Field. It included an inscription of his catchphrase:

See the problem?
At least half the people I asked leaned toward the inscription, mouthed it—Lets play two, lets play two, lets play two—then shook their heads, no. (ChicagoSports.com)
*sigh* C’mon people! Maybe I’m biased because I earned my B.A. in English, but it can’t be that difficult, can it? We all learned this in fifth grade. When you drop a letter between words, you use an apostrophe. Let us play two. Let’s play …read more

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Even Ernie Banks himself couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Is that me?” he asked. The Chicago Cubs unveiled a bronze statue of the Hall of Famer outside Wrigley Field yesterday. The likeness stands at bat with a Louisville Slugger in his hands and a grin on his face. That grin was exactly the same as the one on the real Banks’ face, a grin that has won the hearts of Chicagoans for decades. It’s a symbol of his ever-cheerful demeanor, and it’s what earned him nicknames like “Mr. Cub” and “Mr. Sunshine.” He was also well-known for his catch phrase, “It’s a …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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Yesterday was Opening Day for Major League Baseball, so it is only appropriate to dedicate a post to Chicago’s one and only Wrigley Field. It is one of Chicago’s most recognized landmarks and is one of the few remaining ballparks without a dome, with real grass, and without a large-screen television. And while a few of the seats are less than ideal (the infamous “nosebleeds” and seats behind structural supports), the majority of fans have a great view of their “loveable losers.”
With nearly 100 years of history, where do I even begin? Wrigley Field was originally built in 1914 as …read more

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Today marks the tenth anniversary of the death of Chicago legend Harry Caray. He was the iconic radio and television announcer for the Chicago Cubs.

Holy Cow!
Harry Caray trained himself to use this expression to avoid any chance of using profanity on the air.

Harry Caray, born Harry Carabina, began his baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1945. His personality and charm not only earned him plenty of radio fans, but he also became quite influential amongst the team personnel itself. In 1969 however, he was unexpectedly fired. Of course, there are several suspected theories as to why, everything from …read more

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Directed by David S. Ward, Major League is one of many baseball films that came out in the late 1980s. And while it may not have the same clout in film society as standards like Bull Durham or Field of Dreams, it has won its way into many viewers’ hearts and is considered a classic by many.

Major League (1989)

Directed by:
David S. Ward

Produced by:
Mark Rosenberg
Chris Chesser
Irby Smith

Starring:
Tom Berenger
Charlie Sheen
Corbin Bernsen
Rene Russo
Wesley Snipes
Chelcie Ross
Dennis Haysbert
Bob Uecker

Distributed by:
Paramount Pictures

All Movie Guide
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The film opens with a montage featuring the 40-year-long losing streak of the Cleveland Indians. Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton), a former Las Vegas …read more

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