The Chicago Traveler

Football season has begun, and all eyes here in the Windy City are on the Chicago Bears. But there’s another football team in town you should be on the lookout for.
If you catch a football game at North Park University’s Holmgren Athletic Complex, you’d never guess that there was anything abnormal about it. But underneath all those helmets and shoulder pads are tough, athletic women. The Chicago Force is Illinois’ Independent Women’s Football team, and in their six-year history, they have put together a 45-14 record.
The team consists of over 50 women, ranging in ages from 18 to mid-40s and …read more

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• Fall is coming, and with it arrives the Berghoff Oktoberfest, an outdoor celebration of food, drinks, and live music. (Sept 17-19)
• Filthy Pervert Seeks Same is a risqué comedy (directed by Michael Hampton) that explores how gay men find love—or lust—using today’s technology. (Fridays and Saturdays, Sept 19 – Oct 18)
• No, you’re not seeing things. The RedBall Project is a traveling art exhibit of a 15-foot (4.6 m) inflatable, shape-shifting sphere, stopping on bridges, in alleys, and at other specified locations. (ends Sept 25)
• The fourth annual Lincoln Park Fall Festival features live rock music and beer and …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 allowed each contestant to taste three beers from several different brands before choosing one of them. The chefs then had had to create a dish that paired well with their selected beers.
If you’re looking for a spot where you can check out some great brews, stop by one of the following:

Crabbby Kim’s
Fizz Bar & Grill
Hideout
Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap
Kitsch’n on Roscoe
Mitsuwa Marketplace
Moody’s Pub
Paramount Room
Red …read more

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Yesterday, the NFL announced is regular-season schedule for 2008. The Chicago Bears will start Sunday, September 7, in Indianapolis.

Sun, Sept 7
@ Indianapolis Colts
7:15 p.m.*

Sun, Sept 14
@ Carolina Panthers
12 noon

Sun, Sept 21
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12 noon

Sun, Sept 28
Philadelphia Eagles
7:15 p.m.

Sun, Oct 5
@ Detroit Lions
12 noon

Sun, Oct 12
@ Atlanta Falcons
12 noon

Sun, Oct 19
Minnesota Vikings
12 noon

Sun, Nov 2
Detroit Lions
12 noon

Sun, Nov 9
Tennessee Titans
12 noon

Sun, Nov 16
@ Green Bay Packers
12 noon

Sun, Nov 23
@ St Louis Rams
12 noon

Sun, Nov 30
@ Minnesota Vikings
7:15 p.m.

Sun, Dec 7
Jacksonville Jaguars
12 noon

Thurs, Dec 11
New Orleans Saints
7:15 p.m.

Mon, Dec 22
Green Bay Packers
7:30 p.m.

Sun, Dec 28
@ Houston Texans
12 noon

* All times are Central …read more

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• The Young Women’s Leadership Council will be hosting its 2nd Annual Fall Fundraiser featuring a performance by Spitfire Comedy, a raffle, and a silent auction at the Mad River Bar & Grille. Selective complimentary drinks and food are included. (Nov 15)
• Jimmy Eat World performs live at the Riviera Theatre, while Ralph Stanley (the best banjo picker in bluegrass) shows off his skills at Fitzgerald’s. (Nov 15)
• This is the last weekend to catch “Runaways” in Humboldt Park. Local playwright Elizabeth Swados’ gritty musical drama takes place on Lower Wacker Drive, featuring hip-hop, rock, R&B, reggae, and mambo …read more

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The leaves have been falling along with the temperatures here, and that means one thing to many Chicagoans: football. Soldier Field on Lake Shore Drive is home to “Da Bears” and has a bit of an odd look to it… and a just as equally odd history to go with it.

Completed in 1924, Municipal Grant Park Stadium was built as a public, multipurpose sports venue and was modeled after the Parthenon, matching the adjacent Field Museum’s Greco-Roman design. One year later, the name was changed to honor American military personnel that fought in World War I.
Soldier Field was the site …read more

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The folks here at b5media’s Travel and Culture Channel are making sure Autumn doesn’t fall by the wayside with this month’s Theme Day. This season brings out some of the most beautiful colors that nature has to offer, and there is no better place to witness them than at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The 385-acre Garden contains 2.2 million plants in its 23 major gardens and natural areas. There’s plenty of room to explore, so grab yourself a free map at the Visitor’s Center, or take one of the educational tours offered by foot and by tram. The sights and …read more

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The sports memorabilia market has been transformed by the Internet, i.e. online auctions. The Mastro Auctions warehouse stores athletic treasures before they are sold to collectors around the world. It is the paradise for sports-collectibles junkies, with incredible finds like authentic old-school seats from different stadiums, 30-year-old sports-themed arcade games, and even a turnstile from the entry gates of Wrigley Field.
Started in 1996 by Bill Mastro, a former sports auction consultant for Sotheby’s, Mastro Auctions (based in Burr Ridge) sells almost $50 million worth of sports and Americana memorabilia through six online auctions each year. Many items sell for thousands, …read more

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