This new space provides a safe and modern place for people and organizations to gather and share resources. Along with offices and meeting spaces, the community center also provides free wi-fi, a library, galleries, basketball and volleyball courts, a rooftop memorial garden, and a 170-seat theatre.

The Center on Halsted is more than just a physical building though; it provides programs and networks that meet the emotional and social needs of the GLBT community. Current services include:

Anti-Violence Project
Community Technology Center
Horizons Youth Program
IL AIDS/HIV & STD Hotline
Legal Services
LGBT Info Line
Mental Health
Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders
Sexual Orientation and Gender Institute

Finally, several organizations utilize the space on a regular basis, including The Association of Latino Men for Action, Amigas Latinas, GayCo Productions, the Windy City Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf, the Metropolitan Community Church, and more.

The long-anticipated Center on Halsted has successfully created a safe and beautiful space for people of all backgrounds to come together, learn, and develop relationships that inspire even more visions.

Photo credit: (c/o Flickr) Payton Chung, resedabear (1, 2, 3, 4)

Center on Halsted: 3656 N Halsted St; 773-472-6469
Daily: 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Public trans: Bus # 8, 152 or Red Line train (Addison)
http://www.centeronhalsted.org/

Post from: The Chicago Traveler

Nowadays, I don’t visit the CPL as often as I used to. (I still have that old, old library card though!) But thanks to modern technology, when I do need to borrow a book, I don’t have to search high and low among the aisles for an extensive period of time. In fact, I can search the library without ever leaving home.

The Library has released a new and improved catalog search bookmarklet that is fully integrated its online catalog. (A bookmarklet is a small computer application that can be stored among your “Bookmarks” or “Favorites” in your web browser.) If you’re interested in a book that is mentioned anywhere online, just highlight the title, author, or ISBN with your mouse and click on the bookmarklet (saved as “CPL Catalog Look-Up”). In just seconds, you can find out if your local library has a copy of that book.

Best of all, it’s free. In these economically-troublesome times, that’s music to our ears. Download the bookmarklet here.

Photo credit: (c/o SXC) sanja gjenero

Post from: The Chicago Traveler

• In honor of Jimmy Buffet’s concerts at Toyota Park (July 24, 26), Lizzy McNeill’s Irish Pub is holding a Luau on the Chicago River. This Hawaiian-themed barbecue will be held outside the bar and includes live music, games, beer samples, and a cruise raffle. Food and drink sales benefit the Special Olympics and Misericordia. (July 25-27)

• You can compete in a Neil Diamond look-alike contest at the Neil Diamond Extravaganza, hosted by Mahoney’s Pub & Grille, for a chance to win concert tickets. Camp out with other fans all night long, then wake up to brunch before heading to the concert at the United Center. (July 25)

• In honor of the American Cheese Society’s 25^th Anniversary Conference, Pastoral will be hosting John Loomis from Zingerman’s Creamery of Ann Arbor, Michigan. (July 25)

• The fifth annual Wicker Park Fest features live indie music, local cuisine, and more than 70 arts and crafts vendors. (July 26-27)

• Covering six blocks, the 25^th annual Taste of Lincoln Avenue features more than 40 music acts on five stages, a wine garden, and plenty of food, beer, and arts and crafts. (July 26-27)

• More than 30 illuminated and decorated boats will participate in the 51^st annual Venetian Night, which attracts more than half a million spectators every year. Watch along the lakefront anywhere between Roosevelt Road and Monroe Drive. (Get there early.) (July 26)

• The Disability Pride Parade celebrates the strength of people with disabilities and their families. It begins at Plymouth Court and Van Buren Street and ends at Daley Plaza. Post-parade festivities include speakers, performers, and live music. (July 26)

• Sample more than 1200 cheeses at the Festival of Cheese in the Hilton Chicago. The event includes a marketplace with food, wines, and beers to complement the tasting. (July 26)

• Professional cyclists compete in the inaugural Chicago Criterium. This race consists of several laps on a closed circuit loop that is approximately 1.1 miles (1.8 km) in length. Spectators can watch on jumbotrons in the park or from several route locations including the start/finish line at Buckingham Fountain. (course map PDF) (July 27)

Photo credit: Konrad Mostert (c/o SXC), sierraromeo (c/o Flickr), clambert (c/o SXC)

Post from: The Chicago Traveler

• The 24^th Annual Playdough Palooza is the Wish List Auxiliary Board’s annual fundraising event to support the Child Life Department. This year’s fundraiser will be at Rockit Bar and Grill. All of the proceeds will fund new supplies for the Children’s Memorial Hospital. Tickets are $50-$60 via childrenswishlist.org (Jan 18)

• Ladies, spend A Night in Paradise. This girls’ night out at Climax Lounge includes wine, champagne, martinis, chocolates, tarot readings, manicures, makeovers, massages, and more. (Jan 18)

• The Greyboy Allstars, a San Diego funk and jazz group created in the early ‘90s, will be performing at the House of Blues. (Jan 18)

• Thanks to Charter One Discount Days, you can take advantage of free general admission to the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum on select days. Check the website for discount days scheduled throughout the year. (Jan 12-18, 21-22, 28-29)

• Museums and exhibits don’t build themselves. Learn how to identify and preserve items of historical significance during the daylong program, Save Our African American Treasures. Free and open to the public, the program will include films, hands-on workshops, lectures, and tips. While you are welcome to bring your own personal “treasures” and mementos, please note that monetary appraisals will not be provided. (Jan 19)

• As part of its One-Year Anniversary Party, Vitner’s will release two new vintages which you can have a chance to name as part of their contest. Stop by, sample the new wines, and then create your own, which you can purchase a bottle of at a 15 percent discount. (Jan 19)

• Directed by Jim Carlson, Between Barack and a New Show presents the best of The Second City’s hit satire Between Barack and a Hard Place and adds new original scenes and songs based on current happenings in American politics. Tickets for $19-$25 are available through secondcity.com (open-ended)

• Riding your bike in Chicago winter is no ride in the park. At the Winter Cycle Workshop with Brooklyn Fowler, learn how to service your bicycle for winter riding. Class will be held at West Town Bikes, and space is limited. Register online. Proceeds will be donated to World Bicycle Relief. (Jan 19)

• Think theatre is boring? Check out Bye Bye Liver: The Chicago Drinking Play. Grab a $3 well drink or an $8 bucket of domestic beers, and get ready for booze-themed sketch comedy and interactive drinking games.

Post from: The Chicago Traveler

Harold Lee Washington was the first African-American mayor of Chicago, serving from 1983 until his death in 1987. The mosaic mural in the main lobby of the Center depicts Washington’s accomplishments as a soldier, a lawyer, a congressman, and mayor.

Near the State Street entrance is the Popular Library, where current general titles and audiovisual materials are featured. One the second floor is the Children’s Library named after Thomas Hughes, who organized a campaign in England to gather over 8,000 books for Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire of 1872. With over 18,000 square feet, the Children’s Library contains the largest collection of children’s books in the city.

Visitors will find the General Information desk on the third floor, along with check-out and return counters and the Computer Commons, where Internet and word processing stations are available to the public. And of course, all branches of the Chicago Public Library provide free wireless connections. The library also keeps its newspapers, periodicals, and encyclopedias on this floor. More than 2,000 current and retrospective periodical titles, nearly 300 newspapers from every state, and English-language newspapers from 24 foreign countries can be found here.

Looking for some good fiction? The Literature and Language Department is on the seventh floor with nearly 700,000 books, two hundred thousand of which are novels and volumes of short stories. This collection of fiction is the largest in the Midwest. The department also collects poetry, drama, literary criticism, and biographies of writers.

The Winter Garden on the ninth floor reaches up through the tenth floor to a skylight. This large public space can be rented for special events. This floor also contains the Special Collections and Preservation Division, where books, pamphlets, photographs, artifacts, artwork, and other materials on the Civil War, Chicago Theater, and Harold Washington are housed.

Photo credit: (c/o Flickr) zol87

Harold Washington Library Center : 400 S State St; 773-542-7279
Mon – Thurs: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Fri – Sat: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sun: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Street parking available; pay lot
Public Trans: #2, 6, 10, 29, 36, 62, 144, 146, 148
Orange/Purple/Pink/Brown Line train (Library)
Metra train (Library-State/Van Buren)
http://www.chipublib.org/001hwlc/001hwlc.html

Post from: The Chicago Traveler