The Chicago Traveler

The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics have officially come to a close. I have spent the past two weeks staying up late, recording several televised events in the wee hours of the morning, and getting regular medal updates on my cell phone. I guess you can say I’ve been a bit of an Olympics nut. So just how did our Chicagoland athletes do?
Matt Grevers, an Olympic rookie, won the silver medal in the 100m backstroke with a time of 53.11 seconds. He also won two gold medals by swimming in the preliminary heats of the 4×100m freestyle relay and 4×100m medley …read more

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• Dress up as your favorite character and get your Disney on at the The Little Mermaid Sing-Along at the Music Box Theatre. (Aug 22 – Sept 1)
• MC Hammer and Cyndi Lauper perform at Glamorama 2008, a fall fashion fundraiser at The Chicago Theatre featuring top designers. A portion of ticket proceeds benefit the Art Institute of Chicago. (Aug 22)
• The seventh annual Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest features more than 100 art vendors and 35 bands. Be sure to check out the fashion show and fire performance on Friday, or take a self-guided tour of artists’ studios on Saturday …read more

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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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The entire nation has their eyes on Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer who could very well earn a record number of gold medals in a single Games. That includes Dream Salad owner Rich Levy, a former high-school swimmer, who is enjoying all the buzz Phelps is bringing to the sport.
If Phelps wins eight gold medals, Levy plans on celebrating by offering free salads on Friday, August 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to all customers who show up with a business card. Salads are probably exactly what we need to help us reach that desirable swimmers’ build.
I do wish …read more

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As I was watching the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday, one of the most awe-inspiring moments was seeing the flags from all 200+ nations waving next to each other, just before the Olympic Torch was lit. For me, it was a symbol of the global unity that is temporarily achieved during these Games. While there are plenty of politics to debate outside the stadium, inside lies the purity and passion of sport.
Chicago is showing its own support by displaying a wall of flags in the lobby of the Sears Tower. The exhibit features more than 200 flags from …read more

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Did you watch the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony? What an amazing display! The Beijing National Stadium, which hosted the ceremony, is also an incredible sight. Nicknamed the “Bird’s Nest,” the stadium is made up of twisting, interconnected steel pieces, inspired by traditional Chinese pottery.
If you’d like to see this architectural marvel yourself, you can get a good look at it right here in Chicago. The Chicago Architecture Foundation has the “Bird’s Nest” Stadium model on display.
Photo credit: (c/o Flickr) Sanctu

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The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony airs tonight on NBC. Of course, we here in the States are rooting for all our U.S. athletes. Be on the lookout for these Chicagoland athletes:
Jorge Torres from Wheeling is making his Olympic debut for the U.S. this summer, competing in the men’s 10,000m in Track & Field.
Christian Vande Velde from Lemont is participating in his second Olympics, representing the U.S. in Road Cycling.
Matt Grevers from Lake Forest is another Olympic rookie who had great numbers when he qualified for the 100m backstroke and 4×100m free relay in Swimming.
Brad Guzan from Homer Glen …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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