The Chicago Traveler

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

Comments Off

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 chef to make a unique dessert. It may sound simple, but desserts have been the downfall of many contestants in previous seasons. Desserts can be more complex than the entrees that precede them. While chefs can often throw ingredients together to make a meal, using “a pinch of this” and “a handful of that,” desserts frequently require exact measurements and recipes. Cooks may …read more

Comments Off

Young hopefuls head to Los Angeles hoping to find their big break in Hollywood. Starry-eyed dreamers make their way to New York City looking for fame on Broadway. And what do budding performers find here in the Windy City? Chicago’s main reason for its improv-comedic fame: The Second City.
The term “Second City” has long been a nickname for Chicago, which once was the largest urban area second to New York City. In the 1980s, Los Angeles surpassed Chicago in population and area, but the moniker remained. Now it is the name of Chicago’s long-running (and perhaps most famous) improvisational comedy …read more

4 Comments

• Check out two local designers and their earth-friendly clothing for women at EcoFashion: Beyond the Basics. Sip on pomegranate martinis with organic vodka at Pivot, while seeing how scarves are made with natural pomegranate dye. (Apr 4)
• The 24th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival features more than 100 short, animated, documentary, and feature films from the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina, and Spain. Screenings take place in several venues across the city and explore politics, race, sex, and social issues. (Apr 4-16)
• Doug Benson, as seen on VH1’s Best Week Ever, will be appearing at Lakeshore Theater. (Apr 4-5)
• …read more

Comments Off

• These are the last few days to take part in the Chicago Originals Restaurant Week Celebration. A select number of restaurants offer two- or three-course dinners specially priced at $20.08 in honor of the New Year. For a list of participating businesses, head to http://www.chicagooriginals.com/ (ends Feb 3)
• Brrrr… It’s cold out there, which is perfect weather for Chicago’s newest attraction, Paintings Below Zero. A brilliantly colored ice wall that is nearly 100 feet long (30 m) and over 10 feet tall (3 m) is the largest and perhaps most stunning work from Canadian artist Gordon Halloran. (Feb 1-29)
• …read more

Comments Off