By Pauline Kurtides Sheehan       Every year, crowds throng to the Chelsea Flower Show, and for good reason. Join me on a pilgrimage of delight to this Mecca of horticulture, conservation, floral design, and gardening.   *****   I jumped out of my black London cab and joined the steady stream of pilgrims marching along the side streets, merging into a crowd of ever-increasing size as we approached the hallowed grounds of our Mecca: The Chelsea Flower Show.  Floral midi dresses worn with trainers mixed with Barbour vests and wellies as Town mi ..read more

          The Facsimile Can Be Yours F. Scott Fitzgerald’s LEDGER: A Facsimile           By Megan McKinney   F. Scott Fiitzgerald’s LEDGER is an amazing document.  The Great Gatsby’s author wrote the original in an ordinary business ledger during the nineteen twenties and thirties.  It is an exceptional record of his published fiction, novels, plays, and stories; of his other published work, and of his earnings by years—in all, “one of the richest primary source documents in existence for any literary author”.      ..read more

By Cameron Wacker   The Great Chicago Fire completely altered the course of Chicago’s history. The raging fire took the streets by storm, taking the lives of 300 Chicagoans and nearly burning everything to the ground. But somehow deep within the orange flames that set the city ablaze, a silver lining peeked through: Chicago had a second chance.   A picture of Chicago’s riverfront in 1831 from “Wacker’s Manual of the Plan of Chicago” by Walter D. Moody   Before the fire, Chicago was a growing city and outpost for travel and trade, eager to innovate and change with the rest of Am ..read more

By Susan Aurinko Despite the insanity of preparations for the onslaught of the Olympic games, the overt and unnatural cleanliness, and the white plastic shroud enveloping my hotel for tuckpointing, Paris was, well, Paris, albeit a different, more sterile Paris than I’m used to. As a photographer interested in capturing the social, political and artistic implications of street art and graffiti, I found slim pickings this trip due to the scrub-down the city has been subjected to. Fortunately, I did find what I needed for a collaboration I’m doing with artist Arica Hilton for a LensFlair Editions ..read more

  By Judy Carmack Bross Steve Stryker and Andréa Schwartz; Dina and Rick Lieber, and Laura Schwartz Spark, the dazzlingly successful annual event recently raised more than $4.3 million for Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, proving once again the incandescent power and hope of this great Chicago institution. Ranked Number One for 33 years in a row by the US News and World Report, it is the choice of patients from around the world for acute rehabilitation and its mission to treat the whole patient, both physically and mentally. Tony award winner Idina Menzel Held at Rockwell on the River, the even ..read more

By Bob Glaze   Every time I am in Oak Park I find some great new bakeries and coffee shops. My top recommendations include: Courageous Bakery & Cafe: At 736 Lake St., this is a great bakery and cafe where you can grab coffee and a cupcake. They also have an extensive breakfast and lunch menu.   Not to be missed is Spilt Milk at 811 South Blvd. This is a popular sister-owned bakery specializing in artisan pies and pastries baked from scratch, with locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. They also have a large selection of cookies, bread, coffee and tea drinks, soups ..read more

    By Adrian Naves       Above view of the Fiesta Del Sol festival.   Chicago always has something to offer for every season of the year. Every year there’s discussion among the inhabitants of the Windy City, as to which is the best season to experience Chicago. Summer is usually the top pick to really experience Chicago, the ability to walk around the city and really take in the environment of the surrounding neighborhoods. Summertime is the best – taking in the inviting aromas of backyard grills of the neighborhood and seeing what the people of the city are c ..read more

    By Francesco Bianchini       I am not assailed by homesickness as soon as I set foot in another country. That said, I can conjure some pleasant memories in which an unexpected air of home enveloped me, as in a time bubble, as I traveled in distant lands. Once while traveling through the desolate slate-blue peaks of Snowdonia, and having stopped in a wayside inn merely to beg the use of the toilet, I suddenly smelled an authentically piquant bolognese sauce wafting from the kitchen. Odd, as the owners turned out to be from South Korea. We stayed for lunch.  ‘L ..read more

      By Judy Carmack Bross        A Know Your Chicago Tour to an area farm   Know Your Chicago:  no name could better state a mission accomplished.    No tour was ever repeated. No spot in our City with purpose and excitement not researched by a talented team. And no group more deserving of thanks for giving us 75 years to better know our Chicago as it ends its service to our citizens and guests who traveled here yearly to participate.   For so many years while deep into summer those three words Know Your Chicago offered anticipati ..read more

      By Elizabeth Dunlop Richter     “…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” The Declaration of Independence With these words, the founding fathers concluded the Declaration of Independence in 1776. There was nowhere in Chicago where nurturing this sense of community and connection was more on display on the 4th of July than the Chicago History Museum.         From 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. the Museum was open, at no cost for Illinois residents, with a full menu of activities from musical performances to an ..read more