CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS: Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Bucktown and Wicker Park, Edgewater, Andersonville, Oak Park

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Lakeview: Spend an evening celebrating pride in the Rainbow Room! This Saturday June 29 from 7 to 10 pm, come dressed in your favorite 70s, 80s, or 90s attire and dance the night away! There will be featured appetizers, a DJ spinning tunes all night, you can BYOB, and get a complimentary Rainbow Cocktail while they last. Tickets are $59 and can be purchased here.

Lincoln Park: It’s almost time for the 51st Annual Sheffield Street Festival! The festival runs from Friday July 19 from 4 to 10 pm, Saturday July 20 from 12 to 10 pm, and Sunday July 21 from 12 to 8 pm. This festival features self-guided tours of more than 80 gardens, guided architectural tours, live entertainment by some of Chicago’s best bands, food and drink, and activities for kiddos at the Kids’ Corner. Proceeds from this festival provide continued support for neighborhood schools, local institutions, and community projects. In addition, proceeds are allocated to SNA’s Award-Winning Beautification Program, a plan to maintain Sheffield as the Garden District of Chicago. Find more information here.

Bucktown and Wicker Park: If you still don’t have Fourth of July plans, check out the Patio and Pooch Party at Lottie’s Pub! They’ll have fabulous holiday specials like $4 Sam Summer pints, $4 Truly hard seltzers, $5 Deep Eddy cocktails, $3 Chicago hot dogs, and $4 Doggie Fro-Yo desserts. 100% of the proceeds from the hot dogs will go towards Churchill Dog Park. Find more information here.

Edgewater: Mark your calendars for EdgeFest! Chicago’s historic Edgewater neighborhood will become a celebration of all things Northside on Saturday August 3 from 12 to 10 pm and Sunday August 4 from 12 to 9 pm. This fest will feature flavorful food, award-winning entertainment, local vendors, and more. There’s also a Pet Parade Sunday at 4 pm! Find the full line-up here.

Andersonville: Pride weekend is finally here! Take the whole family to the 7th Annual Pride Kids & Family Fest 2019! This fantastic event is on Saturday June 29 from 11 am to 2 pm at 5238 N. Clark, behind Cheetah Gym in Andersonville. Entry is free. Laura Doherty & The Heartbeats, a popular award-winning kids singer and songwriter will be performing. Super Stolie is a dynamic performer with fun and original kids songs for all ages! Lindsay & Alisa are a duo with original kids songs and they’ll be performing as well. The festival will also feature a mini petting zoo, face painting, a balloon artist, family photos, craft tables, sidewalk art, a bounce house, games, and more. Find more information here.

Oak Park: Need a fun summer activity for the kiddos? Check out Young Architect’s Day at Wonder Works Oak Park! From Thursday July 11 to Sunday July 14 at 5 pm each day, all ages are welcome to come build. Your kiddos will explore different building materials and techniques in every exhibit. Build a tower as high as a tree or create a comfy fort to hide and play in. The possibilities are endless! Find more information here.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

Summer Series- Old Town Restaurant Walk

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Mark your calendars for the first ever Old Town Restaurant Walk. On Wednesday July 17 from 6 to 8 pm, celebrate the incredible food scene in the Old Town neighborhood. You can choose from three different routes, sampling tastes from from your favorite neighborhood restaurants. Some restaurants will be offering an alcoholic beverage to compliment their taste for $7. 

Here’s some information about the three routes:

Fork Route: On this route, you’ll visit 80 Proof, 1959 Kitchen & Bar, Adobo Grill, The Fudge Pot, Old Town Pour House, Orso’s Restaurant, The Rabbit Hole, and The VIG. Tastes from this route include Jumbo Fried Shrimp, Pork Ragu Sliders, Baked Mac n Cheese, Dry Ranch Rub Chicken Wings, seasonal sangria, rum punch, and more. 

Spoon Route: This route includes BomboBar Old Town, Corcoran’s Grill & Pub, Dinotto, Forastero, Hom Mali, The Kennison, Marge’s Still, and Woodie’s Flat. You’ll taste a Bomboburger, Arancini, Fish n’ Chips, a Porky Pig taco, Chicken and Waffle Bites, and more. 

Knife Route: This route features Benchmark, Broken English, Declan’s Irish Pub, The Glunz Tavern, Kamehachi, LG’s Bar, Old Town Pub, and Wells on Wells. Prepare your taste buds for Buffalo Cauliflower, Crispy Asian Brussels Sprouts, margaritas, a Schnitzel Slider, Tuna Sushi Canape, a French 75 cocktail, thin crust pizza, and grilled calamari. 

Each ticket includes a taste from each restaurant on the route, as well as a gift bag filled with goodies from Old Town businesses. Check in for the event will begin at 4pm at Pipers Alley (230 W North Ave). 

Tickets are $35 until July 10 and $40 per ticket after July 10. There’s a limited quantity available, so purchase yours here now! 

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

4 Ways To Eat Organic Food On A Budget

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Organic food usually tastes better, and is better for you, but it can also be very expensive compared to non-organic products. Organic food can cost nearly 50 percent more, thanks to the extra labor required to produce it and consumers’ demand exceeding supply.

So how do you get tasty organic food without spending a ton of extra money? Follow these tips to get more bang for your buck.

SHOP AT FARMERS’ MARKETS

You can get fresh organic produce for far less at a farmers’ market than you’d pay at the grocery store. It’ll taste just as good, and you’re getting your food straight from the source.

CHOOSE SEASONAL PRODUCE

Out-of-season produce usually has to be imported, and that can really drive up the price. Focus your meals on in-season fruits and vegetables so that you don’t end up paying $6.00 for a pound of organic asparagus.

SHOP MORE FREQUENTLY

The trick here is to only buy what’s needed for your meals, and to only plan for a week of meals at most. That way you’re less likely to throw food away, because you can use leftover produce for more meals before it goes bad.

GROW YOUR OWN

A home vegetable garden will provide some extremely cheap organic produce, and gardening can also be a fun and rewarding hobby.

Kathy’s Home & Garden Tips – Making a Budget

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With many of us living a more or less cashless life, it’s easy for our spending to get out of hand. It’s a good idea to know where your money is really going. Every month, you need to add up all your expenses; plus budget for saving, paying down debt, and emergencies. I used to just have a bill paying schedule, but I’ve discovered I need to be more involved in knowing where my money is going. Do remember that each month is different, so you need to do your budget monthly.

If you are married or in a committed relationship, you need to do this together. Make it fun like date night. Have a cocktail (not more than one!) and snacks. I know I may be old fashioned, but in our household, we have one account and one budget. There is only our money, not yours and mine. In my opinion, this is really the only way to make a budget work. But in any event, don’t compare yourself to anyone else, do what works for you. 

There are apps and online tools that can be very helpful, or you can go old school and use paper and spreadsheets. Figure out your income for the month and work down to zero. Start with the big necessities: shelter, food, utilities, transportation, and basic clothing. Include entertainment, debt pay-down, and savings. Have a category for miscellaneous expenses- you never know when an unexpected expense will come up! Schedule reoccurring payments and keep track; checking your bill paying schedule every few days. It doesn’t help to make a schedule and never check it- I know this from experience. 

Many financial experts recommend not using credit cards and only paying in cash. I think this is impractical. I use a debit card for most of my daily expenses and check my balance daily. For some people, the envelope method works well. You actually divide cash monthly for expenses. I think this would work well, especially for categories like entertainment. Allot a certain amount here and when it’s gone, you are done. No matter which method you use, it will definitely make you more aware of where your money is going. It will also assure you pay your bills on time!

KATHLEEN WEAVER-ZECH & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

Priority Tasks For Your Move In

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Moving into a new home is an exciting time, and you’re probably daydreaming about decor and paint schemes and new furniture. But before you get into the fun stuff, there are some basics you should cover first.

Change the locks

Even if you’re promised that new locks have been installed in your home, you can never be too careful. It’s worth the money to have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that no one else has the keys to your home. Changing the locks can be a DIY project, or you can call in a locksmith for a little extra money.

Steam clean the carpets

It’s good to get a fresh start with your floors before you start decorating. The previous owners may have had pets, young children, or just some plain old clumsiness. Take the time to steam clean the carpets so that your floors are free of stains and allergens. It’s pretty easy and affordable to rent a steam cleaner—your local grocery store may have them available.

Call an exterminator

Prior to move-in, you probably haven’t spent enough time in the house to get a view of any pests that may be lurking. Call an exterminator to take care of any mice, insects, and other critters that may be hiding in your home.

Clean out the kitchen

If the previous occupants wanted to skip on some of their cleaning duties when they moved out, the kitchen is where they probably cut corners. Wipe down the inside of cabinets, clean out the refrigerator, clean the oven, and clean in the nooks and crannies underneath the appliances.

THIS WEEKEND IN CHICAGO – I’M HERE!

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Believe it or not, it’s “officially” summer as of this Friday.  Now I can’t guarantee that we’ll have any summer weather around here, but I can guarantee a weekend packed with fun summer activities!

The 19th annual Chicago Pride Fest takes place this Saturday and Sunday (11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.) at Halsted Street and Waveland Avenue in the Lakeview neighborhood.  This legendary street festival celebrates Chicago’s LGBTQA community one week prior to their big parade.  Enjoy live music by popular artists such as LeeAnn Rimes, Betty Who, Alex Newell, and others on 4 stages, food and drink, over 100 arts & craft and merchant vendors, DJs and dancing, a pet parade (Sunday), drag shows, and more!  Get ready for a flamboyant, fun party in Boystown!!

The 35th annual Old St. Pat’s World’s Largest Block Party is this Saturday (2:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.) at Old St. Patrick’s Church (700 W. Adams St.) in the West Loop.  Enjoy a fantastic summer day of great live music and entertainment for all ages, as well as food and drink vendors.  Participate in the Bags tournament starting at 6:00 p.m. with cash prizes.  Plenty of kid activities will be available at the KidZone (2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.) with a bounce house, pop-a-shot, games, face painting, prize give-aways, and more!  And after the Block Party ends, head over to Dugan’s (128 S. Halsted St.) or Green Street Local (130 S. Green St.) for more fun.  It’s Chicago’s ultimate summer party!!

A full weekend of summer fun awaits guests at the Gold Coast Greek Fest this Saturday and Sunday (12:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.) at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (1017 N. LaSalle St.) in the Gold Coast neighborhood.  Enjoy authentic Greek food (gyros, souvlaki, pastichio), assorted pastries (Nutella covered Loukoumades), beer, wine, and frappe, live entertainment, dancing, and fun activities for the kids!  Lagunitas brewery will once again serve this year’s fest with a great selection of their popular brews.  Everyone is welcome to share in the Greek culture and food with the Gold Coast community!!

The 3rd annual Ravenswood On Tap returns this Saturday (12:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.) and Sunday (12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.) to the Ravenswood neighborhood at Ravenswood and Berteau Avenues.  This outdoor event features beer from Malt Row breweries (special tappings and limited releases) cocktails from KOVAL Distillery, and home brewing demos.  Taste food from Chicago’s favorite restaurants and food trucks, enjoy a killer lineup of live music, and shop handmade goods from local retailers and artists!  After all Malt Row is home to one of the country’s most prolific craft brewing communities and shouldn’t be missed!!

Season 6 of the Chicago Food Truck Festival has outgrown its previous location; therefore, it will take place this Saturday and Sunday (11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.) at 2400 S. State Street in the South Loop.  Over 45 gourmet food trucks will be serving up a foodie heaven with chef prepared dishes, splashes of Sangria, or some of America’s best beers!  Help this festival remain the largest food truck gathering in the state and one of the largest in America!!

This weekend’s Movies in the Parks being featured are:

Saturday
“Guardians of the Galaxy” – Pulaski Park (1419 W. Blackhawk St.) – West Town
“Black Panther” – West Chatham Park (8223 S. Princeton Ave.) – Chatham
“Ralph Breaks the Internet” – Sauganash Park (5861 N. Kostner Ave.) – Sauganash

Sunday
“Mary Poppins Returns” – Brooks Park (7100 N. Harlem Ave.) – Edison Park
“Guardians of the Galaxy” – Jonquil Park (1001 W. Wrightwood Ave.) – Lincoln Park

Is It Really Summer?

CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS: Bucktown and Wicker Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Chicago Loop, Lincoln Square, Evanston

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Bucktown and Wicker Park: Mark your calendars for Wicker Park Fest! This is one of Chicago’s most anticipated summer festivals. From July 26-28, you’ll enjoy 3 days of fun and music! This festival reflects Wicker Park’s rich musical heritage, vibrant nightlife, and acclaimed restaurants. You can see over 50 bands on 4 stages, eat great local food, participate in arts and crafts, take your kiddos to a kids’ area, and shop at retail vendors. Click here for more information.

Lakeview: Cook great food and watch a comedy show- all in one night! Cooking & Comedy is Friday, June 21 at 7 pm. You’ll cook amazing recipes and watch 2 great comedy sets by local artists in between courses. You’ll be making Blue Cheese Bruschetta and Honey Bourbon Pulled Chicken Mini Sandwiches on homemade Rosemary Garlic Bread. Dessert is Chocolate, Cherry Cheesecake Crispy Wontons. You can also BYOB! Tickets are $59 per person and can be purchased here.

Lincoln Park: Beach Party is Chicago’s ultimate summer celebration! On Thursday July 18 at 6 pm, join PAWS Chicago for a luau you’ll never forget! Located on the Castaways beach yacht at North Avenue Beach, you’ll sip on frozen cocktails, soak up the sun, dance the night away, enjoy an open bar, have a fabulous dinner dinner, participate in live and silent auctions, take your pets for pet space services, participate in raffles, and more. Buy your tickets here now!

Chicago Loop: Celebrate 50 years of Pride in Chicago at Chicago Pride in the Park! On Saturday June 29 from 1 to 9 pm, this all-new fest will celebrate June’s Pride Month and will feature national and local performers. Featured performers include Iggy Azalea, Steve Aoki, Tamar Braxton, Taylor Dayne, Toddrick Hall and more. There will be fireworks at dusk, food and drink vendors including Bar Siena, Public House, and more. Pride in the Park will be at Butler Field in Grant Park, just north of Buckingham Fountain. Find more information about this fantastic event here. 

Lincoln Square: The summer edition of Damen at Night is here! On Friday June 21 from 5-9 pm, the businesses of Damen Ave are coming together to offer you an evening of shopping, drinks, entertainment, and discounts. It all happens right off the Damen brown line stop, between Eastwood and Argyle. Street musicians will be performing all along the route! Participating pop-up vendors include Hazel, Lena Rose Beauty, Sacred Art, Three Letter Birds, and more. In-store participants include Amy’s Candy Bar, Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits, One Key Yoga, Ravensgoods, and more. Check out the event map here.

Evanston: Fourth of July is coming right up! Evanston has got it going on with their Fourth of July Celebration! At 9 am on Thursday, July 4, start the day off right with games and activities for all ages at nine playground sites throughout the city. At 12:45 pm, there will be a Fun Run along Central Street. Then at 2 pm, there will be a giant parade down Central Street! At 7:30 pm, you can enjoy a concert at the lakefront followed by the grand fireworks display at 9:30 pm. Find playground locations, sign up for the fun run, and more here.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

Summer Series- Outdoor Aquatic Centers

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The weather in Chicago isn’t quite cooperating yet, but soon it will be true summer! When the sun is shining, what better way to spend a day than at an outdoor aquatic center? We’ve got the skinny on the best family-friendly aquatic centers in the Chicagoland area- we promise they’re worth the drive! 

First- head to Barefoot Bay in Mundelein. This is a great alternative to larger (and more crowded!) waterparks. Barefoot Bay has four bodies of water: a combined leisure and lap pool, a diving well, an enclosed wading pool for toddlers, and a plunge pool. Other exciting features include a 740-foot long lazy river, a zero-depth pool, tube slides, body flumes, an Aqua Climb Water Wall, and more. Admission is $13 for adults, $11 for children, and kids 2 and under are free. Find more information here.

Next, get yourself to Centennial Park Aquatic Center in Orland Park! The park is 360,000 square feet and is sure to delight the whole family! There’s a zero depth pool, a water play feature for little ones, two body speed slides, a 328 foot long tube slide, a 200 foot long flume slide, a platform cliff jump, a drop slide, and a lazy river. The center also features picnic and pavilion areas and sand volleyball courts. Admission is $8 for residents and $20 for non-residents. Check out the website for more info. 

Cypress Grove Family Aquatic Park has over eight acres of water attractions! The drive to Woodridge is 100% worth it. Take your littlest ones to Bullfrog Bayou where there’s a giant dumping bucket, water guns, bubblers, and a body slide for kids under 42” tall. Cattail Bay is a zero depth pool with a kiddie slide on one end and a drop slide and diving board in the deep end. You can also check out the inner tube falls, the lazy river, three body slides, and a six lane lap pool. Tickets are $15.50 per person and children 11 months and younger are free. Find more info here.

Finally, check out the Family Aquatic Center in Wheeling! You and your kids can zoom down drop slides, tube slides, and body slides and splash in the zero-depth pool. Your little ones will especially enjoy the water playground, splash pool, toddler slide, and sand play area. The more daring of your kids will love Paradise Falls and the two huge drop slides-you’ve got to see them to believe them! Adult tickets are $13, children are $11.50, and kids 2 and younger are free. Find more info here.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

5 Criteria For Pricing A Home

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When you put your home up for sale, one of the best ways to determine the asking price is to look at comparable sales. There’s rarely a perfect apples-to-apples comparison, so a pricing decision often relies on comparisons to several recent sales in the area. Here are five criteria to look for in a sales comparison.

1. Location

Homes in the same neighborhood typically follow the same market trends. Comparing your home to another in the same neighborhood is a good start, but comparing it to homes on the same street or block is even better.

2. Date of sale

It varies by location, but housing markets can see a ton of fluctuation in a short time period. It‘s best to use the most recent sales data available.

3. Home build

Look for homes with similar architectural styles, numbers of bathrooms and bedrooms, square footage, and other basics.

4. Features and upgrades

Remodeled bathrooms and kitchens can raise a home’s price, and so can less flashy upgrades like a new roof or HVAC system. Be sure to look for similar bells and whistles.

5. Sale types

Homes that are sold as short sales or foreclosures are often in distress or sold at a lower price than they’d receive from a more typical sale. These homes are not as useful for comparisons.

Kathy’s Home & Garden Tips – Processed Foods and Your Microbiome

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We all know what highly processed foods are. Just look at the ingredient label on most snacks and prepared foods. The list of ingredients is long and confusing. That’s a hint right there. The more ingredients, the worse for you it is. The ingredients, whether naturally derived from food (like modified starch) or synthesized in laboratories, make these foods very palatable. We know they are not healthy for us, but scientists are discovering it’s not just the high sodium and fat.  These are the least of the problems. The processing makes them calorie dense while also removing many of the nutrients, fiber, and vitamins.

The findings suggest that these foods disturb our gut microbiome and in turn may heighten the risk of over-eating and chronic disease. Your gut microbiome consists of trillions of diverse bacteria that live in your intestines and colon.  Most of the bacteria in our gut are good for us, they aid in digestion and help regulate our immune system. Studies on mice fed different diets indicate that mice fed a low fiber, high fat diet have a less diverse and much lower count microbiome than mice eating a high fiber, high fat diet. The good bacteria are getting lost with high processed food diets.

Emulsifiers like polysorbate 80 make many processed foods stay together and have a long shelf life. They keep ice cream from crystallizing and salad dressing from separating. The studies indicate that emulsifiers can cause inflammation and inflammatory disease like colitis in genetically predisposed mice. The microbiome sees the emulsifiers as toxic. Even in mice not predisposed to disease, they develop low grade inflammation and obesity. Refined sugar and carbohydrates feed the bad bacteria in our guts and cause it to bloom, pushing out the good bacteria. 

Processed foods are harmful to us for what they lack, but also for what is added to them. Most of these foods contain little or no fiber. Soluble, as well as some insoluble, fibers are processed by our gut bacteria which produces short chain fatty acids that feed the good bacteria. They also help with insulin production and manage Type 2 diabetes. Bacteria lacking in fiber will eat away the mucous layer in the intestinal tract, opening a path for pathogens to enter the intestine and cause infection. There is also indication that starving the microbiome by removing fiber and adding sugar and emulsifiers prevents you from feeling full, which leads to overeating. 

So let’s try to eat more fiber and less processed foods. Of course, we all eat these foods but let’s make that occasionally instead of regularly. Check labels and try for foods with 5 or fewer ingredients. Reach for nuts instead of chips. Have a salad but make your own dressing! 

KATHLEEN WEAVER-ZECH & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO