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Saturday, December 20, 2014

Enjoy First Night Evanston on New Year's Eve!


This event has the BEST event poster, ever, and it has an incredible talent lineup. The event features live performances at 7 venues around Raymond Park, all within walking distance from one another. Enjoy artists like Regina Carter, Mark Smith Poetry Slam and so much more!

Buy event buttons here 

This is your chance for an incredible bargain! Enjoy all of First Night Evanston's performers at all of our venues for just $20. Prices go up on December 26 to $25, and they'll be $30 at the door. That's better than than a 33% discount! Don't forget, you'll need the button even if decide to get a Reserved Seating wristband for any of the venues, so get it out of the way and buy it now.

Visit event website here http://www.firstnightevanston.net/

Developing: New Chiaravalle Sports Annex is Really Ugly and Huge

This blog is all about how much I love Evanston and usually lends no space or time to negativity in relation to Evanston but I just have to say that the Chiaravalle Sports Annex going up on Hinman is a goliath monstrosity that is being built with no regard for the neighborhood look and feel. (While you read this post, please hum to yourself Taylor Swift's tune "Haters Gonna Hate")

Evanston Now published an article about the annex being all about teaching sustainable living to the Chiaravalle community. I'm dumbfounded how a massive sports complex that will be unoccupied for 70% of the day is sustainable in any way at, but that's another argument for another day.

The lakefront neighborhood bordered by South Blvd., Chicago Ave. and the Northwestern Campus, is cluttered with a variety of structures to include massive single family homes, apartment buildings and tiny houses, but very few of the structures are modern and even fewer are eyesores. The Chiaravalle annex is a modern, brick and steel structure that looks nothing like the original building it's built onto and looks nothing like any other structure in the neighborhood. The worst part of the Chiaravalle Sports Annex  is it's HUGE. 

I took my complaint about the building to Facebook and immediately got the reply below. And although I believe there was a conversation with the Evanston Historic Preservation Commission, I find it hard to believe the commission's feedback was used to do anything other than meet guidelines. 

"Lisa, we appreciate that the contemporary design of the North Wing is not to your personal taste. Chiaravalle and the school's architects incorporated feedback from the Evanston Historic Preservation Commission to meet guidelines for a new addition in the Lakeshore Historic District. The size of the North Wing was decided as part of the property purchase agreement with the City in 2010. 

Thank you for your feedback, and we hope the finished construction changes your opinion."


There is no way the finished project is going to change my opinion, it's just going to make me more annoyed that Chiaravalle built an ugly and massive sports complex into a quaint, historic neighborhood.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Free Stargazing Friday Nights at Dearborn Observatory




The Dearborn Observatory is open for public observing with the historic 18.5" refracting telescope every Friday night from 8:00-10:00 pm.

Your group will have a tour of the Observatory, and be able to look through the telescope for the full hour.

We usually try to allow everyone at least one opportunity to look through the telescope, but space is limited in the dome; therefore, there is no guarantee that everyone will be able to look through the telescope if we are very crowded.


The Friday night observation tours at the Dearborn Observatory are open to the public, and there are two hours open for visiting:
8:00 to 9:00pm: * Reservation hour only.
9:00 to 10:00pm: Walk-ins are welcome.

There is no fee for the Friday night observation tours; however, if you make a reservation for a group of 10 or more, we do require a refundable deposit which will be returned to you on the night of your visit.

* If you would like to make a reservation and want to learn more about the Observatory, or need information about a private group viewing, please call the Dearborn Observatory at 847-491-7650.

http://ciera.northwestern.edu/observatory.php

Love Letter to Evanston from David Morton

This letter appeared in Huffington Post this week from David Morton and it's something you should read if you live/lived/planning to live in Evanston.


A devoted and proud Evanston, IL, resident, David Morton was raised in the restaurant industry. Son of legendary restaurateur Arnie Morton, he experienced first-hand the creation, design, and execution of some of the most iconic restaurant brands and events of the past 30 years, including Morton's Steakhouse and Hard Rock Café. In 2009, David Morton and Chef Michael Kornick launched DMK Restaurants, which now includes Fish Bar, Ada Street, two locations of County Barbeque, DMK Burger & Fish, Henry's Swing Club, and three locations of DMK Burger Bar. David and his wife, Jodi Morton, own 2to5 Design, a residential and commercial design firm that, among other projects, created the design for DMK Restaurants. David and Jodi love living in Evanston with their three children.

Dear Evanston,

If you were all mine and only mine, I would have named you 'Heavenston'. Maybe not for your looks, but for the way you make me feel.

Leaving the northeastern corner of the city behind, meandering byways of iconic Sheridan Road, I first meet your nicely patinated cemetery to the west, and majestic Lake Michigan to the east. I continue straight, and drive off the cliff. No, not off of a real cliff, we soar off of an emotional one. The moment that I find myself flying, I know I'm back home, back in your cradle, the idyllic enclave at the edge of nature and Chicago.

I love you Evanston because of the company you keep: artists, actors, professors, entrepreneurs, hippies, techies, and even a few suits. These are the people that I can call my neighbors. They're the kind of people you find all over Evanston. Imagine Venice, California meets Manchester, Vermont; or Wes Anderson married to Martha Stewart. Admittedly, it's kind of hard to picture.

I love your nature, Evanston. Every morning a sunrise crescendos over Lake Michigan like a private concert for me and my wife, Jodi. Just before the pitch blackness fades from the sky, we venture a few short steps out from our front door. By the time we're at the beach, the orchestra members have taken their seats, still fine-tuning their instruments. Eventually the lights dim, the conductor takes her place, and instruments are in their final pose, ready to be played. Witnessing it makes us feel small, but connected, alive and aligned.

I love your body, Evanston. Peppered with turn-of-the-century architecture, parks, boutiques, and one-off restaurants, you give me the feeling that I would imagine only Mick and the guys felt when they were recording Sticky Fingers. The feeling like what had come before you was great, yet there was still an opportunity to add one note to make a chord feel a little better. That's certainly how we felt when we embarked on restoring our old Tudor. A great house built like a fossilized T-Rex, all of the magnificent bones hovering in place with none of the essential internal organs: no running water, no modern electrical systems and, of course, no air conditioning. The beautifully paneled walls were painted green at some point, the old oak floors were carpeted or covered with synthetic plastic tiles, and all but one chimney had completely collapsed. "OK, we'll take it." We technically own it, but don't think of it that way. We believe that we're just borrowing something from you, adding notes to a beautiful melody and waiting to pass it on to your next lover.

I love to travel. That's where I go to eat, to read, to frolic and dream. I love you, Evanston, for letting me travel home to you daily.

Love,
David

Click here to see the original post

Monday, December 8, 2014

A Winter Festival, Saturday December 13th at SPACE

 A Winter Festival, Saturday December 13th at SPACE (1245 Chicago Avenue- Near SE corner of Dempster and Chicago Avenue) in Evanston from 9 am til 2 pm.

Nichols' Girl Scout Troop 40060, (formerly of Washington School) will be showing and selling their handmade jewelry at this show alongside 17 wonderful, local artists. There will also be craft tables (for kids) at the event and Union Pizzeria is opening for lunch. Plus there's a kids' open mic! If you have a child who would be interested in performing a song on the stage at SPACE go to http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e054baca923a02-open to sign up.
 
Saturday December 13 from 9:00am - 2:00pm 
SPACE  1245 Chicago Avenue Evanston

Friday, December 5, 2014

Free: Evanston History Center’s Annual Holiday Open House




From http://evanstonhistorycenter.org/

Join us for an afternoon of holiday cheer at the Dawes House. Explore the majestic lakeside mansion decked out for the holidays, view EHC’s exhibits, and enjoy holiday treats, crafts for kids and live music in the Great Hall. 
1:00 pm – 2:30pm: Piano Music by Chris Mahieu2:30pm-3:30pm: Music with Marian McNair & Jim Fine
This event is free and open to the public!
.
EHC’s 9th Annual Holiday Food Drive
In partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the EHC kicks off the 9th annual holiday food drive. Please consider donating to this important cause! All food collected will go directly to an Evanston food pantry to benefit area residents. Donations of nutritious, non-perishable food (no glass, please) will be accepted at the Dawes House, 225 Greenwood St., from Thursday, December 4 through Sunday, December 7 from 1pm to 4pm each day

The food drive is conducted in the spirit of the Dawes family.  Every year, the family put together baskets of food and goodies.  On Christmas Eve, all members of the family drove around Evanston, delivering the baskets to families in need.

EHC gratefully acknowledges Whole Foods Market for sponsoring the event.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Play Ravinia 2015


 http://www.ravinia.org/Page/cheektocheek

Wangechi Mutu at Block Closes Dec. 7

View photo gallery
9/19/2014–12/7/2014
Main Gallery and Alsdorf Gallery
Wangechi Mutu, Riding Death in My Sleep, 2002, ink and collage on paper. Collection of Peter Norton, New York. © Wangechi Mutu.

Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey is a comprehensive and innovative exhibition of works by the international artist Wangechi Mutu—her first survey in the United States.
Spanning the mid-1990s to the present, the exhibition unites more than 50 pieces, from the artist’s most iconic collages to rarely seen early works and new creations.

Highlights of the exhibition include Mutu’s first animated video, created in collaboration with musician Santigold. The artist will also transform one of the Block’s galleries into an environmental installation, including a monumental wall drawing, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in her work.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya and living in New York since the early 1990s, Mutu is best known for large-scale collages depicting female figures in lush, otherworldly landscapes. Her work explores issues of gender, race, war, globalization, colonialism and the eroticization of the black female body. She often combines found materials and magazine cutouts with sculpture and painted imagery, sampling from sources as diverse as African traditions, international politics, the fashion industry, and science fiction.

Read The New York Times’ review of the Brooklyn Museum's presentation of Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey (October 10, 2013): A Window, Not a Mirror: A Survey of Wangechi Mutu at Brooklyn MuseumAdditional information about the artist as well as this exhibition may be found on the websites listed below:
Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey is organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University by Trevor Schoonmaker, Chief Curator and Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art.

Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey is made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Major support is provided by Marilyn M. Arthur, the Ford Foundation, the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Katherine Thorpe Kerr, and Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. Additional generous support is provided by Duke University’s Council for the Arts; Gladstone Gallery, New York; Victoria Miro Gallery, London; and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. Support for the presentation at the Block Museum has been provided by the Diane and Craig Solomon Contemporary Art Fund.

- See more at: http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/view/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/wangechi.html#sthash.tcBUVxbA.dpuf

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Art: Julie Cowan Prints at Wilmette Public Library



Evanston photographer and visual artist Julie Cowan will have prints on display 
at Wilmette Public Library through mid-December 2014

See more of Julie's work at http://solidprint.com/art/

Nov. 29: Art Under Glass in Downtown Evanston



The energizing Art Under Glass program that showcases the work of Evanston artists in vacant storefront windows is returning to Downtown Evanston. The new exhibit opens Saturday, November 29, as part of the festivities surrounding Downtown Evanston’s holiday and tree-lighting celebration. A reception introducing the artists and their work will be held 3 p.m. in the lobby of the newly renovated The Merion at 1611 Chicago Avenue, Evanston.
After Mayor Tisdahl and project coordinators welcome attendees, the artists will offer a tour of their art. The exhibit will fill windows on the corner of Chicago Ave. and Davis St., the 1700 block of Orrington Ave., in Sherman Plaza on Sherman Ave, and a unique glass box on Davis, just east of Orrington. All but the Orrington stores are new venues for the project. The reception and tour are free and open to the public.
Participating local artists are Janet Austin, Raissa Bailey, Kristin Fippinger-Cahill, Dr. Lloyd Davidson, Doug Haight, Catherine Katona, Natasha Kohli, Didier Nolet, Harrison Parkes, Jack Weiss, and Jerry Woods. A variety of art forms, including painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media are featured.
The partners on this project were Penny Rotheiser, Co-chair of the Evanston Arts Council's Arts & Business Committee; Annie Coakley, Executive Director ofDowntown Evanston; and Fran Joy of the Evanston Arts Council. They were assisted by Jason Brown, the City of Evanston Cultural Arts Intern.
The team announced the exhibit opening by saying, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase more Evanston artists on the streets of our city, and, at the same time, beautify the community and attract potential renters. “Art Under Glass” is another great reason to come downtown.”
This cycle, the sixth since Art Under Glass began in 2009, is a joint effort of the Evanston Arts Council’s Arts & Business Committee, Downtown Evanston, and the property managers who have opened their unoccupied storefronts: The Merion, Farnsworth-Hill Inc., Inland America, and Davis Street Land Company.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Shop: Gather hosts Gift for Good Fair



http://www.meetatgather.com/
Location
602 Davis Street
Evanston, il 60201
Contact Us
847.859.2312
info@meetatgather.com

Saturday, November 22nd from 9 – 3pm, Gather will host artisan mommas, caregivers, and social enterprises in their first annual “Gift for Good Fair!” Support local artists and shop mission-driven products while your children play! This event is free and open to the public.

Saturday, November 22nd, 9:00am – 3:00pm

Holiday Gift for Good Fair

Gather will host artisan mommas, caregivers, and social enterprises in our first annual “Gift for Good Fair!”  Check out the artistry & craft of Toni Goehring, Leslie Grayson, Tina Zemen, Amanda Tarver, Angela Lyonsmith and more. Support the missions of CEW: Creatively Empowered Women (http://creativelyempoweredwomen.com), Mama Power Gear (http://www.mamapowergear.com) & Soku Rafiki, fairly traded items from East Africa to support the work of Global Alliance for Africa, and shop an amazing selection of children’s literature by Usborne Books & Barefoot Books. Support local artists and shop mission-driven products while your children play! This event is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Evanston Food News: Ten Mile House Opens on Central Ave.




The bustling food scene in Evanston gets a new entry starting today at 4:30 p.m. with the arrival of Ten Mile House (formerly named The Wood Shed) in the Central Station building. Ten Mile House, named in homage to "Evanston's first gathering point" founded in 1836, will seat 110 throughout its dining room, 25 at the bar and more in the outdoor patio (once warm weather returns to us).
From a team that includes Unite Urban Grill owner Joe Krouse and a kitchen headed up by Lettuce Entertain You vet Greg Carter, Ten Mile House is implementing a menu filled with comfort-food favorites alongside healthier items.
In 1836, Major Edward H. Mulford established the original Ten Mile House.  Combining a tavern, post office, inn and courthouse, Ten Mile House served as the social and economic center of the community now known as the City of Evanston.
178 years later, Ten Mile House restaurant reestablishes the area’s first public gathering point and continues the tradition of hospitality.  Neighbors and area visitors alike are welcome to enjoy our thoughtful comfort food in a vibrant, welcoming setting just steps from Northwestern University. 
Ten Mile House is an ideal venue for a variety of experiences, including family-friendly dining, game day gatherings, after-work get-togethers, a casual night out and more.
http://www.tmhevanston.com/about-2/

This Thursday: Evanston Craft Beer & Spirits Tour



In honor of Evanston Entrepreneurship week, join Downtown Evanston and the Evanston Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, November 20 for a tour of Evanston’s many craft beer and spirits establishments.

Travel to Evanston’s distillery and breweries throughout the evening to sip craft brews and spirits, network, and see why beer means business. The tour includes stops at Smylie Brothers, Temperance, Peckish Pig, Few and Sketchbook.

Click here for tickets, and check out all the other great events going on during Evanston Entrepreneurship Week.

Smylie Bros review is featured in this week's Chicago Reader:

Smylie Brothers Brewing Company: Steinbier
Steinbier is more a method than a style, and as a method it dates back millennia—basically you drop screaming-hot stones directly into your future beer, rather than applying heat to the brewing vessel. When such vessels were made of wood this was a handy way to avoid setting them on fire, but the technique persisted as technology advanced—especially among farmers in Germany and Austria. When that part of Europe discovered lagering, most Steinbiers became lagers as well.
When I visited Smylie Brothers in Evanston this summer, head brewer Brad Pulver told me he planned to make a Steinbier, and since then he has—twice, in fact. His version is a rustic Vienna lager, brewed with German Polaris and Tettnang hops and fermented with a San Francisco lager yeast.
The six grapefruit-size chunks of granite Pulver used, looped with stainless-steel wire so he could carry them to the brew kettle, reached almost 800 degrees Fahrenheit in the restaurant's brick pizza oven—he had to put on heavy leather work gloves over the elbow-length nitrile gloves he always wears. Still, he didn't boil the wort with just the stones, like a brewer would have back in the day—the kettle's steam jacket did most of the work. Traditionally the stones would be transferred to the fermenter, to let their burnt shells of malt sugar diffuse into the beer over time. Pulver instead left them in the kettle for the whole boil: "The caramel coating on the stones dissolved into the wort," he says, "like deglazing a pan."
Smylie Brothers' Steinbier is a lovely chestnut color, on the dark side for a Vienna lager; the flavor is toasty and nutty, rounded out by toffee and creme brulee. It's fruitier than you might expect from the style, with a touch of baked pear and red plum—Pulver fermented it warmer than a typical lager. The burnt sugar cuts through the creamy mouthfeel with a faint, almost smoky astringency—it reminds me of the crisp black skin on a campout marshmallow that's briefly caught fire, and it dovetails nicely with the soft herbal bitterness of the noble hops. The Steinbier will almost certainly be gone by the time you read this, but Pulver plans to brew it again—and double the number of stones. —Philip Montoro

Monday, November 17, 2014

Reason 500 We Love Evanston: City of Evanston Appoints LGBT Liaison

 From City of Evanston 
The City of Evanston obtained the highest possible score from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Municipal Equality Index (MEI), the only nationwide rating system of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusion in municipal law and policy. 
Evanston appointed Director of Community Development Mark Muenzer as the LGBT Liaison to the city.


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Shop local,see Frozen characters and Art Under Glass all in Downtown Evanston


So much is happening in Downtown Evanston on Nov. 29 it's bananas! 

1. Olaf and the Frozen characters are lighting the Holiday Tree
2.  Small Business Saturday
3. Art Under Glass

Small Business Saturday will take place all over Evanston (and America)! Get excited to support local Evanston businesses on Nov. 29 for Small Business Saturday. Throughout the day, shoppers can take advantage of special offers, discounts and in-store happenings at shops, cafés and restaurants throughout Evanston as part of Small Business Saturday.

Hot Neighborhoods to Shop Locally in include:
  • Downtown Evanston
  • Chicago/Dempster 
  • Central Ave
  • Main Street 
 Tree Lighting Info




From Evanston Now
 
Santa and characters from Disney's "Frozen" will be on hand for Downtown Evanston’s Holiday Bash and Tree Lighting on Saturday, Nov. 29.

Throughout the day, there'll be special offers, discounts and in-store happenings at shops, cafés and restaurants downtown Evanston as part of Small Business Saturday leading up to the tree lighting in Fountain Square that evening.

Entertainment will begin at 5 p.m. at Davis Street and Sherman Avenue, with the tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. followed by a live musical performance by "Frozen" characters Elsa, Anna and Olaf.
In the spirit of holiday giving, warm clothing essentials will be accepted for donation to Hilda’s Place, Connections for the Homeless.

Free parking will be available all day at the three main downtown Evanston parking garages: Sherman Plaza, 821 Davis St.; Maple Ave., 1800 Maple Ave.; and Church St., 525 Church St.

For more information, visit www.downtownevanston.org or call 847-866-6319.

Santa and characters from Disney's "Frozen" will be on hand for Downtown Evanston’s Holiday Bash and Tree Lighting on Saturday, Nov. 29.
Throughout the day, there'll be special offers, discounts and in-store happenings at shops, cafés and restaurants downtown Evanston as part of Small Business Saturday leading up to the tree lighting in Fountain Square that evening.
Entertainment will begin at 5 p.m. at Davis Street and Sherman Avenue, with the tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. followed by a live musical performance by "Frozen" characters Elsa, Anna and Olaf.
In the spirit of holiday giving, warm clothing essentials will be accepted for donation to Hilda’s Place, Connections for the Homeless.
Free parking will be available all day at the three main downtown Evanston parking garages: Sherman Plaza, 821 Davis St.; Maple Ave., 1800 Maple Ave.; and Church St., 525 Church St.
For more information, visit www.downtownevanston.org or call 847-866-6319.
- See more at: http://evanstonnow.com/feed-item/evanston-now/2014-11-12/67201/tree-lighting-downtown-on-small-business-saturday#sthash.NPQa4yyK.dpuf
 
Santa and characters from Disney's "Frozen" will be on hand for Downtown Evanston’s Holiday Bash and Tree Lighting on Saturday, Nov. 29.
Throughout the day, there'll be special offers, discounts and in-store happenings at shops, cafés and restaurants downtown Evanston as part of Small Business Saturday leading up to the tree lighting in Fountain Square that evening.
Entertainment will begin at 5 p.m. at Davis Street and Sherman Avenue, with the tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. followed by a live musical performance by "Frozen" characters Elsa, Anna and Olaf.
In the spirit of holiday giving, warm clothing essentials will be accepted for donation to Hilda’s Place, Connections for the Homeless.
Free parking will be available all day at the three main downtown Evanston parking garages: Sherman Plaza, 821 Davis St.; Maple Ave., 1800 Maple Ave.; and Church St., 525 Church St.
For more information, visit www.downtownevanston.org or call 847-866-6319.
- See more at: http://evanstonnow.com/feed-item/evanston-now/2014-11-12/67201/tree-lighting-downtown-on-small-business-saturday#sthash.NPQa4yyK.dpuf