Summer is NOT Over Yet

Summer is NOT Over YetLate summer offers us a different kind of festival experience than the festivals we’ve visited so far.  Festa Italiana, for example, was wonderful to visit, had three different stages of music, far too much excellent, mostly Italian food, and was packed with people from all over the world.  Late summer we see more arts & crafts festivals, where people will ask us for our thoughts on a piece of art, or a handmade vase, while they consider how it will look and fit into their homes.  There will be live music, of course; musicians are artists, after all.

This is a good thing!  Enjoy and have fun, and let’s start nearby – at the renown Lakeview East Festival of the Arts, on Broadway, north from Belmont, where about 125 artists will present their finest works to a jury of experts.  The very best pieces earn the blue, yellow and white ribbons (1st, 2nd & 3rd place) in each of the categories.  Displays and demonstrations hold our interest while we walk, talk, learn and just take in the rich beauty that comes from the hands of these artists. There is a sneak preview (let’s sneak in!) on Friday evening, and the show is fully open Saturday and Sunday from 10am on.  Keep a day open – the festival runs from September 9th through the 11th.

Summer is NOT Over Yet That same weekend (we do squeeze a lot of fun into the weekends, don’t we?) is the Renegade Craft Fair in Wicker Park.  https://www.facebook.com/events/816178341816028/ This marvelous escapade will be right on Division St. from Damen to Ashland.  It’s “an epic weekend of design, music, food, libations, DIY workshops, and more.”  This event hosts 400 different art, craft and handmade artists, jewelers, clothing designers, and much much more.  The entire half mile is dedicated to the small, one-of-a-kind, high quality makers of things we use every day.  There are workshops, too, and online organizations that have brought the makers of the goods they present for you to see, and speak with, “in real life,” the people who spend their lives creating these lovely, well designed, excellent items.

 Summer is NOT Over YetFollowing on the heels of the those two spectacular events, The West Loop Art Fest will happen on Washington St., from Halsted to Aberdeen, on the 17th and 18th of September. There will be over 150 artists from across the country with their very best works on display, from 11am until late into the evening.  There will be color everywhere, and we can see, first hand and close up, how artists use paint, texture, and color to bring their canvas to life.  It’s fascinating, and artists are usually very open to talking about how they work while creating such fine sculptures and paintings.

 While it’s not an art festival, I would be remiss in my duties if, somehow, we let the Hyde Park Jazz Fest September 24th & 25th slip away unnoticed.  This famous event, now in its tenth year, features talented jazz musicians from across the US and around the world.  Multiple stages across Hyde Park, and local musicians always get a special place, are now right before you, on stage, at 1511 East 53rd Street.  This is a world class show, dear readers.  Jazz.  Yes.

Summer is NOT Over Yet Have you ever thought about bringing your own inner artist out and developing your own artistic talents?  Chicago is a wonderful place to do just that!  There are classes in ceramics, for example, where we can learn to make our own cups or vases or other items both beautiful and useful.  Kilns, and classes, are at Athletic Field Park, 3546 W. Addison St., on the northwest side, Ridge Park, 1817 W. 96th St. for those of us who live southwest, and Smith Park, 2526 W. Grand Ave., for the west siders.  There are actually more locations, which you can easily find at http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/facilities/ceramic-studios.

Summer is NOT Over Yet What’s that?  Ceramics doesn’t really call out to your artistic self?  There are 14 parks in Chicago that offer woodworking classes, where you can learn to use scroll saws, band saws, and other tools of basic wood craft.  Portage Park, at 4100 N. Long Ave., has a fine workshop.  Friends have taken classes there; the results were surprisingly good!  This site: http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/facilities/woodshop will get you all the information you need to attend a class and begin to let your inner artist free.

This summer will last forever, or at least well into October.  There is still so much to do and enjoy, outdoors, across our beautiful city.  I hope to see you out there.