Frank Brichetto

Chicago Correspondent

We’ve been having a great Summer, so we’ll forget, for now, that Autumn will soon be upon us. September will be at least as busy as July and August have been, so be prepared! The weather has been quite unpredictable, so please check ahead and bring sunscreen or umbrellas as needed. As usual, many of our destinations require advance purchase tickets, or online registrations, please read ahead and secure your spots early.

Jumping right into our endless fun, the Chicago Jazz Festival opens today, Thursday, September 3^rd, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and goes on all weekend. We hope you will join us around 5:00pm, so we can get some food and drinks before the opening remarks. The National Anthem will precede Lift Every Voice, and then it’s all Jazz, starting with 2 Brown Sisters: Maggie and Africa Brown. These two have strong voices, great stage moves, and energizing music. What a great beginning!

Then we’ll hear a vibraphonist, Joel Ross and Good Vibes, playing with a modern, energetic approach to contemporary jazz. The evening’s headliners, vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and pianist Bill Charlap, have a unique synergy, pushing each other in different directions with no letup in creativity. This is Jazz at its best.

Please join us today, Friday, September 4^th, as we answer the question: “Do I want to drive an F1 car?” (Spoiler alert, the answer is “Yes!”) F1® Arcade Chicago, 1 W. Grand Ave., https://f1arcade.com/us/chicago, has recently opened and their incredible racing simulators are bringing “adrenaline-fueled adventure like no other” to mere pedestrians and fans like us. We can split into pairs book about 45 minutes of “Head-to Head Racing”. We’ve never been here, but this is what their website describes: “A high-octane F1® racing simulator experience, blending the adrenaline of Formula 1® with immersive full-motion racing, premium dining, and expertly crafted cocktails for unmatched social gaming entertainment… Assemble your pit crew, order a cocktail, and get behind the wheel of a cutting-edge F1® simulator for an unforgettable, high-speed night out.”

Today, Saturday, September 5^th, is a great day to see “I Killed Andy Breitbart”. In 2012, Andrew Breitbart’s final blog posting was about Terrapin Theatre‘s 1998 production of “The Love Song of Saul Alinsky”, a play that featured then State Senator Barack Obama on a post-show discussion panel. Breitbart suddenly died that night, and his blog was posted posthumously. What followed was an extraordinary chain of events in which Terrapin’s producer became an unlikely target in the far right’s effort to derail President Obama’s reelection campaign.

Pam Dickler, who wrote and performs this one-person performance, was the founding managing director of Terrapin Theatre, and on scene while this strange and sometimes frightening episode took place. The importance of rational, truthful public discourse in the face of disinformation and political divisiveness is even more important today than in 2012. Her first-person perspective has given us this witty, interesting, satirical play. The show is onstage at the Apollo Theater Studio, 2550 N. Lincoln Ave., https://www.apollochicago.com/.  Please meet us there before the 8:00pm start, and we’ll get seats together.

One day of Jazz is never enough, so today, Sunday, September 6^th, we’re going back to Jazz Fest.  The music spreads across four stages, and we’ll start at the Von Freeman stage at 11:30 with M.A.D.D. Rhythms, “a phenomenal TAP dance collective whose “SOLE” purpose is to spread the Love and Joy of TAP worldwide.” Their dancers range from 18 to 50 years of age, and they will undoubtedly dazzle us with their amazing abilities.

After that, we can walk between the stages, catching tunes from artists as varied as the Arman Sangalang Quartet, the Michael Davenport Quartet, and Alex Beltran’s Sunday Soul, ending up at the Pavillion for Isaiah Collier: “COLLIER plays COLTRANE”, and Bethany Pickens Soulful Coalition.

Tonight, Saturday, September 12^th, we’ll travel to the MAC, https://atthemac.org/, and hope you’ll join us for an unforgettable concert night. Jim Belushi & The Sacred Hearts will be performing live on the stage that bears his name, the Belushi Performance Hall.  I love their music, it’s an electrifying blend of blues, rock and soul. Jim Belushi’s exuberant personality mixed with powerhouse vocals and musicianship from The Sacred Hearts is compelling and high-energy. It’s fun and spontaneous, as you would expect from his long career in music and in comedy. Even familiar songs may come wrapped in an unexpected story, bit of comedy, storytelling or onstage movement.

Don’t believe me, see and hear for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6MFOZegXUk, then

meet us for the 8:00pm show at the MAC, McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellen.

Let’s visit Downers Grove this evening, Friday, September 18^th, and take part in the annual Oktoberfest, https://www.dgoktoberfest.org/. It all happens in the big Library & Forest Parking Lots, on Burlington Ave. between Main St. & Forest Ave. Of course there will be live music, a Kids’ Zone, and Authentic Oktoberfest Fare, in a Traditional German atmosphere! The food will be delicious, authentically German, and quite satisfying. Elle Banke will be on stage, as will Candlebox, and special guest Local H. The 13th annual event is designed as a lively community celebration combining German food, music, family activities and Oktoberfest festivities in the heart of downtown. It features a covered stage and large tents so the celebration continues rain or shine. Best of all, the proceeds are donated to local schools. We hope to meet you there.

An Art Fair sounds like just the thing today, Saturday, September 19^th, and lucky for us, the Lakeview East Festival of the Arts, https://lakevieweastfestivalofthearts.com/, is in full swing. With two music stages, live demonstrations, entertainment stages, family activities and a garden oasis, this has become a combination of serious art fair, neighborhood celebration and enjoyable entertainment. More than 150 juried artists will showcase their paintings, sculpture, photography, furniture, jewelry and more, so of course there will be casual browsing and perhaps some shopping. The Festival takes over Broadway from Belmont to Hawthorne Place, and while we stroll, we can enjoy various cuisines from local restaurants.

Today, Saturday, September 26^th, we’re going to take time to visit MSI, the Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, https://www.griffinmsi.org, to experience Anne Frank; The Exhibition. This is one of those “must see” presentations that we’ve been delaying for too long.

We’ll get a deep, personal look at the life of the young writer whose diary became the world’s most widely read account of the Holocaust. Anne grew up in Frankfurt, Germany. With the rise of the Nazi party, the ascendancy of the Hitler regime, and the rapid spread of anti-Semitism, the Frank family moved to Amsterdam. After the Nazi’s occupied the Netherlands, Anne, her family and four other Jewish people spent two years hidden in the Secret Annex. Her diary described their life in hiding. They were eventually discovered, arrested, and transported to concentration camps. Only her father survived.

We will view a meticulously recreated Annex, complete with more than 130 original pieces from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, AnneFrankExhibit.org, some of which have never been exhibited before. This dreadful part of history comes vividly to life from a completely different perspective. Through photographs, film, sound and multimedia installations Anne comes to us not as a victim, but as a spirited survivor, aspiring writer, and now, 86 years later, an enduring symbol of courage in the face of hardship.

I know, I know, it’s October already, but hey, it’s apple season. So today, Saturday, October 3^rd, we hope that you will join us as we stroll through the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Apple Fest. We’ll start at Lincoln and Lawrence Aves., and take our time celebrating all things apple while we walk to Sunnyside. Each year at Apple Fest, many of the local restaurateurs show their creativity with delicious and even inspiring apple recipes. So please arrive early and hungry, and bring the kids along, because the annual “Pooch Costume Contest” starts at 9:30am. After that there is a wide assortment of Wiggleworms, Musicians, Jugglers, Sing-a-longs, demonstrations, crafts, games and hands-on learning experiences at the South Stage to keep them fascinated.

We can take turns watching the kids, while the rest us drift to the North Stage to take in long sets of bluegrass, alternative rock, and some fusion-styles-numbers from local and very creative musicians.

There are about 80 vendors with booths and displays of goods that we can critique as we stroll. Of course, it’s always time to eat when we’re at a festival. Among the several dozen food vendors, The Baked Cheese Haus has apple baked cheese skewers, drizzled with cinnamon syrup. Do you want some? How about a toasted baguette melted over with Raclette cheese? Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits is here; we’ve eaten there before, everything has been delicious. Now they are sourcing many ingredients directly from Mick Klug Farms of southeast Michigan and we can’t wait to taste the results: Endless Summer Cheesecake, Cherry Berry (a pastry crust filled with mixed berries and topped with crumble), and a few other delights. Let’s all get something different to share. Would you like apple cider or coffee?

It never fails that we sail quickly through the month and even taste what’s in store next month. It won’t stop now, so until next time, friends and readers, good bye, good luck, and keep adventuring.