Has this not been an exciting Summer?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve visited the Air & Water Show, Jazz Fest, Blues Fest, The Renegade Art Fair, Taste of Polonia, Throwback Music Fest, Port Clinton Art Fair, Schaumberg’s Festival, Festa Italiana, and, of course, The Ukrainian Village Festival.  Before the Fest I did speak not a word of Ukrainian; despite that, I had a great time.  Everyone was wonderfully friendly.  The music, the dancing (the absolutely AMAZING dancing) Ukrainian clothes, food, and beer could not have been better.  My friend, our editor, Olga Ruda, was there, and she is now teaching me to speak a few words in Ukrainain: so, my friends, “Slava Ukrayini!”

I can tell you that the people at the Ukrainian Festival were the best dressed of all the groups I’ve been around this summer.  That says a lot about the pride Ukrainian people have, both in themselves and in their country, heritage and customs.  A great lesson to remember; thank you, Olga!

Warm weather may be ending soon, but our adventures never end.  Let us create new stories to tell our friends, all starting with “You missed it…”

Let’s look at some new and some familiar places:  The Art Institute of Chicago is always one of my favorite places (gentlemen, it’s a great place to take your sweetheart, trust me), and on Thursdays, it’s free admission after 5pm and open until 8pm, which leaves plenty of time to stroll Millennium Park, or have a wonderful meal on Michigan Avenue.  The galleries are world class; Renoir, Chagall, Rembrandt, and a multitude of other artists will hold your vision and widen your perception of the world.  http://www.artic.edu 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago.

Another excellent, but lesser known, art museum, the Smart Museum of Art, http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/  at the University of Chicago, is always free.  Take in the museum, the collections of photographs, the sculpture garden, and so much more; children and student activities, “lively art-making programs for families” and many other programs.  5550 S. Greenwood Ave., Chicago, open from 10am to 5pm, Tuesday – Sunday, 8pm on Thursday.

 If you have children of any age, you will certainly want to visit one of our favorite places, Navy Pier, and spend many hours in the Chicago Children’s Museum there.  It’s THREE stories tall, and includes a schooner ship, complete with rigging that kids can climb, all the way to the “crow’s nest” atop the main mast.  The Dinosaur Dig, Tinkering Lab, Treehouse Trails, and more will keep your kids interested and involved.  There is a water play area, so bring extra clothes. chicagochildrensmuseum.org 700 E. Grand Ave. at Navy Pier, Chicago.  10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Wednesday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday. Check their website for free days.

Fischer Farm, 16W680 Grand Avenue, Bensenville, http://www.bensenvilleparkdistrict.org/pdcms/fischer-farm is a living example of an early farmstead in this area.  Part of the 1838 farm house still stands, and it’s the oldest structure in DuPage county.  The farm tells the story of Conrad Fischer and his family, who came to America in 1836, and built this farm and dairy business.  There are family photographs and other displays, and the land immediately north of the farm buildings has never been tilled, farmed, or built upon, so it looks today as it did in 1836 when settlers first arrived.  It’s quite fascinating.

Speaking of farms, up in Glenview there’s the Wagner Farm, a remarkable, engaging, and educational place to learn about pasturing dairy cows, raising chickens and collecting eggs, using draft horses to plow or pull wagons, and especially see the daily activities or a working dairy farm.  Encompassing over 18 acres, you be treated to many exhibits and displays, including the award-winning Historic Wagner Farm Heritage Center. http://www.wagnerfarm.org/ 1510 Wagner Road, Glenview, open daily from 9am – 5pm, Sundays from 9am- 3pm.

Back downtown, right on Michigan Avenue, we’ll find the McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum, a five story celebration of Chicago’s famous moveable bridges and the Chicago River.  It’s a very small place, actually a tour of the bridgehouse.  If you time it right, and spend a bit more, you can see the massive gears in motion as the bridge raises and lowers.  As you move up from the river level, you’ll learn the story of the Chicago River, once again a beautiful place for people and wildlife. http://www.bridgehousemuseum.org/ SW Bridgetower at Michigan Ave. & Wacker Dr., 99 Chicago Riverwalk, Chicago.

Every day should be a life adventure, every adventure another story.  Come along, my friends, the stories never end.