Museum Visit Almost Over for McGroarty

Kate McGroarty beat out 1,500 other applicants to win the Month at the Museum competition. The 24-year-old Chicago theater artist and customer service representative has been living in the Museum of Science and Industry since October 20th, blogging, Facebooking, and Tweeting about her experience. (She has even made YouTube videos, like the one seen below). She has been staying in the museum 24 hours a day with access to many of the exhibits.

Once her month in the museum is complete (November 18th), McGroarty will receive a $10,000 prize.

"Art Loop Open" Has a Successful First Year

The first ever Chicago Art Loop Open ended its successful run on October 29th. Almost 200 local artists transformed ten downtown locations with interactive art exhibits. The new competition relied on public votes to award over $60,000 in prizes. People were encouraged to visit the multiple venues between October 15th and 29th in order to view the pieces. Venues included Macy's on State Street and the Chicago Hard Rock Hotel.

John Dempsy's piece, "The Great American Landscape," took first place. His artwork was located in Macy's and he was awarded $25,000 of the total prize amount. 

"Till We Meet Again," by David Lavitt, was awarded the second place prize of $15,000 for his work, located in the Chicago French Market. 

The third place, $10,000 prize went to Joseph Ivacic for his display at the Hotel Burnham. 

By visiting the Art Loop Open's website, you may purchase the artwork that was a part of the competition.

Film Festivals Show Off Chicago's Artistic Side

 The 46th annual Chicago International Film Festival showcased movies from over 50 countries this year, including films from local Chicago artists. The festival ran from October 7th to the 20th, and new movies, shorts, and clips were shown every day. Regular admission to the festival was $13, but prices varied depending on the type of film that was showing. Russia won the top award at this year's competition with the film "How I Ended The Summer" (see the trailer below). To see the complete list of this year's winners, click here.

In other movie news, DePaul University will be accepting early entries to their 18th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival on December 1st. More information on the festival and its experimental documentary films can be found by following this link.

Daley Looks to Privatize the Taste of Chicago

(Picture from the Huffington Post)

 The Taste of Chicago has been a part of downtown festivities since 1980, but Mayor Daley hopes to privatize the event in order to decrease the cost to the city. He hopes that this will help to balance the city's budget by avoiding additional costs. Daley has said the the Taste is too large of a burden to the city and that it is no longer profitable.

The question is, just how much does the long-standing event cost the city of Chicago?

Last year, $2 million was spent on policing the lakefront during festivals. $1.5 million of that was spent during the Taste.

The major risk here for the people is that private vendors could impose an entrance fee on attendees. Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lois Weisberg fears that this could drive down attendance, eventually ending the Chicago tradition. If Mayor Daley's plan succeeds, vendors could charge much more than the $10 for a strip of tickets that people paid at this year's Taste.

Foodie Communities Gather in the Chicago Area

(Picture from Chicagoist.com)

The Rockefeller version of the Taste of Chicago was in town the last weekend of September for Chicagoans with refined taste buds. The third annual Chicago Gourmet, the city’s premium food and wine festival, was held in Millennium Park.  As always, the event focused on the talents of Chicago-based chefs, such as The Food Network’s Iron Chef competitor Rick Bayless. Gourmands forked over $250 for two-day general-admission tickets. There were five food pavilions at the festival, so devoted eaters sampled up to 50 creations a day. The festival sold out quickly, but it’s never too late to check out their website and make plans to stop by next year.

If you can’t wait another year to sample some great food, stop by The Great American Cooking Expo! The showcase will be held  in Arlington Heights on November 13^th and 14^th. Tickets are only $10 (making it much more affordable than the Gourmet Festival). Many different chefs will be at the expo, giving demonstrations on how to prepare many different kinds of delicious meals. Make sure you sign up now, if you’d like to participate.