Strolling Around Chicago: For the Kids

Consider broadening your conference experience into a weekend getaway for the family!

Chicago has child-friendly museums, two great zoos, world-class parks, Navy Pier’s attractions (including a Ferris wheel), and lots of shops catering to what kids like. Kids’ favorite eats are practically cultural icons here, from hot dogs to pizza, Cracker Jack to ice cream sundaes (invented in Evanston).

Before your trip, children can explore the Windy City by checking out the Chicago For Kids Explore Chicago Downloadable Tour presented by the Chicago Office of Tourism. Click the Virtual Visits link for neat and quirky facts about the city.

Find up-to-date events designed for families visiting Chicago on the Office of Tourism site.

If you require childcare while you are attending sessions and workshops please contact the conference hotel. The DoubleTree Hotel partners with American Child Care, Inc. for guests’ childcare services. Contact American Child Care by phone at 312-644-7300 or online at: http://www.americanchildcare.com/ (There is a four-hour minimum.)

 

MAC Reception: After Hours at After-Words

After-Words Bookstore will welcome MAC 2010 attendees to the annual reception from 6 pm – 8 pm on Thursday, April 22.  Owner Beverly Dvorkin’s independent bookstore offers 60,000 volumes in 8,000 sq. feet of book lover’s heaven.

Dvorkin’s store has been a fixture in Chicago’s River North neighborhood since 1996, and After-Words frequently hosts receptions and other community events.  (It has even served as the debut stage for local playwrights.)  The store’s two levels hold an extensive selection of new and used titles, while Beverly says After-Words’ collection of 20^th century 1^st editions – “your John Irvings and Milan Kunderas” – is particularly strong.  Most importantly for the bibliophiles among us, After-Words will be open for business during the reception!

When asked how she feels about surrendering her store to a troop of archivists for the night, Beverly gamely replied, “It’ll be fun, honestly.”  Your 2010 Local Arrangements Committee couldn’t agree more.  And, as an added bonus, After-Words is located next door to the legendary Jazz Record Mart!

.

 

Strolling Around Chicago: Landmarks Tours

Chicago is home to many important architectural landmarks. As of January 1, 2009, 276 individual landmarks, 51 districts, and 7 district extensions have been designated as Chicago Landmarks by the City Council.

To be recommended for landmark status, a building or district must meet at least two of the following criteria: critical part of Chicago’s heritage, site of a significant event, association with a significant person, important architecture, important architect, distinctive theme as a district, or unique visual feature; and must also retain a high degree of architectural integrity (from the Landmarks website). For more information on this process, visit the Landmarks website.

Self-guided tours of Chicago landmarks are available online. The tours group the landmarks by theme – such as Mansions, Music and Art, African-American history – and provide a great introduction to the history of Chicago. Included online are descriptions and photographs of the landmarks. While most of these tours take you all over Chicago (with stops in the Loop), two tours – The Loop Tour and The Early Skyscrapers Tour – explore landmarks only in Chicago’s Loop – near the conference hotel and easily accessible on foot.

 

Just bus it!

Using public transportation can be daunting if you’re not used to it.  And if you are used to it, you know what it’s like to stand in the cold..anxiously, hopefully waiting for your bus to appear.

photo courtesy Chicago Transit Authority

In some great news for bus riders, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has recently implemented the amazing Bus Tracker, which uses GPS technology to provide accurate information about bus locations and estimated arrival times.  You can check the Bus Tracker website for lists of arrival times according to route and stop, and a real-time map of bus locations, but even better is a new feature which enables riders to receive arrival times by text message.  Learn how here: Bus Tracker by Text instructions

Got an iPhone?  Check out the CTA Tracker and Buster apps.

Got a Blackberry?  There’s one for you too:  BusBerry.

The DoubleTree Hotel is located on or near many bus routes, which can take you all over the city.  Don’t waste time worrying & waiting..take advantage of Bus Tracker and make the most of your trip to Chicago!

 

What’s Going on Here?

Chicago has so much going on – music, theater, museum exhibits, comedy, restaurants – that it can be hard to answer the question What shall we do? Locals have several resources at their disposal for finding a new place for dinner or where to hear some jazz for the evening.

The Chicago Reader is a great place to start looking for all sorts of events and performances by date, genre and venue.  Pick up a copy of the Reader at sites all over town, or visit the website, www.chireader.com.  Handy features include tabs for browsing “Music,” “Art & Events,” and “Best of Chicago.”

Metromix also sponsors a Chicago site that offers a search engine for restaurants by location, price range, cuisine, and more.  The site offers great listings and searches for music and events as well.

Centerstage Chicago offers similar event listings and services, but has an additional feature called “Virtual L.”  Choose an L (or “el”) stop and see what’s in the neighborhood that surrounds it.  A great supplement for your self-guided tours!

 

It’s a Deal! – Chicago on the Cheap

Chicago can be expensive, but luckily there are ways to explore it without breaking the bank.

Try Two Buck Duck for deals on dining and services around the city – for which you pay only, that’s right, two bucks.  Typical deals include $2 for a coupon that gets you an appetizer with drink purchase; $2 for a session at a yoga studio; or $2 for a buy-one get-one entrée deal.  Deals must be purchased on the day they’re offered, but the coupons are usually good for several months.  Check the site often, and be sure to read the offer details.

Half-Price Chicago also offers great dining and entertainment discounts around the city.  $15 could buy you a $30 gift certificate at a Loop pub, or you might pay $25 for $50 worth of tickets for a local sketch comedy show.  These specials are usually around for more than a day, but most will have a use-by date – read the fine print!

 

Groupon.com

Groupon.com is a great way to find things to do in Chicago at dramatically reduced prices!  We (the Local Arrangements Committee) know the last thing you want to do after getting all the way to Chicago is pay full price at a restaurant.

If you sign up for Groupon, you’ll get an email every couple of days with a “Deal of the Day”, which is usually something like 50% off (or better) at a local restaurant, museum, or theatre.  It’s also not uncommon for things like tours, salons, and parking to appear on the list.  Groupons, when purchased, are usually good for at least a year (unless they’re for a certain theatre performance)–so if you sign up now, you’re sure to get a fantastic selection of deals offered to you before your arrival in Chicago.  Buy as many as you want and you’ll find your evenings packed with entertainment during your stay here. It’s never too early to start planning your trip to Chicago for MAC 2010!