Are you a foodie? If you are (actually, even if you’re not) you should thing about getting to Chicago’s Millennium Park September 24-26 for Chicago Gourmet 2010. You’ll be able to enjoy the city of Chicago’s extraordinary flavors and share your interest in food and wine with renowned chefs, top restaurateurs, and well versed sommeliers.

Food celebrities Rick Bayless, Graham Elliot Bowles, Cat Cora, Gale Gand, Stephanie Izard, Tony Mantuano, Carrie Nahabedian, Art Smith, and many, many others will be applying their skills to this spectacular celebration of food and wine. There are currently  95 chefs lined up to participate in demonstrations, educational seminars, book signings, and more. You can enjoy exclusive wine tastings and presentations with top sommeliers Frederick Dame, Alpana Singh, Serafin Alvarado, and others during the Grand Cru events. Plus there will be beer and spirits tastings as well.

Outside of the specific events occurring in Millennium Park, there will be over 45 restaurants who will offer special prix-fixe and a la carte menus starting August 30 and running through the end of Chicago Gourmet 2010 on September 26. If you have the time to do so, be sure to hit five of the participating restaurants. If you do, bring your receipts to Chicago Gourmet 2010 on September 25 or September 26 and you’ll get a free one-day pass to the event.

As a compliment to Chicago Gourmet 2010, Smart Destinations put together a special “Taste of the City Pass” that combines admission to Skydeck Chicago (the former Sears Tower observation deck), the Shoreline Cruise skyline tour, and the Grayline Hop-On/Hop-Off tour – all in one pass and all at a significant discount.

For more info on Chicago Gourmet 2010, you can go to the official website for the event. Enjoy!

“I can’t find Sears Tower.” It may sound crazy to say about one of the tallest buildings in the world, but we’ve been hearing it a lot. People go looking for it on the web and come to the conclusion that it’s gone.

Rest assured the building is still there. It’s still extremely tall. It’s arguably better than ever. But it has a different name.

No, the building formerly known as Sears Tower has not changed its name to an unpronounceable symbol. It is now known as the Willis Tower. Willis, a large reinsurance firm, bought the naming rights to the building and not surprisingly changed the name. Just to make things slightly more complicated, the observation deck has its own name: Skydeck Chicago.

Originally completed in 1973, the then Sears Tower was the tallest building in the world until 1998. At 1,450 feet (1,704 if you count it’s antenna), the now Willis Tower is plenty tall.

And no matter what name you use, the views from Skydeck Chicago at the top of the Willis Tower are not just as good as they were when it was called Sears Tower, they are better. At least as long as the thought of being able to look straight down 1,353 feet is your idea of “better.” The folks at Skydeck Chicago have put glass viewing platforms that extend out from the walls of the building. By standing on what is known as “The Ledge” you can not only look up and out, but straight down between your feet.

Quick tip: a Go Chicago Card will get you in free to Skydeck Chicago (plus pretty much anything else you’d want to see in the city) or build it into your own personal custom explorer pass for Chicago. Either way you save money compared to buying tickets separately.

For more than a decade people have realized they could and should shop online for flights, hotels, and car rentals to make sure they not only got what they wanted, but also got it at the best possible price.

The same phenomena is now beginning to occur around the things people do while on vacation. Thanks to the advent of the attraction pass, also known as a city pass or sightseeing pass, people now not only can, but should, book the things they want to do before walking up to them.

With an attraction pass like a Go Card, the holder pays one flat fee for a set number of days. Then the Go Card works as a universal ticket for that number of days to the various museums, sights, activities, and tours in the area.

Take Chicago for example. The Go Chicago Card covers everything from Skydeck Chicago (fka Sears Tower) to the Field Museum to Shedd Aquarium to the hop-on/hop-off bus tour. With a three day Go Chicago Card you can pretty much see everything you would want to see on a visit to Chicago, and save a significant amount of money in the process.

A related attraction pass, the Explorer Pass, works similarly, but instead of buying by the day, you can take either get one that allows you to take you pick of three attractions from a list of 26, or literally build your own pass — selecting exactly what you want and adding it to a Custom Explorer Pass that works as your ticket to whatever you chose (and again, saving you money in the process).

There is a handy video that explains how the concept of a attraction pass works HERE.

Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age is a special exhibition coming to The Field Museum. Visitors will step back to the time of these fascinating animals with a series of exhibits and interactive opportunities.

The highlight is Lyuba, a 42,000 year old baby woolly mammoth. Lyuba made headlines when she was discovered because she is the most complete mammoth ever discovered. You’ll learn how she and her kind lived and survived in a world populated with saber-tooth tigers and short-faced bears.

Other exhibits include the opportunity to try your hand at cave art, to touch mastodon teeth, and even feel mammoth fur.

Mammoths and Mastodons runs from March 5 through September 6, 2010. A Go Chicago Card (or a Chicago Explorer Pass) can be used for admission to the Field Museum — and let you skip the entry lines. The Exhibition has an additional charge for visitors of $22 for adults and $15 for children which can be purchased directly at the museum.

Attraction Passes are a great way to save money seeing the sights and attractions in a growing number of cities and destinations around the world. This article is designed to help you understand what an Attraction Pass is, how it works, and which one should you choose.

What is an Attraction Pass?

Attraction Passes are multi-attraction tickets. For one pre-paid price, an Attraction Pass serves as your entrance ticket to multiple museums, tours, sights, parks, etc. Most Attraction Passes are priced to save you money compared to buying individual tickets at the included attractions.

Attractions Passes come in multiple forms, but three types are the most common:

·         Pre-Set Bundle – Includes a specific set of attractions and works as a ticket to any and all of the included attractions (e.g., the Paris Musee Pass, the New Orleans Audubon Experience Ticket)

·         Prix Fixe – Customer selects a fixed number of admissions, then chooses how to spend those admissions from a list of included attractions (e.g., the Explorer Pass in multiple U.S. destinations)

·         “All-You-Can-Eat” – Purchased for your chosen number of days, they act as a ticket to as many of the included attractions as you want for the duration of the pass. Examples include Go City Cards across North America, the London Pass, and the Sydney Pass.

In addition to their primary benefit as a money saving way to get into multiple attractions, some come with secondary benefits like line skipping privileges, shopping discounts, and restaurant deals.

How Do Attraction Passes Work?

The attraction pass works as any other ticket, except for the fact it is valid for entry at more than one location. You simply hand your pass over at the relevant attraction, they validate it, and in you go. In some specifics cases it can be slightly more complicated (e.g., where an advance reservation is required), but in general using an attraction pass is as easy or easier than using a standard ticket.

Which Attraction Pass Should I Choose?

It all depends on what kind of traveler you are. Going back to the three most common types:

·         Pre-Set Bundle – If you know what you want to see is covered by this type of Pass, then this can be a great option. The primary drawback of a pre-set bundle is that in many cases it fails to cover the travelers full itinerary, thereby limiting the savings. Also, these passes often exclude the more expensive tours and attractions, thereby limiting their saving benefits.

·         Prix Fixe – As with the pre-set bundle, check if what you want to see is included in the attraction choices offered. One advantage these passes have over pre-set bundles is choice and flexibility. In addition to having more attraction options, you don’t have to decide in advance which ones you are actually going to visit. Also these Passes usually get you into one or more of the more expensive “must-see’s” in a given destinations.

·         “All-You-Can-Eat” – By far the most comprehensive and flexible, these passes are optimal for many travelers. As with the Prix Fixe type passes, you do not have to decide anything in advance. They also tend to include the full breadth of a destination’s museums, tours, and attractions, including expensive options like trolley tours, cruises, and the like. One word of caution: if you only plan to see 1 or 2 things a day, it may be tough to get savings from the Pass.

No matter which type of Pass you need, Smart Destinations has you covered in the City of Chicago. We offer and all-you-can-eat Go Chicago Card, a Prix Fixe Chicago Explorer Pass. And if you want a pre-set bundle, we’ll let you build your own – try our Custom Explorer Pass to build a ticket with just what you want and at a savings vs. buying individual tickets. This custom option lets you avoid the most common shortcoming of pre-builts, since you are the one deciding what is included.

Have a wonderful time doing all the great things to do visiting the City of Chicago!

At 6:36 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 14, we welcomed Puiji’s calf into the Shedd family. Mom and calf are doing well. Members of our marine mammals and animal health staffs are monitoring the pair around the clock, watching for them to pass critical milestones in the next hours and days. See photos of the baby, video of the birth and follow the calf’s progress on our interactive page.

Museum of Science and Industry,  2009 Performance & Events Schedule

All activities take place in the Holiday Stage area off the Museum’s East Court, Main Floor. Please note that the schedule is subject to change. Choral performances by area school groups will also take place from Nov. 26 through Dec. 18.

December

Gingerbread White House (Friday, Dec. 4 - Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010)
See the White House in sweet splendor with a mouth-watering model of the White House created by pastry instructor Marilyn Santos-McNabb and her students from the Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC). The West Wing, East Wing and Executive Residence will be crafted from gingerbread, chocolate and sugar!

Saturday, Dec. 5
11 a.m. — Faith Filipiniana Dance Group/Chicago Angklung & Rondalla Ensemble/Sampaguita Singers — (Philippines)
12:15 p.m. — Boliviamanta Dance Ensemble (Bolivia)
1:30 p.m. — Norwegian National League of Chicago - Folk song and dance
2:45 p.m. — Mangalorean Konkan Christian Association (India) – Pageant, song and dance
4 p.m. — Royal Scottish Country Dance Society/Chicago Branch Demo Team

Sunday, Dec. 6
12:15 p.m. — The Italianettes – Folk dancing, song and costume showcase
1:30 p.m. — Harvard High School Madrigals (England) – Choral performance
2:45 p.m. — Knights of Lithuania Dancers and Choir
4 p.m. — Flores de Mexico & Affinity Dance Company

Saturday, Dec. 12
11 a.m. — Danish American Athletic Club – Folk dancing
12:15 p.m. — Classic Act Choral Ensemble
1:30 p.m. — Thistle & Heather Highland Dancers (Scotland)
2:45 p.m. — Chicagoland Festival Chorus
4 p.m. — Robert Healy School Chinese Ensemble - Folk songs

Sunday, Dec. 13
12:15 p.m. — Finnladies of Chicago (Finland) – Traditional singing
1:30 p.m. — Iskra School of Ukranian Dance & Ukranian Children’s Choir, Cherubic Voices
2:45 p.m. — Cambrian Society (Wales) – Folk dancing, song and theatrical performance
4 p.m. — Orpheus Hellenic Folklore Society (Greece) – Folk dancing and song

Saturday, Dec. 19
11 a.m. — Kupa’a Pacific Island Resources (Hawaii) – Dance and music
12:15 p.m. — “Raices” Rondalla Cultural Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico) – Traditional instrumentation
1:30 p.m. — The Hump Night Thumpers (USA) – Jug band performing traditional blues, jazz and ragtime
2:45 p.m. — Acapellago (USA) – Acapella choral music
4 p.m. — Belizean Cultural Bearers – Folk song, dance and narrative skits

Sunday, Dec. 20
12:15 p.m. — Choomsarang Korean Traditional Dance Group
1:30 p.m. — Tierra Colombiana Folkloric Dance Company (Colombia)
2:45 p.m. — Polish Scouting Organization – Choral performance with dance and skits

Monday, Dec. 21
1:30 p.m. — Improv Playhouse (USA) – Song and theatrical performance
2:45 p.m. — Holy Cross/IHM Marimba Ensemble and Children’s Choir (Mexico/Central America)

Saturday, Dec. 26
11 a.m. — Frula Folklore Group (Serbia) – Pageantry, choral performance and folk dancing
12:15 p.m. — Mamma Sunshine (Kwanzaa) – Storytelling
1:30 p.m. — Tuwamari, Ballet Folklorico Ecuatoriano (Ecuador) – Folk dancing and song
2:45 p.m. — Figle (Poland) – Folk dancing and song in traditional costume

Sunday, Dec. 27
12:15 p.m. — “Campanella” Children’s Choir (Russia)
1:30 p.m. — Renacer Boliviano Dance Troupe (Bolivia)
2:45 p.m. — Holy Nativity Romanian Orthodox Church, Miorita Ensemble – Folk dance
4 p.m. — Holy Resurrection Cathedral Church (Serbia) – Folklore and choral music

“We’ve continued to grow strongly in 2009,” said Cecilia Dahl, founder and President of Smart Destinations. “Beyond the savings component of our product we know from our customers that they see this as a way to travel smarter as well as more economically.” Dahl points to markets like Hawaii as a place where relatively well heeled travelers are embracing Smart Destinations’ Go Oahu and Go Maui cards and driving strong growth for the company.

“This is the equivalent of BMW’s in the Costco parking lot or the spread of private sale shopping sites,” said Dahl. “These aren’t customers who need a deal. But they like knowing they have been smart enough to get one.” Smart Destinations has seen growth across its 14 destinations in 2009, from Hawaii and San Diego to Miami and Boston.

The customer making the 3 millionth visit used a Go Chicago Card, one of Smart Destination’s flagship ‘Go City Cards’.  Go City Cards allow a customer to pay a single price and then use the card as their entry ticket to as many as 80 different attractions in a given destination. Smart Destinations other product, the Explorer Pass, similarly allows customers to save time and money by paying once for the card and then using it for a set number of attractions in their destination of choice. The products area available across North America – from Oahu to Boston, San Diego to Toronto, and a dozen top destinations in between.