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Showing posts with the label Ravinia

Celebrating Romance is Different This Year

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  Sanctuary at Camelback I know it’s been a while. I think it’s pretty obvious that I haven’t been doing much traveling. Like everyone else in the world, I’ve mostly been sheltering in place. I did manage to get in two short, socially distant trips over the past six months that I will be posting soon. In the meantime, I thought I’d do a roundup of some ideas for those looking to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Romance deserves more than one day a year. February is the month that you’ll see most of the deals for it. That’s not different in this crazy time. What is different is the options to do things from a distance – if you’d like. Here are some ideas from places I have been to and enjoyed. Stay healthy. Wear your masks. I hope we’ll all be hitting the road in the near future. Marcia Frost Heart-Shaped Chocolate Cake? Of course! The chocolate cake at Portillo’s is one of my favorites ever. In honor of Valentine’s Day,, they always have a heart-shaped one available. This year, t

A Different Ravinia This Year

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Ravinia is one of the most unique music presentations in the world. I am a huge fan of the music festival and can’t believe I just discovered it a few years ago. The Ravinia Festival has been running all summer long for over 50 years. Located in Highland Park, Illinois, it’s always presented top performers from around the world, with genres that cover all the bases. Unlike other music festivals, Ravinia is non-profit and runs on sponsorships and gifts. Last year  I did a story on the ZZ Top concert  I had seen at Ravinia the previous year, along with a preview of the upcoming season. I also included it in a number of my CI Living segments. I had planned on doing the same thing this year, but, this year, as we all know, life is quite different.  During the Ravinia Festival in 2019, I had the pleasure of seeing Nickelback perform, with Buckcherry opening for them. I have always been an unapologetic Nickelback fan. They have produced some of my favorite song

Highlights of Ravinia with ZZ Top and John Fogerty

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When I first received an email about Ravinia , I have to confess that I had no idea what it was. I had heard of it, but didn’t think of it beyond being a venue in Chicagoland. I was certainly wrong about that. Ravinia is actually the longest running outdoor music festival in North America.  Unlike what you would normally expect from a “festival,” this one lasts for four months and has been taking place for over 50 years. It is also non-profit. Each year, from June-September, Ravinia Festival schedules 140 musical performances, from classical to rock.  Among those for 2018 are Diana Ross , Tony Bennett, and Seal. My friend and photographer, Brittany, and I went through the schedule to decide which event would work best for us.  We decided on the concert with ZZ Top and John Fogerty, neither of which we had ever seen. We drove to see the event. I was not feeling my best and was immediately impressed with their complimentary and easy to find handica