celebrities

If you missed me showing you the play by play on twitter & facebook of Lollapalooza this year, enjoy these pictures!

While sitting in BD’s office, someone mentioned seeing Billy on MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen for Maestro Harrell’s Chicago birthday party (click here for the video!). Of course we had to look up the...

What if my avatar literally came to life and spoke to people about a gigantic party to celebrate his 2nd birthday as the "person" behind all my social media platforms (facebook, twitter, blog..) that had been communicating with tens of thousands of people with similar interests for the last 2 years? And what if he explained in a really fun way that this huge party would benefit one of our favorite philanthropic missions, feeding people in need. Well, that was the crazy idea we came up with at Rockit Ranch Productions 6 months ago when we produced the attached video- we just never thought we would actually win awards for it!!??!

Ryan Dempster is a starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs and has over thirteen years of MLB experience. He has been with the Cubs for the past eight years! His daughter, Riley, was born in 2009 with the genetic disorder 22q, which prompted him and his wife to start the Dempster Family foundation. The disease is a chromosomal abnormality that causes a very wide range of health issues. Not only does the disease cause developmental issues, but it also is the source of heart defects, autism, and immune system problems. Currently, a cure does not exist and children suffering from the disease require significant medical attention.

The Fourth of July has just passed but let’s not let the celebration and support for our troops simmer down. There is a new movie out called Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good that has a way of helping us...

Hey aChicagoThing.com readers...Caitlin Presberg here, Summer Intern for Rockit Ranch Productions. Walking down the streets of Chicago everyday can become a bit of a routine, when you travel down there...

After I filmed my weekly segment on Thursdays at 9am on ABC TV's "Windy City Live" today (click here to see it!), I had a ton of people asking me about my Katy Perry story that I told on air, saying she...

Hi readers! This is Stephanie Castagnier, I'm a friend of Billy's, but you probably know me from NBC's The Apprentice, the 2010 season.  I wanted to share an event with you that I hold near and dear to my...

I woke up at 5am this morning for a BIG press day with Billy. We had to do 5 radio shows, a live tv show & a PSA all in 5 hours when he literally just stepped off a plane from France, Hungary, and Austria 12 hours prior. When he initially told me about how much press he wanted to do BEFORE he was live on Windy City Live- I thought it was absurd, but in all the time I have known him, I can say he pushes himself to work beyond what most people think is feasible. The main purpose behind all this press was to talk about two events that are the very important to him to support art & theatre in Chicago & raise scholarships for kids - The Madhatter's Ball & The Piven Theatre Gala.

10 years ago my buddies David Schwimmer & Joey Slotnick were looking for new ways to raise money and awareness for their non profit theatre group Lookingglass to build their first home in the Historic Water Tower Pumping Station on Michigan Avenue. I strongly felt their was an active, art/theatre loving, socially conscious & supportive younger demographic in Chicago that would love to get behind it so I founded the Lookingglass Theatre's Junior Board and kicked it all off with a giant 1000 person event called the Madhatter's Ball that David, Joey & I hosted that was a huge success!