Pictures

Who doesn’t love a good music fest in the summer? Indie Pop, Rock, Electro, Hip Hop, Dubstep, Folk, you name it – Metropia has it!

Friday, June 1st promises to be a one-of-a-kind night at Lincoln Park Zoo. The zoo’s auxiliary board is hosting their signature fundraiser, Zoo-ologie, in the heart of the Zoo. All the proceeds raised during this unique event will go towards helping care for the animals, keep up exhibits, as well as continue education initiatives all while keeping the zoo free to the public. Lincoln Park Zoo is currently one of only three free zoos in the entire country – and we want it to stay that way! If you live anywhere near Chicago, chances are you’ve enjoyed the beautiful grounds of the LP Zoo at some point in your life. As a DePaul Alum, I walked through the zoo countless times on my way to and from the beach just because I could; not much is free these days, so you have to take advantage and enjoy those few things that are.

In 2009, All Pro, Former Chicago Bear, Jerry Azumah and I attended a charity event at the House of Blues for President Bill Clinton. During our visit with the former White House resident, President Clinton said something that would stick with me forever. He mentioned contributions from American households comprise 75% of all giving to nonprofits every year. I looked at my friend and event co-chair, Jerry and smiled knowing the work we did for the Azumah Student Assistance Program (ASAP) that included small donations from our tight and influential network, was a piece of that 75% and our efforts were a part of a bigger picture. A picture that includes over 1,300 listed charities in the Chicagoland area alone!

The CANstruction A-CAN-emy Awards & Gala was last night at Merchandise Mart and it was such a fun event! I attended and wanted you to give you readers a behind the scenes experience… so click away! As you know from our previous entry, CANstruction is a unique charity event that raises donations for the Greater Chicago Food Depository by having teams build amazing creations out of cans and other food items. It is the largest donation of food in a single food drive in the city of Chicago – pretty impressive!

CHICAGO – On February 26, co-hosts Richard Roeper & Billy Dec will hold their 2nd Annual Oscar Viewing Party. Guests will test their movie knowledge by putting their ballot predictions up against Richard and Billy for a chance to win fabulous prizes while hearing their commentary live throughout the telecast.

Having a hard time dealing with the absence of All My Children on ABC? Then buy your ticket to A Tribute to Pine Valley and ask the cast of your favorite soap opera all the questions you’ve been waiting to ask for years! All My Children was an amazing and ground breaking soup opera that was filled with as many characters as there are people on the streets of Chicago, and now's your chance to meet the cast.

Watch out, IMAX. Chicago’s winter skyline is about to become a giant movie screen. On Friday, December 9, The Art Institute of Chicago, supported by the Graham Foundation for Advance Studies in the Fine Arts, will beam Andy Warhol’s celebrated conceptual film “Empire” onto the top 12 stories of the Aon Center to mark the opening of the museum’s new photography exhibition, Light Years: Conceptual Art and the Photograph 1964-1977.

Calling all Fashionista's! Come and enjoy a night out on the town filled with "fame, fashion, and flavor"! There are plenty of festivities to participate in throughout the night. Hosting this ultimate party is Bravo TV's Brad Goreski (you may know him from "The Rachel Zoe Project"), CS Magazine, and Gilt City. This is the perfect thing to do with a group of friends for some flirty fun. Taking place on September 8th, celebrate style by attending 900 North Michigan Shops from 6pm-9pm.

Hey fellow Chicagoans - Dana Ragazinskas from Billy Dec's office here! I’d like share with you this "up and coming" photographer that I dig -  even Perez Hilton has taken note! Gino Gusich, also...

Many who follow me on Twitter & Facebook ask me how I navigated my culinary research and development tour through South East Asia last month so I thought I would feature one of the companies that...