Press

Listen up all you dedicated followers of Alternative Press! If you didn’t already know, Riot Fest is finally making its way to Chicago on September 14-16th! The Congress Theatre and Humboldt Park will be packed with intense alternative music fans. If you love this particular band as much as me then you are probably about to fall off your chair with excitement because Chiodos is coming back at full force with all of the original band mates!!

We may just be a week into September, but it’s time to start talking about Oktober. Because Chicago has tons of events that pay homage to the German festival Oktoberfest. The keg may not get tapped in Munich until the 22nd, but we in Chicago get to start off the celebrating as early as next week! Here’s a list of a couple events:

The Pretty Muddy women’s mud run is arriving in Chicago on Saturday, September 15th at Pretty Muddy Farms in Orland Park. And if you hurry, you can register before the event sells out! What can you expect? A women-only event featuring obstacles, great activities, a pretty awesome after party and yes, the opportunity to get muddy.

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw my night out last night w/Olympian buds Ryan Lochte & Conor Dwyer. You obviously know how freakishly talented they are and how great they represented and competed for our country, but just wanted to say on a personal level, they are two solid great guys, pleasure to hang out with for sure.

City Winery Chicago opened last week at the west end of the Randolph corridor, anchoring restaurant row and extending the repertoire of venues. It’s Wine Country in the West Loop. With a bold focus on wine and a fully functioning winery, City Winery crafts a culture of music, food and entertainment hinged upon the cornerstone of great wine as envisioned by founder and owner Michael Dorf.

It’s that time of year when Chicagoans flock to rooftops across the city, tourists and locals alike head to the beach and people of all ages settle in to watch jaw-dropping aerial and water stunts. Yup that’s right, I’m talking about the über popular Air & Water Show – the largest free military air & water show in the country…and it’s back for its 54th year! This coming weekend, August 18th-19th starting at 10am, prepare to be wowed by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team & U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds as they take to the skies to perform dazzling acrobatics 12,000+ feet in the air. The best part, it’s completely free.

As the Wine Director and Co-Owner of BIN 36, I have the opportunity to support various charities and organizations through donations and special events. This August, I decided to take our philanthropic efforts a step further by creating the “Real Men Drink Pink” campaign, benefiting Bright Pink, the only national breast cancer organization focusing on the prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer in young women while providing support for high risk individuals. Their efforts and work resonate with me on a personal level.

Summertime Chi…there’s nothing quite like it: concerts nightly, festivals every weekend, crazy cool parties (like last week’s Talent Show) every weekend; it’s nonstop fun this time of year & there’s more to come this week!

If you’re a Blackhawks fan and planning on going to the upcoming Blackhawks Convention – like me – then last weekend was like Christmas for you. Convention passes and welcome letters were sent out to the delight of fans across Chicagoland. July 20th – 22nd the Hilton Chicago will become Blackhawks central; players & fans will flock to the iconic Chicago hotel for a weekend of hockey in the middle of summer – it’s quite a sight! This marks the 5th year of the convention and as in years past, it has completely sold out – unless you’re willing to go on StubHub. It’s no surprise this event is so popular. I went to my first convention last year and if you’re a fan of the Hawks, it’s something you NEED to go to.

Chicago Sport and Social once again takes over North Avenue Beach on Saturday, July 7th to host the city’s biggest beach party and sand volleyball tournament. More than 5,000 attendees will be transported to the ultimate fantasy beach bash filled with food, drinks, sun, competition and live music.