The Gift Theatre Company, one of the smallest equity troupe’s in the Chicago, is celebrating their anniversary of ten successful years and are inviting all to experience it with them. The theatre’s newest performance, appropriately titled “Ten” is a quick sampler of short ten minute plays written by, ten playwright phenoms, David Rabe, Eric Bogosian, JT Rogers, Craig Wright, Caitlin Montayne Parrish, Andrew Hinderaker, William Nedved, Jenny Connell, & Maggie Andersen.

There’s no better way to spend your Saturday than basking in beer samples & treats… for FIVE hours. Next Saturday, January 21^st from 2-7 pm the Chicago “Brew Ho Ho” event is going down. For just $20 at the door you get 10 beer sample tickets & 5 treat tickets and a sample of Angel’s Envy bourbon. Everyone’s invited but you must [email protected] at which time you’ll receive an email confirmation with the location of the event.

It’s January 26th, 1967 in Chicago and snow has been falling for five hours. Four inches of snow had been predicted, but it’s clearly risen above that calculation. You’re caught in a carpool in the middle of the blizzard with three work rivals. The good news is if they freeze to death before you do then that sweet promotion you’ve been waiting for is right at your fingertips! This is the melodrama that follows created by Chicago veteran Jon Steinhagen and directed by Russ Tutterow the Artistic Director of the Chicago Dramatists. Blizzard ’67 is sure to keep you warm and cozy as you enjoy the mind games played by four businessmen inside of a car during the blinding Windy City blizzard of 1967. Watch these strong men crumble under the pressure of the devastating blizzard and enjoy the psychological changes they go through during the storm.

I heard the news on the radio.  Taste of Chicago is going to be revamped (again) for 2012.  The Taste will be chopped from 10 days to 5, and moved from the 4^th of July week to mid-July (July 11-15 to be exact).  I had always thought that the excitement from the Taste came from its grand proportions – of food, music and crowds. Yes, I said it, the crowds.  The immense, hungry crowds walking their way into Grant Park, bibs tied on to catch the drool, in anticipation of sampling the flavors that make Chicago the dining capital of the world!  The Taste was the thing to do leading up to the 4^th of July.

As children, sisters, Kathryn and Laura Pekarik, shared a passion for baking.  Always thinking they would eventually start some kind of business their idea was put on hold when Kathryn was diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoma cancer in May 2010.

I moved to Illinois from New Jersey a month ago with big plans of starting my young life in Chicago. Almost every day a Chi-town veteran asks me one question, why Chi? You would think that having been so close to New York City I would get sucked into its gravitational pull, but no, I found asweet escape from those filthy streets. Coming from the NYC area few peoplerealize how delightfully overrated NYC truly is. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking my tri-state, but I certainly had a few clear reasons to leave the city that never sleeps for its Midwestern equivalent. Here are my top ten reasons to move to Chicago!

Celebrate “The King” and what would have been his 77^th birthday on Sunday, January 8^th with Elvis Fest 2012! Elvis Presley was the top hunk back then and he still is to many today. Girls wanted him and guys wanted to be him! Honor who he was, what he did, and how he made people feel with his music by partaking in this event at The Original Mother’s.

As many of us begin to complain about this brutal breeze that our Chicago winter has to offer, we begin to think of INDOOR activities that will take the place of what we would rather be doing OUTDOORS! But, have no fear because I have the answer (laughter is promised too!) Starting January 5^th and running through January 15^th, The Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival is here for the 11^th year in a row at Stage 773!

The Art Museums planned multi-million dollar purchase of a fine Leonardo Da Vinci classic has come to a bloody halt. The museum curator has just been murdered, and it’s up to you and your team of investigators to discover who done it! All you have to do is crack the code left in the curator’s appointment calendar to discover what drove his murderer to commit such a dastardly crime. Shocking secrets will be revealed as you and your mystery team discover clues that uncover the murderer and his motives.

Join the fashion elite at the Chicago History Museum from now to mid-April and check out Chicago native Charles James Genius Deconstructed exhibit! Imagine yourself in these vintage gowns and take notice to the fine architecture and craftsmanship brought to you by Charles James.Born in 1906 James has astounded the fashion world by creating incredibly crafty and perfectly detailed garments. A young James taught himself everything he knows about creating garments, from fitting hats to glamorous gowns. With extreme ingenuity and the eye for fashion, James opened his first hat shop in Chicago at the age of 19. His garments are often adorned with ribbed corsets and fancy collars, and more often than not cascade down and outward. James has always had high profile celebrities like Coco Chanel pining after his creations. Marisa Tomei recently rocked out in a vintage gothic Charles James piece earlier this year at the Oscars, and Angelina Jolie wore an elegant gray tight fitted James dress in the Tourist shortly after.