Midwest travel: Hyatt makes a splash with Shedd package

CHICAGO

One fish, two fish

Make a splash this spring at Hyatt Regency Chicago with a new Shedd Aquarium package. You'll hook overnight accommodations in a standard guest room and two VIP tickets for priority entry to Shedd Aquarium. VIP tickets provide access to the Aquarium galleries, Wild Reef, Abbott Oceanarium, Special Exhibit, Stingray Touch and the Aquatic Show pending show seating availability at the time of arrival. Hyatt Regency Chicago is at 151 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago. Rates start at $179 per night. chicagoregency.hyatt.com or (312) 565-1234.

The red, white and brown

If you find that a handcrafted truffle or a bar of single-origin cacao rocks your world, get to the Chicagoland Artisan Chocolate Festival & Wine Tasting. You'll enjoy tastings of new wines from some of the best vintners across the planet and can watch demos, presentations and discussions about the process of chocolate transforming from the bean to the truffle. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 11, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 12, at The Crystal Ballroom & Lounge, 529 Davis St., Evanston. Admission is $35. fineartisanevents.com or (310) 287-1896.

MIDWEST

Cool blue reason

There's availability for a spring getaway to Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Soak up savings of up to 30 percent with the “123, Go!” promotion at Blue Harbor Resort and Spa. There are family-friendly suites and villa accommodations that include underwater-themed suites with bunk-bed alcoves and the 54,000-square-foot Breaker Bay water park and new glow-in-the-dark indoor golf course. The “123, Go!” promotion, valid for arrivals until April 19, offers savings of 10 percent off one night, 20 percent off two nights or 30 percent off three nights. Blackout dates apply, but most midweek days are still available. Through April 19 at Blue Harbor Resort and Spa, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Go to BlueHarbor Resort.com and use promotional code: 123GO.

Take it for granted

Fourteen events are on the docket in Galena, Illinois, to honor the 150th anniversary of General Robert E. Lee's surrender to General U.S. Grant, which marked the beginning of the end of the American Civil War. Events include “Remembering Old Galena” dinner theater performance; a lamplight tour of the U.S. Grant Home State Historic Site; Home Front Pie Auction; “Civil War Facts & Fashion” vintage fashion show; Main Street Walking Tours with Gen. Grant; Galena Generals' Art Exhibit; Civil War Brass Band Concert; and historic church service where the Grant family worshipped. April 9-19 in Galena, Illinois. Some events are free, and others require a ticket. galena history.org or (815) 777-9129.

What the cluck?

Expect a fowl time at the annual Prairie Chicken Festival in and around Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, with pre-dawn viewing of prairie-chicken courtship in a number of wildlife areas, guided birding tours, a local brewery bash, children's activities and a prairie-chicken calling contest. The main event is watching the amazing sight of male Greater Prairie-chickens on their booming grounds defending their territory with ostentatious displays, postures and even combat with other males. Friday through Sunday, April 12-14, in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. prairiechickenfestival.org or (715) 346-4681.

Worth the trip

Nonstop weekend flights between Cody, Wyoming, and O'Hare International Airport resume in early summer. Located in northwest Wyoming, 50 miles from the East Gate of Yellowstone National Park, Cody was founded in the mid-1890s by Col. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. The area offers incredible natural features as well as hotels, guest ranches, campgrounds, restaurants and attractions. Activities include the Cody Nite Rodeo, the Cody Gunfighters, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Old Trail Town/Museum of the Old West and live music such as Dan Miller's Cowboy Music Revue. From June 20 to Aug. 16, United flight 5173 will depart O'Hare at 7:10 p.m. Saturdays and arrive in Cody at 9:10 p.m. Service back on flight 5176 to Chicago will take place at 8:40 a.m. Sundays and arrive in Chicago at 12:23 p.m. united.com.