Outsider, functional art on display at Navy Pier
Chicago
Couched in art
The 17th Annual Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art and the Intuit Show of Folk and Outsider Art are all under one roof this year. SOFA Chicago 2010, the city's longest continually running indoor art fair, will feature 80 art galleries and dealers from 10 countries, along with dealers and galleries presenting a variety of nontraditional folk art and visionary art.
7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4 (preview night); 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5-7; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. One general admission ticket of $15 admits visitors to both fairs and their related lecture series, special exhibits and events. Visit sofaexpo.com.
Look through any window
The Art Institute of Chicago invites you to get into the spirit of the holidays when “Home for the Holidays” celebrates the return of two of the most popular works in the museum's collection as well as a special presentation of an old favorite. Returning are Marc Chagall's masterpiece “America Windows,” a selection of nearly 50 pieces from the Harding Arms and Armor Collection and the Thorne Miniature Rooms decorated for the holiday season.
After a five-year absence, Chagall's work returns after an intensive period of conservation treatment and archival research. The grouping of nearly 50 pieces of arms and armor, many of which have not been on view for years, includes full suits, half suits, pole arms, cannons and a shield with two swords. Don't miss six of the Thorne Miniature Rooms decorated, for the first time, with period-appropriate holiday trimmings.
10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays; 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Admission is $18 for adults; $12 for children 14 and older, students and seniors; and free for children younger than 14. Free admission after 5 p.m. Thursdays. (312) 443-3600 or artinstituteofchicago.org.
As lovely as a tree?
The trees will soon be bare, but with the Doubletree Hotel's Tree Museum Package you can snag special VIP access to the “Exploring Trees Inside and Out” exhibit at Chicago's Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. The interactive experience combines fun and learning about trees and the environment. The Traveling Tree Museum Package includes accommodations for up to four guests; breakfast for two adults and two children in Markethouse; two adult and two child VIP tickets to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum; and a 10 percent discount at the museum gift shop and cafe.
Valid through Jan. 30, 2011, at the hotel, 300 E. Ohio St. Rates begin at $169 per night. Call (866) 778-8536 or visit doubletreemagmile.com
Midwest
Eat it and sleep
Foodies will want to sign up for a Fall Harvest Culinary Tour to explore, discover and taste the flavors of the Midwest and enjoy a mini vacation. The French Country Inn teams with Kirsch's Restaurant in Lake Geneva, Wis., for the tour that originates and ends at the inn where you'll spend two nights and includes daily breakfast and a wine-and-cheese pairing. A welcome reception will be held at Kirsch's Restaurant. The next day, you'll visit a third-generation farm to learn about varieties of squash and sample fresh-pressed cider and squash muffins; tour an organic trout farm; learn from the local chef a variety of cooking techniques; and explore a local orchard and winery. The event includes farm tours, two nights at the inn, breakfast, lunch and snacks on the tours, and goody bags that include recipe booklets and a farm guide, a shopping tote and a cooler bag, fresh fruits and vegetables and trout fillets.
Tour dates are arrive Friday, Nov. 12, with a Saturday, Nov. 13, tour date or arrive Monday Nov. 15, with a Tuesday, Nov. 16, tour. The cost is $350 and for an additional person in same hotel room, add $195. Call (262) 245-5220.
She sells sea shells by the sea shore
Spit out a peck of pickled peppers at the 10th International Tongue Twister Contest in Burlington, Wis. The event, held at the downtown Logic Puzzle Museum, offers prizes for winners and door prizes for everyone. How many classic and modern tongue twisters can you say in less than 10 seconds? There are age divisions, and the winner of the kids' division may end up with a trip to California to appear on “The Bonnie Hunt Show.”
1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, at 533 Milwaukee Ave., Burlington. Admission is $5 per person. Call (262) 763-3946 or visit logicpuzzlemuseum.org.
Traipse for grapes
Wind down autumn with the Indiana Wine Trail's annual Fall Haul Event. You'll enjoy fall scenery as you travel to each of the six artisan wineries to sample wine. Southeastern Indiana's wineries serve up wines used in a variety of foods. Thomas Family Winery in Madison, Ind., is featuring a cellar release of special reds along with treats made with Gale's hand cider cheddar cheese. Madison Vineyards is serving up a variety of hot and cold tapas featuring wine as one of the ingredients. In Commisky, Ind., Stream Cliff Farm & Winery offers cheeseballs and dips made with wine along with a hot wine punch. Other participating wineries include Ertel Cellars, Lanthier Winery and Ridge Winery.
Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 6-7. Call (800) 559-2956 or visit indianawinetrail.com
Worth the trip
Allergens such as pollen, insects, dust, mold or perfume needn't keep you from traveling now that Hyatt Hotels & Resorts plans to purify the guest experience with the introduction of hypoallergenic rooms at all of its full-service properties in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. Designed for all travelers, but especially suited to guests with asthma, allergies and other respiratory sensitivities, the Respire by Hyatt Hypo-Allergenic Rooms are designed to eliminate up to 98 percent of airborne viruses and bacteria, pollen and other irritants found in indoor environments. More than 60 Hyatt hotels offer such rooms in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Orlando, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
Visit respire.hyatt.com.