Holiday parade down Michigan Avenue
This holiday season, you may not be able to surprise the family with a new car on the driveway sporting a colossal red bow or a ski trip to the Rocky Mountains, but you can still infuse major merriment by way of the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. Watch as more than 1 million lights along North Michigan Avenue are tripped followed by the illumination parade with 30 floats, colossal helium-filled balloons, marching bands, and Mickey and Minnie serving as master and mistress of ceremonies. Count on a whole weekend filled with free holiday activities including appearances by Disney characters, free daytime concerts and interactive booths along Lights Festival Lane and special holiday offers at retailers, restaurants and hotels.
Lights Festival Lane will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, at 401 N. Michigan Ave. The lighting procession is from 5:30 to 7 p.m., followed by a fireworks display over the Chicago River at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive. Call (312) 409-5560 or visit themagnificentmile.com.
Music theories
Lady Gaga's got nothing on the Creative Music Summit, which unites more than 50 musicians/composers from Chicago and the nation for a series of concerts. Two of Chicago's driving forces in the creative music scene, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the Chicago Asian-American Jazz Festival present three distinct concerts with artists such as Brass Epiphany, saxophonist and composer Roscoe Mitchell, composer/saxophonist Francis Wong and Miya Masaoka's LED Kimono Project with Mariko Masaoka-Drew.
7:30 p.m. Friday to Sunday, Nov. 19 to 21, at the MCA Stage, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets are $28 for each performance, $66 for all three performances; student tickets are $10. Call (312) 280-2660 or visit mcachicago.org.
The way to really glide
Capture the fleeting feeling of freedom while practicing your figure eights at the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park. You can skate away on the ice of a new day beginning Wednesday, Nov. 17. The rink, now in its 10th season and drawing more than 100,000 skaters annually, is free and open to the public. Bring your own skates or rent a pair for $10.
Noon to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; noon to 10 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays (through Dec. 18); 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays (beginning Jan. 8); 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays at Michigan Avenue between Washington and Madison streets. Call (312) 742-1168 or visit millinniumpark.org.
Midwest
Modern family
Can you be KeyLime Cove's 2011 “Family of the Year?” Every family that stays at KeyLime Cove through the end of 2010 will be automatically entered into a random drawing for each night they stay. In January, one lucky family will win a weekend getaway to KeyLime Cove every month throughout 2011 that includes weekend accommodations at the 414-room resort, a VIP experience, standing reservations, special upgrades, access to the water park and special access to the resort all year long.
1700 Nations Drive, Gurnee. Call (877) 360-0403 or visit keylimecove.com.
Just folks
Holiday Folk Fair International, with 53 different ethnic groups represented, will be as close as Milwaukee, Wis., this year. Visitors can sample exotic and familiar cuisine at the World Café, shop the wares of skilled artisans from distant lands at the International Bazaar, take in music and dance performances, see a re-enactment of a Revolutionary War encampment and browse ethnic cultural displays, arts and crafts, and exhibits.
2 to 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20; and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, at Wisconsin State Fair Park, 8200 West Greenfield Ave., West Allis, Wis. Admission is $8 in advance, and $10 at the gate; children ages 6-12 and seniors 62 and older $8 at the gate; military personnel (with military ID) and children 5 and younger are admitted free; a “Family Fun 4-Pack” of tickets is $28. Call (414) 727-8840 or visit folkfair.org.
You'll shoot your eye out, kid ...
Who doesn't love the scenes when Flick gets his tongue stuck to the metal pole or the Bumpus hounds snarf down the turkey? The 1983 holiday classic, “A Christmas Story,” is celebrating its 27th year anniversary and the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond features its third annual “A Christmas Story” exhibit. Six animated displays will depict scenes from the film. Kids Kickoff day features children's activities including a passenger train ride and during Festival Weekend, you can meet Flick, Randy Parker, Scot Farkus, Grover Dill and Miss Shields from the movie.
Indiana Welcome Center, 7770 Corinne Drive, Hammond, Ind. Hours are: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, while Kids' Kickoff will be Saturday to Sunday, Dec. 4-5. Exhibits are on display through Jan. 9. Check the website, at ChristmasStoryComesHome.com, for dates of other special events, contests, hours and directions or call (800) 255-5253.
Worth the trip
The shopping, hauling, cooking and cleaning up make it all worthwhile and help work off Thanksgiving dinner with fun, informative cross-country ski clinics and activities at the Crested Butte Nordic Council's annual Thanksgiving Training Camp. Get in on skate and classic Nordic skiing and racing clinics for various levels offered by professional instructors, including three-time Olympian Ingrid Butts, Masters Nordic World champion Murray Banks, and Ross Matlock, a PSIA Nordic and Telemark examiner. You'll be learning and skiing amid almost 2 million acres of wilderness in southwest Colorado. A silent auction/gourmet dinner, wax clinic, stretching class and movie night featuring the film “Fire on the Mountain” that tells the story of America's 10th Mountain Division also are part of the experience.
Beginner clinics are $40, and intermediate and advanced clinics are $50. Call (970) 349-1707 or visit cbnordic.org.