On the road: A winter blues special

Chicago

Sweet Home Chicago

Fight the winter blues with the blues when you book the Chicago Mart Plaza's Winter Blues Package. People travel from around the world to hear authentic blues music in the Windy City, and your experience is just a train ride or drive away. The package includes deluxe accommodations for two and parking, two-for-one entry to the Back Porch Stage at the House of Blues for “Late Night Blues” and your choice of a blues CD featuring legends like B.B. King, Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Taj Mahal and others.

Package available through March 31 at the Chicago Mart Plaza, 350 W. Mart Center, Chicago. Prices start from $115 per night plus tax and based on availability. Call (312) 836-5000 and ask for the Winter Blues Package, booking code: IKHD1. Visit martplaza.com.

Stars and bars

Every third Thursday, it's the Adler Planetarium's Adler After Dark event for adults 21 and older. You'll have complete access to the museum, enjoy live music and a cash bar while enjoying the view of the Chicago skyline. You can take your time browsing Adler's exhibitions or take in a sky or space show. It's also the only time you can peek through the Doane Observatory telescope, the largest public telescope in the Midwest.

The next Adler After Dark will be from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, at 1300 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. On-site tickets cost $15 for nonmembers, $10 for members. Buy advance tickets online at adlerplanetarium.org for $10 nonmembers and $7 members. Call (312) 922-7827.

Chi-town chanteuse

Hollis Resnik, the first lady of Chicago theater, has been performing locally and nationally for the past 25 years. You can catch her dulcet tones via Millennium Park's Cabaret With a View series when she performs on the stage of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. “Hollis Resnik Sings Her Favorite Things” features stories and anecdotes along with music by legends Noel Coward, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Herman, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, David Shire, Stephen Schwartz, Jules Styne and Kurt Weil.

7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24, at 205 E. Randolph St., Chicago. Tickets cost $15 and are available by calling (312) 742-8497 or visit millenniumpark.org.

Midwest

Regal eagles

All eagle eyes will want to point their vehicles toward Utica, Ill., for an Eagle Watch Weekend at Starved Rock State Park. Hosted by the Illinois Audubon Society, the event offers free lectures and exhibits on birds of prey and raptor awareness presentations by the World Bird Sanctuary. Bring your binoculars to view eagles from the lodge's veranda and bring your young eaglets for activities in the kids' room.

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 22-23, at routes 178 and 71 in Utica. Children's program will be from 1 to 2 p.m. both days. Call (800) 868-7625 or visit starvedrocklodge.com.

Times are a-changin'

Michigan will be a folkie's paradise as the 34th Annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival presents some of the finest in traditional and contemporary folk artists. This year's lineup includes: The Avett Brothers, a solo performance by Citizen Cope, the Swell Season, Judy Collins, Mavis Staples and a host of other artists.

6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 28-29, at Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Tickets cost $30 and $45 for a single night, $50 and $80 for series tickets. Call (734) 761-1800 or see visitannarbor.org.

Pretty flaky

As if you have to convince the kids to go to the Wisconsin Dells, the 21st annual Flake Out Festival is something to see. Wisconsin's only state-sanctioned snow-sculpting competition, the Flake Out Festival championship team advances to the U.S. national competition the following year, so expect breathtaking snow sculptures. There will be demos in wood carving, dog weight pulling and blacksmithing, a snow-tubing hill, ice rink, horse-drawn sleigh rides, an ice maze, live music and lots of food.

4:30 to 11 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21; 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22; and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, at 150 Gaffer Road, Wisconsin Dells. Festival admission is free, but you'll need a $5 snow pass for outdoor activities. Visit flakeoutfestival.com.

Worth the trip

Chocolates? Flowers? Wow your love by booking a romantic Valentine's Day package at the 320 Guest Ranch in Big Sky Country. The package includes world-class snow skiing on the slopes of Moonlight Basin, a sleigh ride pulled by Percheron draft horses, a bottle of bubbly, cabin accommodations with wood-burning fireplaces, mountain views, dinner, hot breakfast the next morning and more. Stop in the authentic 320 Saloon for an after-hours rendezvous or après ski. Yellowstone National Park's west entrance is just 30 minutes away.

Available throughout February every night of the week except Sundays. The package costs $328 per couple or $220 per couple without snow skiing. Call (800) 243-0320 or visit 320Ranch.com.