Midwest travel: Need chocolate? Upcoming Long Grove fest is the place to be
Chicago
Coo-coo for cocoa
What makes the world go around? It's chocolate, of course, and you can get your fill at the annual Long Grove Chocolate Festival. This fest kicks off the outdoor special event season in the historic Illinois town with everything chocolate — chocolate cake, chocolate doughnuts, chocolate martinis and more. Visit the “Taste of Long Grove” booth to sample the town's most popular fare. Check in on demonstrations and workshops, wine parings, Finch's Beer Company's locally brewed chocolate beer made especially for the fest, live music all over town and plenty of activities to quell the kids' sugar rushes. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 15-16, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, May 17, in historic downtown Long Grove, 307 Old McHenry Road. Tickets cost $5, free for children 12 and younger. Tickets are $8 starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 16. (847) 634-0888 or VisitLongGrove.com.
Rhythm is gonna get you
Five of the city's outstanding percussive dance troupes perform in the concluding performance of the citywide Chicago Rhythm Fest. Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Mexican Dance Ensemble, Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago and the Trinity Irish Dance Company each bring a distinctive cultural perspective to the art form in the course of an evening. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway. Tickets cost $27-$67 and are available at AuditoriumTheatre.org, (800) 982-2787 or at the theater box office.
All Wright now
The internationally celebrated architectural housewalk, Wright Plus 2015, is just around the corner, featuring rare interior tours of private homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and his contemporaries. This year, several homes on the 41st annual tour have never before been seen on the walk including three buildings on Wright's Avery Coonley Estate, as well as Ernest Hemingway's boyhood home. In addition, see the place where the architect's Prairie homes were conceived: Frank Lloyd Wright's Home and Studio, the oldest Wright building open as a public museum. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 16, in Oak Park and Riverside. Tickets cost $110 each and $95 for members of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. Transportation between Oak Park and Riverside is included in the ticket price. flwright.org/wrightplus.
Midwest
Come what May
You needn't wait until the heat of July to experience a delicious music fest. The third annual BBQ, Blues & Bluegrass: A Taste of Michigan Festival is a May treat of barbecue, craft beers, regional wines, and nearly eight hours of live blues and bluegrass music. Blues legend Buddy Guy headlines the stellar lineup of acts performing at Whirlpool Centennial Park in St. Joseph, Michigan. Noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at Whirlpool Centennial Park, St. Joseph, Michigan. Tickets cost $10 in advance and $15 the day of the event. Ticket, parking and overnight stay information is available at stjoetoday.com/bbq or the Welcome Center, 301 State St., St. Joseph.
Hello, mudder
Mother's Day seems the appropriate time to encourage mom out of the rut and into Mudderella, the obstacle course challenge designed for women, by women. The Richmond Hunt Club hosts the event, which is a 5- to 7-mile course of 12- to 15-foot-high energy obstacles (like Wheels in Motion, Tough TaTas and Hat Trick) that test endurance, willpower and strength alongside other like-minded, strong women. Since it's all about personal fitness, Mudderella events are not timed. May 30 at Richmond Hunt Club in Richmond, Illinois. Visit mudderella.com to register or to create a team. Spectator tickets also are available.
Sneak peeks
Indiana Landmarks offers tours in Indianapolis from May through October. During the walking Monument Circle Tour, a guide tells the story of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, its role in the original design of the city, plus describes the historic buildings and architecture around the Circle. And underneath historic City Market, see expanses of Roman-esque brick arches during the City Market Catacombs Tour. The Monument Circle Tour at 10 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays from May through October. The tour costs $8 for adults, $5 for children. The City Market Catacombs tour is at 11 and 11:30 a.m., noon, 12:30 and 1 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays from May to October. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children. (317) 639-4534.