If you’re able to take part in all these events then your Chicago winter trip will be remembered less by the temperature and more by warm memories.
LIONS, TIGERS, AND ICE SKATING, OH MY
Lincoln Park Zoo 2009 Zoo Lights. © Todd Rosenberg Photography 2009
Nothing gives you that warm feeling inside than spending time with the ones you love. Lincoln Park Zoo’s Zoolights provides the perfect setting for just that. Through Jan. 3 the zoo is transformed into a winter wonderland with two million lights, ice carvings, musical light shows, animal encounters, ice skating, holiday crafts, and more. The adults can also enjoy warm-spiced wine and beer while the kids enjoy the carousel and train adventure.
SKETCH COMEDY CAPITAL
Last Call Cleveland
As a city with comedy institutions like The Second City, iO, and ComedySportz sketch comedy groups jump at the opportunity to perform at the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. With over 10,000 guests and hundreds of groups performing this festival dwarfs all comedy festivals. Nationally-renowned groups like Boat, Siblings of Doctors, Cake Batter, and others have performed.
SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP
Makeshift Accessories
Skip the national retailers while visiting Chicago and stand out during all your gift exchanges with unique arts, crafts, jewelry, furniture, culinary treats, and more from the One of a Kind Show and Sale at the Merchandise Mart Dec. 3 – 6. With more than 600 artists from across North America, there is surely a vendor to match your style. Not only are the vendors unique but so is the experience where you can enjoy fashion shows, live music, and artists talks among other events.
BELLY-WARMING FOOD
First Bites Bash
All the patios are gone but the food that makes Chicago the country’s culinary mecca is still here, and there might not be a better time to enjoy than Chicago Restaurant Week. Over 250 of Chicago’s most popular and revered restaurants will be offering special prix fixe menus from $22 – $44 from Jan. 30 – Feb. 12.
FORGET THE BALL. HELLO THE STAR
Stand back New York as Chicago will debut a soon-to-be New Year’s Eve favorite with Chi-Town Rising. Congregate at the growingly popular Chicago River for a night of headlining music acts, and welcome 2016 as a star ascends 36 stories of the Hyatt Regency Chicago’s West Tower and end in a fireworks show the city has never seen before right at midnight.
Written By Joel Mora
Joel Mora is editor at Concierge Preferred. Born and raised in Miami, Fl., Joel has slowly ate, drank, and explored his way up north refining all his senses to prepare for the stampede of delicious dining, notorious nightlife, stellar shopping, and captivating culture that calls Chicago home. In the wild he’ll be the red-bearded Cuban with a Lagunitas IPA in his hand.