• 02Sep

  One Last Summer Fling

  Outdoor No Comments

  Summer is nearing the end! Take time to enjoy this weekend at the beach! Labor Day marks the closing of Chicago Beaches until spring so don’t miss out!

  A popular beach to explore is the Oak Street Beach. There is volleyball, rollerblading, shopping and, of course, swimming! The Oak Street Beach is located at 1000 N. Lake Shore Drive.

  USE YOUR UPASS: Take CTA Bus #157 from Halsted and Taylor toward Chestnut/Lakeshore;  get off at Mies Van Der Rohe and Delware. Check out google maps for more information.

  There are many other Chicago beaches to choose from as well. You can find a list of beaches at the Chicago Park District website.

• 31Aug

  Welcome Back!

  Event, Music, Outdoor No Comments

  We hope you enjoyed your summer!

  To kick off the school year, we want to welcome you to UIC’s first music festival, “Spark in the Park.” The festival will take place this Thursday, September 2 from 2:00 to 8:00pm at Harrison Field on the corner of Harrison and Halsted. The festival will feature Kid Cudi, Footlight Frenzy, Girl Talk and Barefoot Truth.

  Entry is free with your I-Card and bring the green raffle ticket you received with your UPass for a chance to win and Ipod or Gorillaz concert tickets.

  Hope to see you there!!!

• 15Apr

  Celebrate Earth Day at the Zoo!!

  Event, Food, Outdoor No Comments

  Interested in learning how to make your life more green? Would you like to learn more about recycling, energy efficiency and organic foods? You should go join ChicaGO Green at the Lincoln Park Zoo to celebrate Earth Day. Learn about solar energy, and participate in the park’s activities. Check out the Project Runway-style fashion of recyclables and dine with the organic foods and beverages from the concessions. For more information, call 312-245-1259.

  THIS FREE EVENT IS ONLY FOR TWO DAYS: APRIL 17th & APRIL 18th

  TIME: 10 :00 AM

  USE YOUR UPASS: From UIC’s Student Center East, arrive at the UIC Halsted blue line stop, take the blue line towards O’Hare departing at Clark & Lake, switch over to the brown line towards Kimball and depart on Sedgwick, walk north on N Sedgwick St toward W North Ave, turn left at N Lincoln Ave, sharp right at W Armitage Ave, and turn left at N Clark St. Directions found on  Google Maps.

• 25Sep

  Your Bike and the CTA

  Outdoor No Comments

  Have a bike and enjoy riding in huge packs?  The Chicago Critical Mass may be for you.  The mass meets every last Friday of the month (TODAY), and takes a bike ride around the city with a large number of strangers.  Read all about the purpose of the mass here.

  Apparently, this can be a pretty exhilarating experience and a great way to see the city, but U-PASSPORT has never partaken.  Maybe in October.

  The ride always starts at Daley Plaza downtown.  For those of you nearby, you might just ride over there, but for everyone else, a CTA bus is a great way to transport your bike.  You can also bring your bike on trains, but not during rush hours, so 5:30 isn’t a great time to try and use a train with your bike.

  USE YOUR U-PASS: It’s often a 10-15 mile bike ride, so you might want to take the bus to get there.  Make sure you use directions that have a bus, not a train.

• 26Aug

  Get more Greek than 2 AM Gyros

  Culture, Event, Food, Music, Outdoor 2 Comments

  Even brand new freshman have probably taken their first trip into Greektown for a gyros at some bizarre hour of the night.  If you didn’t know, there’s more to Greek food and culture than just pitas and sliced lamb.  While this activity’s a little close to campus to use your U-PASS, U-PASSPORT doesn’t want to discriminate just because something’s a couple blocks from campus.

  This weekend is the annual Taste of Greece festival in Greektown.  It features live music, belly dancers, acrobats, and food from all the restaurants in the area.

  USE YOUR U-PASS: You really should just walk, but if you’re coming from somewhere other than the East Side of campus, you could use Google Maps to get there.

  Taste of Greece

• 26Aug

  Remnants of Summer: Movies in Parks

  Event, Outdoor No Comments

  Summer is almost over (and it may already feel over with the weather and you being in a classroom all day) but that doesn’t mean some of Chicago’s best summer festivals/activities are over.  There’s a little time left for one of the cheapest, but best programs the Chicago Park District has to offer: Movies in the Parks.

  Your best bet is seeing E.T. at Skinner Park.  E.T. is an absolute classic and a movie everyone should see.  E.T. is playing at Skinner Park tomorrow night, August 27th at 8:30 PM.

  Another good bet would be Casablanca at Jonquil Park in Lincoln Park.  It’s basically straight up Halsted.  That is being shown this Saturday at 8:30.

  USE YOUR U-PASS: You could probably just walk there, but you might as well use your U-PASS to get you closer.  See what Google Maps has to say.  Here‘s how to get to Jonquil Park for Casablanca.

• 16Jun

  Free Music…the live, in person kind

  Music, Outdoor No Comments

  Celebrating its 75th year, the Grant Park Music Festival is really the essence of Chicago summers and the vision of Chicago’s lakefront from generations’ past.  While it’s technically in Millenium Park now, the misnomer is easy to accept given how wonderful a venue the Pritzker Pavilion is.

  The ‘festival’ happens most every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, though there are exceptions.  Featured is Grant Park Orchestra, as well as a number of guests and open rehearsals.

  Visit the website to check on showtimes and to make sure the night you go out there is free.  Most nights are.

  USE YOUR U-PASS: If you’re willing to walk a few blocks, it’s near a bunch of downtown ‘L’ stops, including Randolph/Wabash on the elevated lines.  Just take a look at the map, and you’ll find the best way for you.

  Grant Park Music Festival

• 04Jun

  The Midwest's Largest Book Fair

  Culture, Event, Outdoor, Shop No Comments

  The Printer’s Row Lit Fest (formerly called the Printer’s Row Book Fair) is celebrating 25 years of the book fair this year.  Located in Chicago’s old publishing headquarters, Printer’s Row, the fair has nearly 125,000 visitors each year.  The fair features everything from large bookstores to independent publishers.  You’ll find cookbooks from the 1950s and New York Times bestsellers from just last week.

  

  Tents line the streets for blocks in Printer's Row.

  There will be two UIC LAS professors taking part in official events this weekend.  Luis Alberto Urrea and Eric Arnesen will give talks during the weekend.

  Luis Alberto Urrea, UIC professor of English and author of “Into the Beautiful North,” will talk Saturday June 6, at 11:30 a.m. in University Center, Loop Room, 525 S. State St.

  Eric Arnesen, UIC professor of history and African American studies, will host a discussion with Beryl Satter, author of “Family Properties,” Sunday, June 7 at 10 a.m. in University Center, Lake Room, 525 S. State St.

  USE YOUR U-PASS: The Blue Line to LaSalle should get you very close.  Google Maps.

  Printer’s Row Lit Fest

• 26May

  Start of Summer Festival Season

  Culture, Event, Food, Music, Outdoor No Comments

  While there’s no official start to Chicago’s summer festival season, the Lincoln Square Maifest generally seems like the right time and place to declare it started.  Lincoln Square is one of Chicago’s most historically German neighborhoods, and Maifest doesn’t disappoint in providing some German music, dance and food.

  Because it’s May and a German fest, the dancing isn’t just your average dancing, but there will be some Maypole dancing.  On Sunday between 1-4, there will be some German-American ethnic programming throughout the festival grounds.  If ethnic food is more up your alley, make sure to try some schnitzel, various wurst, or even just good ole’ reuben.

  Best of all, it’s free to get in and walk around.

  USE YOUR U-PASS: The Brown Line’s Western Stop is your ultimate destination.  Consider taking the Blue Line to Clark/Lake and transferring to Brown there, or heading into the loop on a bus that’ll hit one of the many loop Brown Line stations.  You could also follow Google’s directions.

  Lincoln Square Maifest

• 07May

  Buy me some Peanuts & Cracker Jack

  Event, Outdoor, Sports No Comments
  

  US Cellular Field, home of the White Sox

  For those students taking summer courses, you have the great opportunity to enjoy any one of a number of baseball games being played on either side of town.  Both stadiums are a great place to grab a hot dog, sit in the sun, and enjoy America’s pastime.

  You can see the Cubs’ schedule and buy tickets here, as well as the same for the White Sox here.  For the budget conscious, the White Sox offer 1/2 price tickets on most Monday home games.

  If you’ve never attended a game at Wrigley Field, it’s time to do so.  Not only does it offer a great place to watch baseball, but it acts as a museum, with so much of it seemingly unchanged since early last century.  In the same breath, if you’ve never (or not recently) been to US Cellular Field, it’s become a terrific baseball experience.  The food is as good as ballpark food gets, and fans in the lower deck can walk around and explore many of the shops and stands in the stadium.

  USE YOUR U-PASS: Both stadiums are accessible via bus and train.  From campus, you can take the blue line to the red line and head north towards Howard for Wrigley Field.  The exit is Addison.  For US Cellular, head towards 95th and get off and Sox-35th.  The Halsted bus can also get your close to both stadiums.  A short walk down 35th or Addison will put you right in front of either stadium.

  White Sox

  Cubs

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