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!!!

Looking for a good meal along with friendly entertainment?

Chicago’s Luxbar offers a delicious dinner held in a relaxed setting.  The exquisite restaurant offers a menu full of your favorite bar and grill foods. Then, after dinner you can attend the Luxbar’s “Chicago Dueling Pianos,” located upstairs, where two pianists will battle it out for your enjoyment. The Luxbar is open daily, Monday – Friday from 11am-12am and Saturday & Sunday from 8am-12am. The dueling pianists perform every thursday night from 9pm-12am.

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 Monroe, switch over to the red line towards Howard and depart on Chicago, and walk north on State St. arriving to Bellevue. Directions found on  Google Maps.

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

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

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