Daily Archives: December 7, 2021

19 Wrigleyville businesses transform into holiday themed spots for everyone offering picture-perfect moments, movies, food and drink specials and more.

TheLakeview East Chamber of Commerceis proud to announce the return of one of Chicagos favorite holiday celebrations, Wrigleyville Wonderland, running now at select venues through the end of February. Wrigleyville Wonderland brings the Holiday spirit to Chicago with 19 Wrigleyville businesses transformed into individualized holiday-themed destinations offering map projections, Instagrammable moments and activations. From the locations dcor to actors dressed in costumes to the holiday themed drinks, there is something for everyone at Wrigleyvilles Wonderland. Press are invited to a kick off party, Thursday, Dec. 9 from 5 8 p.m. More information can be found atWrigleyvilleChicago.org.

All of Chicagoland is invited to Wrigleyville for this holiday-inspired interactive and fun experience, said Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Maureen Martino. Wrigleyville Wonderland is Chicagos largest holiday pop-up district that is sure to inspire and amaze all those experiencing it while sharing the holiday spirit.

Highlights of Wrigleyville Wonderland include:

The 2021 businesses*, in alphabetical order, making the season bright are:

The Country Club Christmas Club

3462 N. Clark StreetThrough February 1, 2022No Cover

Wrigleyvilles original Christmas pop up bar is back. Enjoy a classic Christmas party experience with themed food, drink, music and decor.

Deuces Santa Baby Christmas Bar

3505 N. Clark StreetThrough January, 202210 a.m. and 12 p.m.

You better watch out! Santa Baby Christmas Bar is back offering a multi-room, multi-level, over the top Christmas experience with brunch available on Saturday and Sundays at

Diver at the Park Santas Beach House

3475 N. Clark Street

Santas Beach House is here for its first Holiday season. Join Diver at the Park in their Tulum holiday inspired heated tent with their life sized palm trees decorated for a holiday on the beach. Get your Tulum holiday experience and cocktails in the heart of Wrigleyville.

Winter at Gallagher Way

3635 N. Clark StreetThrough February 20, 2022

Families, visitors and neighbors can celebrate the holidays by taking part in the many seasonal programs and activities at Gallaghers Way Winterland return This year includes the return of the famous Christkindlmarket Wrigleyville, ice skating on an 8,000-square-foot ice rink, curling and skating lessons, Santas Workshop, wreath making classes, holiday movie screenings, special programming at Hotel Zachary and much more. New to this years transformation includes a special celebration of Hanukkah, ice bumper cars, plus even more festive dcor around Gallagher Way.

The Graystone Tavern 8 Crazy Nights A Hanukkah Bar

3441 N. Sheffield Ave.Through January 2, 2022

Back by popular demand for its third year, Chicagos first and only Hanukkah-themed pop-up bar with decorations created for the Jewish holiday throughout the bar and weatherproofed beer garden, including over 14,000 blue and white lights and Hanukkah ball lanterns adorning the ceiling, Star of David and dreidel ornaments, lighted menorah decor, Mensch on a Bench, a Hanukkah sweater wall, an 8-foot inflatable dreidel and more. Throughout the pop-up, a special food menu, ranging in price from $5 to $16, will feature traditional and spins on Jewish favorites like Matzo Ball Soup and three flavors of Latkes including classic with sour cream and applesauce, cilantro jalapeno with chipotle sour cream and herb cheddar with chive sour cream. Board and card games will be available to guests nightly including Connect 4 with Hanukkah gelt, Cards Against Humanity Jew expansion pack, Mitzvah Match, Jewish Guess Who, Dreidel, Apples to Apples Jewish edition and Schmear Build-A-Bagel card game.

Houndstooth Saloon Griswolds

3369 N. Clark StreetThrough January 10, 2022

Inspired by the famous family and the hilarious movies, Houndstooth Saloon has menu selections including Yakkin on a bone, a two-lb turkey leg, Cousin Eddies spiked eggnog and Clarks Cocoa.

HVAC Pub The Christmas Pop UP

3530 N. Clark StreetThrough January 15, 2022

HVAC will be transformed into a winter wonderland featuring Christmas drinks, food and music.

The Irish Oak Leprechanunaka

3511 N. Clark StreetThrough January 31, 2022

Irish Oaks Leprechanuaka is a celebration of St Pattys day during Christmas, where everyday is St Pattys day at The Irish Oak. The bar is decorated from top to bottom in Irish and Christmas themes. So much green and Christmas cheer that you will never want to celebrate a different holiday again.

Wrigleyville Kilwins 25 days of Chocolate

3519 N. Clark StreetThrough December 31

Kilwins will offer caramel apples, hot chocolate and handmade chocolates perfect for gift giving for family, friends or yourself!

Lucky Dorr Lucky Lodge

1101 W. WavelandThrough December 31

Lucky Dorr, Chicagos favorite craft beer destination, will transform into Lucky Lodge. A festive Winterland destination with special dcor, the aroma of hot apple cider and rustic comfort galore.

Moes Cantina Whooville

3518 N. Clark Street

Moes becomes the celebrated holiday town of Whooville while offering a menu of shareable small plates, traditional full-size entrees, signature tacos and a cocktail list featuring house-made sangria, handmade margaritas, premium tequilas, and more.

Casey Morans Rudolphs Christmas Bar

3660 N. Clark StreetThrough December 30

From the creators of Santa Baby Christmas Bar with all the Christmas spirits you know and love at Santa Baby with all new interactive social experiences and an incredible decor. Rudolphs Christmas Bar will host a DIY Wreath Making Workshop November 30, December 7 and 14.

Mordecai Mistletoe

3632 N. Clark StreetThrough January 16, 2022Thursdays Saturdays, excluding Holidays through Dec. 30Reservations are Free

Mistletoe, Mordecais annual holiday pop-up bar, boasts naughty and nice decorations and an exclusive holiday-inspired drink menu, featuring both contemporary and vintage cocktails. Groups of 1-4 can reserve two hour blocks (4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Tock, Thursday-Saturday.

NOLA Bar & Kitchen A Very Cajun Christmas

3481 N. Clark StreetThrough January 20, 2022

Inspired by the legend of Papa Noel, its a Cajun Christmas Story. In a deep swampy bayou of Louisiana, Papa Noel rides the river in a boat thats pulled by alligators to send out presents. A very cajun Christmas offers unique New Orleans style Christmas decoration with classic cajun eats. Its a place to gather friends and families and let the good times roll. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Old Crow Smokehouse Santas Workshop

3506 N. Clark Street

Wrigleyvilles award-winning barbecue from the kitchen of pitmaster and MasterChef Tony Scruggs is the home of Santas Workshop.

Rizzos Bar and Inn John Vincents Holiday Sing Along

3658 N. Clark StreetThrough December 30Every Thursday at 7 p.m. and Every Sunday at 5 p.m through Dec. 30

Local singing legend, John Vincent, will be performing some of the holiday hits from all of your old time lounge singer favorites like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Louis Armstrong!

Roadhouse 66 Gas N Grill Jingle Junkie

3478 N. Clark StreetThrough January 8, 2022

Serving up holiday inspired bites and sips in an explosion of cheer, Jingle Junkie and its heated, ski lodge inspired patio is the most festive spot to celebrate your upcoming holiday season. With an extensive seasonal cocktail /beer list and delicious festive bites that are sure to get even the grinchiest Grinch into the holiday spirit.

Stretch Bar & Grill Elfd Up

3845 N. Clark StreetNo CoverThrough January 8, 2022

Back by popular demand for a third year, its a full-blown tribute to the beloved Christmas movie Elf, Elfd Up is a high-energy holiday pop-up bar, perfect for patrons who share Elfd Ups affinity for elf culture. A casual neighborhood Christmas bar, Elfd Up never charges a cover and treats patrons to complimentary fresh elf-shaped cookies nightly at 10 p.m.

Underground Lounge Island of Misfits Toys

952 W. Newport Ave.Through January 31, 2022

Underground Lounge welcomes you to the Pabst Island of Misfit Toys, to come hang out with Bumbles, Dolly, Hermey and others.

*Individual operating hours for each location vary from location to location. Some details may change from release date. Please check with the outlet for most up to date information.

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Wrigleyville Wonderland brings the holiday spirit to Chicago - ReelChicago

For many travelers at Denver International Airport, seeing James Balogs Extreme Ice Surveytimelapses constructed from hundreds of photos of glaciers retreating around the world, which ran for years on screens in the airports terminalshighlighted a contradiction. Viewers could watch the rivers of ice that are critical to the Earths ability to support life vanish before their eyes on their way to and from flights that are one of the drivers of the warming melting the glaciers.

Balogs photography has always inspired cognitive dissonancethe mental and emotional discomfort that comes with holding conflicting beliefs and attitudes. Learning that the photographer who has for decades documented the impacts of the warming climate, from Hurricane Katrina to California wildfires, descended from a family of Pennsylvania coal miners can inspire such dissonance. So can learning that the man who made iconic photos of species endangered by human actions grew up hunting.

Such contradictions arent so much questions that arise from Balogs photography and writing, but what have driven him to create them. Long before anthropocene was proposed as a term to explain the geologic age in which humans are the most defining force of the planet, he was documenting what the word described for National Geographic, Time, the New York Times Magazine and many other publications. The Earth Vision Institute he founded allowed for the type of long-term focus that a new geologic era would require. The documentaries Chasing Ice and The Human Element took his big ideas to the big screen.

Now, Balogs hefty new book, The Human Element: A Time Capsule From the Anthropocene, presents an anthology of his words and pictures from a lifetime of bearing witness to human impacts on the planet. Inside Climate News excerpt from the book includes an essay, Carbon Inheritance, and, of course, a selection of his iconic photographs.

Michael Kodas, senior editor

By James Balog

Do any of us really have a right to be angry or frustrated about the climate- and-energy crisis without considering how we ourselves have contributed to it? Honestly? Truly? With eyes wide open? I dont think so. We all play a role in producing the problem. No one inhabits a righteous, pure-and-holy aerie above the human condition. Not me, not you, not anybody.

We all drive our chariots of carbon fire. We all rely on carbon fuels to produce our clothing, food supply, lighting, the thermal comfort in our houses, and much more. Do other ties bind you to fossil fuels? Investments, perhaps? Is your comfort and prosperity today derived from a family history linked to oil or coal? Or, to take a broader view of environmental abuse, logging, commercial fishing, industrial farming, or rapacious real estate schemes?

Since such ties weave through many of our lives, allow me to make a sheepish confession: my own familys history is shackled to coal mining. My great-grandfather on my mothers side and my grandfather on my fathers side both mined coal in Pennsylvania. Most of that state is as bucolic and charming as any place ever sculpted by agrarian hands. Yet where mines gnaw at the black seams, the landscape is grim and grimy. Inside those lithic mausoleums, workers metamorphosed the way shale turns to schist. My progenitors would have been ruddy-faced farmers back in their European homelands, but instead turned into hunched-over gnomes, coated in coal dust, half deaf from the roar of machinery, inhaling particles of primor-dial Gondwanaland with one gritty breath after another. To the industrial volcanoes of Pittsburgh, up chimneys of snug homes in Philadelphia and New York, the coal they dug sent the energy of ancient suns floating up to cumulus skies.

I can still picture Thomas, my great-grandfather, sitting hour after hour, as motionless as Mount Rushmore, on a musty, striped corduroy chair by the parlor window of his house. He looked 1,000 years old. Savage labor in the anthracite seams had broken his body. Coal dust fouled those little pockets in his lungs where red blood should have been gleefully slurping up oxygen. Was he in pursuit of doing what you love, as we say in the jargon of our self-indulgent times? No. He needed cash to support his family and was willing to trade away his existence for it; every shovelful of black carbon was an expression of his hope in a dream called America.

Then theres my fathers father, Michael. On October 23, 1946, in Vintondale, Pennsylvania, he and a dozen other miners rode a narrow-gauge railroad into Mine Number 6. In the eternal darkness of geology, their little train thundered along a four-foot-thick seam of bituminous coal. The men lay down in the open-topped coal cars so that 220-volt DC current, coursing through bare copper wire strung on the ceiling of the tunnel inches above their heads, couldnt electrocute them. Miles under the mountains (six or seven, according to my father), the train stopped at a wall of coalthe face, in miners jargon.

Hour upon grueling hour, my grandfather, with hands the size of bear paws and calloused to shoe leather, pried burnable rock from the soul of the Earth. He looked up at the tan stone ceiling. Lit by the harsh carbide beam on his helmet, the roof over his head looked exactly the same as all the other ones of the past 40 years. But on it the hieroglyphs of his fate were written. A rock slab the size of a dining room table spalled off the ceiling and nicked his temple. Within his skull a purple contusion exploded. Minutes later, Michael Balog, age 62, was dead. He returned to daylight, laying under a white shroud, on the clanking catafalque of the mine train. His sonmy father, then 18 years oldrushed home from college. Two days later, he and his family buried their patriarch in a bird-twittering forest a mile upvalley from the mine.

Mountains of sulfur-stinking clinker, a waste rock he and the other miners blasted from within the mountains, will stand forever. The tools of their punishing labor rust to rubble in tranquil Appalachian valleys. So too shall the obstreperous machines of our oil age someday go to rust, leaving nothing but red-brown stains in the sand. Someday.

To the memory of Michael and Thomasand let me not forget their wives, Helen and Anna, respectively, who did their own share of knuckle-bruising work to feed and clothe their familiesI offer thanks for the misery endured. But the wheel of generational destiny turns. How ironic, how mysterious, how improbable it is that fate pushes me, grandson of those miners, into prying up questions about Earth matter; digging not with shovel and dynamite, but with pictures and words; digging not to extract coal, but to end the extraction of coal. To speak and live a different truth from theirs is a task I can no more avoid than they could avoid the coal seams.

Four-and-a-half billion years of Earth history.

Four million years of hominid history leading to Homo sapiens.

Four hundred generations of agricultural history.

Yet only in our 50-year sliver of time do we comprehend what human minds never did before: burning the fossil residue of ancient life poisons our bodies and our world. People of the past never knew this. They did what was necessary in the harsh light of their moment. By the standards of today we cannot judge them.

The urgent task now is to look in our own mirror. Will we shoulder the burdens of the present time with noble determination the way our ancestors did? Are we morally and ethically and intellectually lucid enough to respond in full measure to the knowledge we have about the negative consequences of carbon fuels?

Prospects for the future are muddled. Visionariesinventors and engineers, countries and communities, political and corporate leaders, and, of course, individualsare making genuine progress toward decarbonizing the future. New technologies are bursting with possibility. The availability and quality of electric vehicles rapidly increases. Renewable energy companies are booming, old-line fossil fuel companies are contracting; Royal Dutch Shell has declared that its peak oil-producing years have passed. Government policy shifts. These favorable trends have gone on for years, slowing down under some governments, speeding up under others.

The net effect? Progress toward reducing the amount of junk we put in the atmosphere remains agonizingly slow. Too many fine intentions dangle on moonbeams of promises that never seem to reach fruition, slain by the forces of commerce, government policy, and human behavior. Most transportation still depends on spewing fossil fuel exhaust. Food production still generates vast amounts of carbon. Avaricious abuse of tropical forests still continues. Politics can still be shortsighted, greedy, or corruptand in the American system, entrenched interests are brutally effective at pouring burning oil down from their castle ramparts on those who would dare challenge their dictatorship.

Since we already know what technological solutions will protect the air, the climate, and our health, I see the reduction of carbon output primarily as an issue of power politics, sociology, and psychology. The weight of persistent behavior and long-standing technology blocks imagination. Ideology distorts reason. In America, too many, including some presidents, have hijacked the Founders original ideas of freedom and perverted them into a malignant, anti-social stew. No one has ever been independent to the degree the fanatics claim. We all live in communities of some form or another. No rational human being would imagine we should have so much freedom of speech that we have a right to shout fire in a crowded theater; nor does divine decree give one part of the population a right to rob other people of a clean, healthy, and secure environment. The ideology of freedom has turned into a cancer so malignant that what should have been a massive, united response to systemic hazards like climate change and the COVID pandemic has instead become a Babel of snarling dissent.

History has a malevolent way of repeating itself. Consider this thought from 1918, written by Winston Churchill:

The resources are available, the knowledge is available, the time is available, the result is certain; nothing is lacking except the will. We have never been able to get out of the rut of traditional and conventional methods. We have never been able to plan on a sufficiently large scale, long enough in advance, and with the necessary force and authority to drive the policy through.

Churchill was writing as the convulsion of World War I slaughtered millions of people, and was describing how exasperated he was with government policy that paralyzed technological progress. Take his exact words. Sling them forward a century, to our time. They express the same muleheaded obstinance constraining our current efforts to stop the convulsions of a changing climate. When we cant learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Now, early in 2021, with my thoughts and images just days away from being trapped in ink once and for all, a flock of encouraging new policy intentions soars in on the wind. Will these notions acquire the force of enduring law? Quickly? I can only hope so. Otherwise, people of the future will find that greed and corrosive ideology have once again defeated shining ideals. I earnestly hope and pray for the best. Implacable willpower and fierce devotion to natures truth must win the day.

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A Lifes Work Bearing Witness to Humanitys Impact on the Planet - InsideClimate News