We stay pretty busy here at Ray's, especially during the summer - which explains the lack of blog I hope...And the lack of our festival attendance record.  After serving 30+ people breakfast, cleaning rooms, returning phone calls, and befriending neighborhood dogs who really only like us because we smell like bacon, it's hard to find time to get out and enjoy the city to it's fullest.

That being said, the next few weeks and months boast some of the BIGGEST celebrations in the city, so here's some information that hopefully you will find helpful!

Chicago Craft Beer Festival - it seems like every month there is a beer-related event here, but hey, we like our brews! Not only that, how many cities host one of the summer's favorite beer festivals at an actual parish? Not many I would bed, but St Michael's started hosting last year, and it's a great time. Need to know where exactly St Michael's is?  Check out a map here.

This welcome matt should unify all PHC fans out there. 

Now this next suggestion may not appeal to the same crowd as the Craft Beer Festival, but our manager happens to have a strong love for both beer and  A Prairie Home Companion (If you're not familiar, shame on you, it's delightful).  They happen to be performing a live show at the Ravinia festival on Saturday, and you should definitely consider packing some snacks and heading up to Highland Park to check it out.  Lawn seats are $35.  Even though it's not really in the city, the park is located directly adjacent to a Metra station so it's still relatively convenient even without a car.

Closer to home we've got the Green Music Festival this weekend on our very own neighborhood artery, Damen Avenue.  If you're heading down to do some shopping around the 6 corners (Intersection of North/Milwaukee/Damen) Then you'll probably be able to hear the festivities going on just a block south.  Highlighting environmentally-conscious goods, beers, and activities, it's a good place to walk around and enjoy the (hopefully) good weather that Chicago enjoys for an entire 3 months.  Want to know who is lined up for music and entertainment?  You can find all the info here.


Now...

This weekend may have a lot going on, but it's really just training camp for one of the busiest, craziest, weekends of the summer here in Chicago.  That's right, the Pride Parade!  If you get there early you can count on a lively afternoon watching floats go by, catching beads, and imbibing.  If you miss the festivities it's still always entertaining to walk down the street as they clean up and take in the "aftermath".  To catch the full list of events happening all weekend check out the events page of the Chicago Pride website or stay tuned for our next post as we will delve into more detail.