Chicago.com
The normal flow of Clark street in Andersonville was interrupted this weekend for the neighborhood’s 45th annual Midsommarfest. Bars and restaurants that operate on Clark street between Foster and Catalpa celebrated an injection of new traffic as Chicagoans came to see live bands, sample local food, and drink copious amounts of alcohol at some of the most distinctive bars in the city. Being a resident of this neighborhood I could not pass up this event, and I spent most of my weekend enjoying this two day party along one of my favorite stretches in the city.
The first thing that people will notice after entering this festival (and hopefully paying the $5 suggested donation so the chamber can continue to host these events) is that there is no ticketing system to purchase food and drinks from vendors. The ticket system is something that is annoying to both customers and vendors, and even last week during the Taste of Chicago preview many restaurants voiced criticism of this system.
The food was reasonably priced to the extent that it seemed like some of the vendors were underselling themselves. People could purchase an extravagant hot dog for just $4! There were a wide variety of food vendors there, so there was something for everyone. However, I cannot extend the same compliments to the drink vendors. There was only a limited selection of domestic draft beer (read: bad beer) and it was all overpriced. Cups started at $5. This was initially upsetting to me, so I walked down to Hopleaf to grab some craft beer (read: good beer) for the same price. Most of the bars located within the boundaries of the festival did not allow their alcohol outside, which was another setback to the fun factor of this festival. But then I found that Farragut’s, a quaint neighborhood bar that I frequent on the weekends, allowed its customers to bring drinks outside. And better yet, their tap selection starts at $4. I hope that next year the festival organizers will realize that we don’t want overpriced Bud Lite. We want reasonably priced craft beer, preferably from a local brewery such as Half Acre or Goose Island.
The highlight of Midsommarfest is the bands. I was surprised to see that I recognized many of the bands playing this year, including Spazmatics, Maggie Speaks, Wedding Banned, and Too White Crew. There were over 50 different performances throughout the weekend, so it was difficult to catch all of them. However, one band stood out among the rest of the crowd: Wedding Banned.
Wedding Banned is an appropriate name for a band playing in a predominately gay neighborhood. I first saw them play last December at Daddios, a nightclub in Bloomington, Illinois, and I instantly became a fan of their outrageous act. Their look is reminiscent of hair metal bands from the 1970s, with the four guys sporting oversized and backcombed hair. At Midsommarfest they covered everything from Prince’s “Purple Rain” to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” Their extensive set list undoubtedly has at least a handful of songs that everybody will like.
The female vocalist, Linda Ballzenstein, wore a run-of-the-mill green dress with glasses and her (real) hair tied up. Then during a rendition of “Hey Mickey,” which was aptly titled “Hey Vinnie” while proclaiming her love for lead guitarist Vinnie Van Action, she ripped off the dress, got rid of the glasses, and took her hair out of the tie. She spent the rest of the concert in a revealing black dress that left little to the imagination. When it began to rain towards the end of their set, Ballzenstein jumped off the stage and continued her performance among the crowd. This move convinced many people who began running for cover from the rain to stay for the rest of the concert. Wedding Banned definitely knows what the residents of Andersonville like.
Even though Ballzenstein’s performance was unexpected and well-received by the audience, the highlight of the concert was front man and lead singer Mayor Manaconda, who regularly takes swigs from a bottle of Jack Daniels between songs and never passes up an opportunity to remind the crowd how drunk he is. He knows how to make the audience laugh, and his antics ensure that everyone in the crowd is having fun watching the band. Manaconda’s monologues between each song give the band a memorable personality. I hope to see more of these guys at next year’s Midsommarfest!
Andersonville’s Midsommarfest is an amazing experience. It caters to the diverse demographics of the community by offering booths for everything including a sex shop, several artisans, and of course the famous puppet bike. Although the weekend was cursed with on again off again rain, this did not stop the friendly crowd from having fun. I’ll be back at Midsommarfest next year because I know that it will not disappoint.
It was a rainy, soggy day but that didn’t keep hungry Chicagoans from enjoying the Taste of Chicago Preview event at Daley Plaza on Tuesday. Nine food vendors and four sponsors stood under white tents from 11am to 2pm promoting the upcoming festival. A DJ kept the crowd motivated and lured passers by to join in on the festivities. People wandered around under umbrellas and sat at rain soaked tables, talking and eating as though the weather was sunny and bright. It was a great day to sample some of the exciting treats being offered at the Taste of Chicago’s 30th anniversary this year.
One of the vendors, Bacino’s Pizza has been a part of the Taste of Chicago for over 20 years, but has only participated in the preview event for the past few years. Bill White, who was managing the booth, said the restaurant will be “going with what’s worked in the past” at the Taste this year. Bill also noted that the restaurant’s Wacker location will be promoting their new Green Delivery Service- using environmentally friendly Segways instead of cars to deliver pizzas. Bacino’s will be offering their stuffed spinach, stuffed sausage, and cheese pizza slices at the event.
Chicago classic Garrett’s Popcorn are fairly new to the Taste of Chicago and the Taste Preview, marking the second year they have participated. Their wildly popular Caramel Popcorncicles, which are popcorn balls on sticks flash frozen in liquid nitrogen, will make another appearance this year. The wacky treat is both delicious and fun to eat. Garrett’s will also be offering their cheese and caramel mix, popcorn balls, and mixed nuts. “We’re excited for our second year at the taste. We hope people will come out and have a good time and enjoy our food.”
Best Buy, one of the sponsors of the Taste, will be giving out coupons for free gift cards (with set purchase amounts) to use at participating Best Buy stores. Shoreline Sightseeing, another sponsor, had a raffle at the preview to win free boat tour rides. The tours occur several times per day and focus on Chicago history and architecture. The winner will be drawn on Friday. The Chicago Tribune was also at the preview promoting their involvement in the event.
Many business people stopped by on their lunch breaks, attracted by the lack of tax on food items. One hungry business man said he preferred the Taste Preview to the actual event because he doesn’t like the ticket system. “I like the direct money exchange here” he said, “I wish the larger event would switch to just using cash as well.” Many of the vendors felt the same way about the ticket system. One man from the Garrett’s Popcorn booth commented on how difficult it is to keep track of tickets and how some tickets can be counterfeit, which is a definite downside apposed to using cash. But it doesn’t look like the ticket system will be replaced anytime soon. Strips of 12 tickets will be sold for $8 at the entrance to the event and throughout the park. You can also purchase tickets in advance at Dominick’s stores from June 17-24.
The 30th anniversary of the Taste of Chicago starts June 25th and goes through July 4th in Grant Park. A total of 53 restaurants will host booths at the event. The ever popular “Taste Of” portions, which are smaller servings of each restaurant’s classic dishes, are available for between 2-4 tickets. Special musical performances take place at the Petrillo Music Shell inside the park every day. This year performances include Rob Thomas, Salt-N-Pepper, Mat Kearney, Passion Pit, and many more. The Taste will close early on July 4th at 6pm- but don’t go too far- there will be fireworks displays along the lakefront at 9pm.
‘Maifest auf Deutsch’ celebrates the arrival of spring each year in Chicago’s very own Lincoln Square, and funnily enough this year, that was the first weekend in June. I’ve never been and had my doubts getting off the train when all I could see was men in short shorts and women with babies in one arm and a stein of beer in the other. First impressions aside, I had an uber awesome time.
If you are looking for German women who could both drink you under the table and beat you in an arm wrestling match, Maifest is for you. Everything about the fest seemed like what an authentic beer fest in Germany should be… minus the overwhelming amount of Blackhawks jerseys. Guys who would normally be wearing Cubs hats were now sporting giant purple caps with feathers reminiscent of Peter Pan, lederhosen and suspenders with flair. To be fair, I probably wouldn’t know the first thing about German culture aside from humming the theme song to David Hasselhoff’s Baywatch. But if this is what Germany might be like, someone book me a flight today. Everyone was friendly even with the torrential downpour that started as soon as the authentic German folk band began to play the ‘Chicken Dance.” The cold beer and brats kept our hearts warm as hundreds of fest-goers huddled under tents that somehow kept just about everyone dry. Women dressed in dirndls like the Family Von Trapp (yes, I know they are Austrian) and guys who looked like overgrown oompa loompas made this festival truly great. The rain didn’t stop the masses from consuming 600,000 steaming hot brats with sauerkraut and potato salad. Not really sure if that’s accurate number, but I watched a fat kid in suspenders eat at least 599,000 by the polka tent. And even with the Hawks game approaching, the party looked like it was never going to end.
Maifest is located every year at the intersection of Lincoln and Leland right off the Western Brown line stop. This year they had some authentic polka on Friday evening with the “Polkaholics” and on Saturday “The Captain Blood Orchestra.” The food and beer were spectacular. I had Bavarian meatloaf which is “basically Spam” according to the friendly guy at the tent. I was also lucky enough to try a brat from “The Chicago Brauhaus.” Indeed I have been known to hueberstein in the brauhaus in my younger years. All I can say is the Maifest is uber fun and I’ll be going back next year – hopefully without the rain!