Chicago Holiday Events 2012

The 2012 holiday season is here - and that means a LOT of cool things to do in and around Chicago!

Winter WonderFest at Navy Pier

Navy Pier, Chicago
November 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013

The annual Winter WonderFest features 170,000 square feet of winter wonderland playground, indoor ice skating, inflatable slides, rides and much much more!

Winter WonderFest is open Sunday through Thursday from 10am - 5pm, and Friday and Saturday from 10am - 10pm! Special holiday hours include Christmas Eve from 10am - 5pm, New Years Eve and New Years Day from 10am - 8pm. Closed on Christmas Day.

Macy's Walnut Room and Holiday Windows

Macy's State Street, 111 N. State Street, Chicago
November 18, 2012 - March 11, 2013

Macy's celebrates the holiday season with the annual Walnut Room and holiday windows. A must-see for everyone at Christmas!

Millennium Park Ice Skating

Millennium Park McCormick Tribune Ice Rink, Chicago
November 17 - January 8, 2013

Located on Michigan Avenue, the outdoor Millennium Park Ice Rink draws thousands of skater annually. The rink is open to the public every day of the week and skating is free. Skate rentals are available.

Lincoln Square Christkindlmarket

Lincoln Square, Chicago
December 7 - 9, 2012

More than 30 merchants will sell German crafts and foods, including sausages, jam-filled doughnuts called krapfen, potato pancakes and apple streusel at Lincoln Square's annual Christkindlmarket.

Expect visits from St. Nicholas, as well as and ornament and cookie decorating. Admission is a $3 donation.

Christkindlmarket Chicago

Daley Plaza, Chicago
Through December 24, 2012

The Christkindlmarket is Chicago's largest open-air Christmas festival and includes European arts and crafts, as well as brats, spiced wine and other German specialties.

ZooLight at the Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago
Through January 6, 2013

During the annual Lincoln Park Zoo ZooLights celebration, the zoo decorates its grounds and trees with mult-colored lights and animal figures. ZooLights is free and is sponsored by ComEd. Activities include ice carving demonstrations, a Holiday Express Train, and more! Admission is free.

Go Chicago Card Sale

If you're planning to visit downtown Chicago in the next few weeks, here's your chance to save some extra money!

For a limited time, the Go Chicago card is on sale - offering you an extra 10% off the price of admission to more than 30 fun Chicago attractions including the Field Museum, the Hancock Observatory, Navy Pier, boat tours and many more!

Save 10% instantly on 3, 5, and 7 day cards! Offer valid from 9/9/09 through 9/17/09.

It's official: The Willis Tower

Today, the city of Chicago was re-introduced to an old friend - albeit by a new name. The building once known as the Sears Tower has been renamed the Willis Tower, as described in this MSNBC article.

I know that I'm not the only one in Chicago who thinks this is silly (the most politically correct word I can think of). It's been the Sears Tower for 35 years... I simply refuse to call it the Willis Tower. I can't bring myself to do it.

I wish I had known about http://www.itsthesearstower.com/ before today... I definitely would have signed that petition.

It looks like we're too late, but the Sears Tower is still cool in my book. I'm hoping to check out their new "Ledge" attraction sometime soon.

Sears Tower: "The Ledge"

I just saw a news article saying that the Sears Tower will open it's glass-bottom "Ledge" tomorrow. I had heard about this a while back and I'm actually pretty excited about the idea.

Personally, I think the Sears Tower is one of the coolest downtown attractions that Chicago has to offer. Not only is it one of the tallest buildings in the world, but it has a wonderful restaurant at the top and a cool view of the southern part of the city. I like the views from the Hancock center a bit more (it's closer to the lake), but seeing the Loop from 100+ stories up can't be beat.

Speaking of the Sears Tower... does anyone like it's new name(The Willis Tower)? Honestly, I think it's ridiculous. Everyone knows it as the Sears Tower, and I'm going to refuse to use its new name as long as possible.

2009 Taste of Chicago?

Is it just me, or has there been little advertising for the 2009 Taste of Chicago?

I haven't spent too much time downtown to comment on visual ads, but in terms of TV and Radio advertising I have seen virtually nothing mentioned about the Taste. In fact, I had forgotten about it until the ABC7 news mentioned it last night.

I hope the Taste of Chicago will be a success this year... anyone planning on going?