I’m so sad for you if you don’t live in Chicago.
I know I profess my love for this city constantly but it goes into overdrive every summer. And August is no exception. We’re counting down the last of our warm weekends with very heavy hearts in this City of Big Shoulders and making sure we pack in the fun at every turn.
This specific weekend doesn’t disappoint.
Built Festival kicks off tonight at Milwaukee and Leavitt. The creators describe it as “a city being created out of shipping containers this summer in Chicago’s Wicker Park Neighborhood.” It’s been put together by the same folks behind Art on Track, one of my favorite artsy events of last year. Emmanuel Pratt, whose home I profiled back in the beginning days of this little blog, is representing the Hyde Park Art Center and his own Mycelia Project, a collaboration with Chicago Public Schools, Urban Gateways, the Woodlawn Community Development Corporation and others that promotes learning focused on food, water, soil and sustainability. I’m excited to see what he comes up with. Over 100 artists are expected to participate, it’s ten bucks and runs until 10:30 tonight and from 11am to 10:30 tomorrow.
Next up is an estate sale run by Ms. Lynne McDaniel, one of the coolest gals in all of Chicago. The Estate is that of of Yvonne Jackson Eskridge, wife of the Honorable Judge Chauncey Eskridge, attorney to Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali. The first sale of Lynne’s I attended was that of Willye Tillman, the state of Illinois’ first Black chief nurse anesthetist. Her home was filled with gorgeous furniture, memorabilia, books, art, and history. I can’t wait to see Lynne and this home tomorrow. Her blurbs are always so much fun to read, so I’ll just have to copy some of her verbiage here:
Chicago has long been called the city of neighborhoods, but have you ever heard of this one? MARYNOOK! Lot of history in this community folks! Visit the home where Ali hung out! Where Dr. Martin Luther King signed documents and developed strategies! Where guest from all over the world visited. Can you imagine Ali chilling on the velvet green sofa? I saw a photo depicting the very scene. How about Coretta Scott King standing next to her husband in the living room?
They were all friends to Yvonne Jackson, globetrotter, educator, style maven & citizen of the world! HER EYE FOR MID CENTURY MODERN DESIGN WAS OUTSTANDING! EVERY PIECE OF FURNITURE IN HER 1960′S BACKSPLIT DENOTES QUALITY DESIGN & MATERIALS–all the way down to her exquisite choice of seagrass textured wallpaper!
Can you imagine how many Nobel prize dinners in Sweden she must have attended! Take home a piece of history folks. Opportunities of this magnitude are few and far between.
The sale started today but runs until tomorrow at 3pm. Address and more info can be found here.
Oops. I better get going! Now to decide what to wear…
Have a great weekend!
