What: Ravinia Festival
Where: Ravinia, Highland Park
How Much: $27 for lawn seats, really expensive for real seats
How to get there: Metra North Pacific line to Ravinia Park or Braeside

It was a beautiful night at Ravinia. I'm including it in the blog because technically it's called "Ravinia Festival". Check out the calendar of events here. Ravinia is a Chicagoland summer staple. Trying to ride the North Pacific Metra line in the evening pretty much any day of the summer is an exercise in patience. It's guaranteed that everyone on the train is drunk. And most of the time I am the one sober person just trying to get home.

But not last night! I got to be one of the slightly tispy passengers! The Swell Season was playing, a truly remarkable band. Made up of two primary musicians, Irishman Glen Hansard (of the Frames) and Czech pianist/vocalist Marketa Irglova. You may remember them from the film "Once," and their single Falling Slowly won an Oscar.

If you decide to sit on the lawn at Ravinia, you pay a lower price but you can not see the musicians. The sound system is awesome so you will be able to hear them fine. Most people bring ridiculous setups that include tables, chairs, blankets, candles, wine, umbrellas....
We brought two small coolers and some afghans. That's the stadium seating you can see under the lights, and the other people are seated on the lawn. Seats on the lawn are first come, first served, and it gets PACKED.

I was lucky enough to attend this excellent concert with some great friends, all of whom I have known for years. The purpose of attending was to say goodbye to Jenny, who is going off to grad school in Washington, D.C. at George Washington University. We will miss you, Jenny! Good luck in all your endeavors!













Lookin' good, Matt. Jenny, Matt, Kim, and Brian wearing my sunglasses.

I'm going to try for the Edgewater Arts Festival and Venitian Night on Saturday and the Chinatown Summer Fair on Sunday this weekend.