Introducing our Social Director ...

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This posting is from: annie
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Some good news for Pinkfest 2008!

Elena will again be acting as our Social Director, handling the
details of our activities and such.

Please join me in thanking Elena for taking this on for
another year.

{ok, in unison now ... THANKS ELENA!} :)

We need to help Elena plan the schedule.

Let's get some conversation going about things like food, drink
activities, etc. ...

First the food.

I'll briefly discuss what we've done in prior years ...

Traditionally, we've done "Happy Half-Hour" just before dinner,
but if there's a demand, we can expand this to a full hour. :)

Here are some places we've used before, some being in the River
North area and others in the 'burbs. All of these are mainstream
places, but all have been shown to be TG-friendly.

Ginos East: We did this in 2006, but did not in 2007. It's a
little pizza-pasta place at Ontario and Wells. Yes, very
TG-friendly.

Maggiano's Little Italy: We've done this for 2006 and 2007. It's
ubiquitous, but it's something everybody seems to like.

Hard Rock Cafe: Good for lunch or dinner. I've always enjoyed this
in Chicago and elsewhere. For the past few years we've always done
this for lunch. We might wanna consider dinner there this year.

Ed Debevic's: A "must do", IMAO. :) Again, we've done this for
lunch the past few years, and it is fun for dinner too, assuming
they have the bar remodeled and in action again. (Do they?) This
is the only venue we've used for each and every Pinkfest.

Carson's Ribs: I've been told that the one up north in
Andersonville (not too far from Boystown) has closed, but
the one in River North (Ontario and Wells) is open.

Chicago Chop House: I like this place, but it may be a bit
$pendy for some. We've done this each year since 2004.

Cafe Iberico: Well, it can't be Montezuma's Revenge, so maybe
it was Franco's Revenge? :) :( Maybe I shouldn't blame CI, but
something I had that day did not agree with me. In all fairness,
it could also be mixing beer with the sangria drinks or even
lunch that day.

Ann Sathers: They tell me (the ubiquitous "they") that Ann Sathers
remains closed for dinner on Saturday. :( Any local updates?

Winberies: A "must-do", IMAO. This has to be one of the best kept
secrets of the area. Nice bar up front and great food and service.
This is in the western 'burbs and works well with an open house at
Janna's Place as well as some of the bars in the area.

Cy's Crab Shack: This was a last-minute replacement for Ann
Sathers last year in 2007. As the name implies, it's mostly
seafood, but they have other things as well.

Any other suggestions?

I know there was talk a couple years back about a diner type place
out by O'Hare, but I don't know if it's still a viable option or
not.

Comments?
. . .

Now the bars ...

Hideaway: This was a new discovery for Pinkfest 2007, and I
think everybody liked it. It's on Roosevelt, just west of
Oak Park, IIRC.

Boystown bars: We've only scratched the surface, we missed it
entirely last year in 2007 and each year we say we're gonna
explore more, and we do seem to poke our heads into some places,
but we always seem to end up at Gentry and/or the one with the
videos (Sidetrack?). The thing is, the time we get there, it's
hard to get enough seats for the gang. I forget which one we
ended up at last year (Cocktail? or was it Hydrate?) but there
are countless bars up there.

I actually liked that "serial-killer friendly" neighborhood type
bar we did in 2006.

Gentry downtown: Another "must do" which we've hit most Pinkfest
years. It's both a bar-bar and small cabaret setting, and has had
some good acts over the years.

Baton Show Lounge: We haven't done this for a few years now.

And then there's Hunters. :)

Hunters Dance Club: I actually enjoyed this last year. There was
a big stink about anti-TG bias shortly before, but it was fine
at least from what I saw.

Nutbush: Gone but not forgotten! :(

I know there was also talk about a womens' bar out in the west
burbs as well, but I can't remember it ever happening, yet.
. . .

We've been doing some vendor sponsored things since 2005 ...

Janna's Place Open House: A "Must Do", IMAO. Janna has agreed to
do this again, and I think we should take her up on the offer.
It seems to go well with things like Winberies and Hideaway.

Rachel's Wigs Open House: Again, I think this is worthwhile to
repeat. It's semi-convenient to Boystown. (I understand the El
stop by Rachel's is closed for remodeling.)
. . . . .

Touristy things:

The first year at Pinkfest we did Museum of Science and Industry.
This was just post 911 with vehicle trunk inspections and purse
inspections and such.

We also did a Chicago River boat excursion in 2005 (or was it
2004?) and it worked well, but for the most part nobody seems
to be jumping up and down and screaming for these things.

Now last year, we had two people volunteer to be "tour guide"
but nobody really seemed interested. What I might suggest this
year is that if you want to play tour guide, make some definite
plans, like exactly when, where, what you will cover, etc. I'm
sure you will get a much better response that way.

Other things:

One thing I think of when I think of Chicago is live music and
live theater, and I've suggested these off and on to the Pinkfest
gang, but never received much enthusiasm.

One show I would like to see is Jersey Boys, now playing at the
BOA/LaSalle/Shubert/Majestic or whatever they are calling it
today Theater downtown. :) Unfortunately this one is gonna be
over $100 per ticket.

There are always Off-Broadway and Off-off-Broadway type things
playing at theaters such as the Royal George and Apollo.

Blue Man Group has had a long-running performance going just
south of the Boystown district, which would make a very
convenient evening of a show and barhopping. Thi$ one i$
$omewhat ex$pen$ive, however.

Comments, gang?

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)