The City of Chicago

The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum is America's first and oldest planetarium. Located alongside the Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum of Natural History on the shores of Lake Michigan, it was founded and built in 1930 by Max Adler and Philip Fox. In 1987 the Adler Planetarium was declared a National Historic Landmark.

Adler Planetarium hosts plenty of shows and exhibits that are sure to lure children and grown ups alike into astronomy. One of its featured attractions is Shoot for the Moon, a permanent exhibition that highlights exciting stories of space exploration and America's bold plans to return to the Moon.

Visit their website http://www.adlerplanetarium.org for more info.

One well known Downtown Chicago landmark is the Chicago Picasso, or The Picasso. As the name implies, it is a metal sculpture by Pablo Picasso, a Spanish artist best known for co-founding the Cubist movement. The Picasso stands 50 feet, weighs more than 160 tons, and can be found in Daley Plaza in the Chicago Loop. It has become a popular meeting spot among Chicagoans because of its unmistakable features.

What or who exactly is depicted in the Chicago Picasso is still debated. Some say it is a bird or an Afghan hound, and some even say it is inspired by a woman named Lydia Corbett, one of Picasso's models. A copper maquette of the structure is entitled Tête de Baboon, or Baboon Head.

Legendary blues and rock and roll legend Bo Diddley passed away Monday, June 2 2008, due to heart failure. Spokeswoman Susan Clary said Bo died at his home in Archer, Fla. Bo Diddley suffered a heart attack August last year, and a stroke three months before that.

Bo Diddley's hard-edged guitar sounds made him one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. As a youth, he started his music career playing guitar in the streets of Chicago and later at the 708 Club on Chicago's South Side. He is also widely know for his unusual rectangular guitar.

More info can be found here.

Chicago has been called many names before, and more will come for sure as development of this great city never ends.

One of the most popular Chicago monikers would be "The Windy City." There has been much debate and confusion as to how Chicago got this monicker. Some say because Chicago is a naturally breezy area due to it's proximity to Lake Michigan. Some say it came from former rival city Cincinnati, describing Chicago as "windy" or full of bluster. The most popular origin of this nickname is that it was coined by the editor of the New York Sun, Charles Anderson Dana, in 1890 in reference to the city's claims for the World's Columbian Exposition.

Another popular nickname for Chicago is "Second City." Some people think that this nickname refers to Chicago being the second largest city, when in actuality it refers to Chicago's rebirth after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Here are some more minor Chicago nicknames:

• Chi-Town or Chitown
• Chicagoland
• The White City
• City by the Lake
• City of the Big Shoulders
• City of Broad Shoulders
• City of the Century
• The 312
• City on the Make
• The City That Works
• The Big Onion
• City in a Garden
• Hog-Butcher to the World
• Beirut by the Lake
• New York Done Right
• Illville
• I Will City
• Paris on the Prairie
• Sweet Home
• Heart of America
• The 773
• The Alley Capital of America

Do you have a nickname that is not on this list?

Although we're still a couple of months short of November, there's nothing like a good scare. Dream Reaper's Haunted House and Nightmares Inc. will give you just that. One of Chicago's top haunted house attractions, Dream Reaper is a favorite amongst young people looking for a cheap thrills and plenty of earsplitting shrills.

Located at Melrose Park, IL, Dream Reaper is a 14000 SqFt. haunted house with over 22 rooms actors and animatronics alike with sole purpose of scaring the living daylight out of their visitors. Kids are not encouraged to come, but will be welcomed with an adult's consent.

Head over their website for more info and check out their gallery.

Buddy Guy's Legends is hands down one of the best Blues bar in Chicago. Since it opened in 1989, the who's who of Blues and Rock graced its stage including Bo Diddley, The Black Crowes, and ZZ Top just to name a few. As the name suggests, Buddy Guy's is owned by Buddy Guy.

Buddy Guy is a multi Grammy Award-winning blues and rock guitarist. He is well known for his performances which involves playing the guitar with his feet or teeth and playing it behind his back. He is known to be a major influence to Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton's music.

Visit Buddy Guy's Legends website for more information about Buddy and his bar.

Although the 50-foot Berwyn Spindle was taken down Friday to make room for a new Walgreens, the top two cars - a Volkswagen Beetle and a BMW - was kept by the mall management in hopes of resurrecting the towering artwork.

Dustin Schuler, the creator and copyright owner of the sculpture, is optimistic about the deal, but has not been contacted yet about the details.

The Chicago Blues Festival is a Chicago tradition for over 20 years. It is an annual event that features performances by top blues musicians. It is held for four days at Grant Park.

The festival began in 1984, a year after the death of Muddy Waters, the father of Chicago blues. Some notable past performers were Bo Diddley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Lee Hooker, and Etta James just to name a few.

This years Chicago Blues Festival will be held from June 5 to 8 and will be closed by none other than the legendary B.B. King.

Visit their official website for more information.

The Taste of Chicago is the Midwest's and the world's largest food festival. It is held at Grant Park every year for two weeks, starting from the final week of June. Chicago's best restaurants get to feature their best dishes ranging from family favorites to the exotic. Entertainment is also provided by musical artists on different stages.

This year, Taste of Chicago 2008 will start on June 27 and end on July 6. Admission, as always, is free. Visit the Taste of Chicago's official website for more information.

• Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable - "The Father of Chicago," the first settler in Chicago, Illinois.
• William B. Ogden - Chicago's first mayor.
• Jane M. Byrne - Chicago's first and only woman mayor.
• Harold Washington - Chicago's first African-American mayor.
• Ernie Banks - the first Chicago Cubs African-American player.
• Chicago's Mercy Hospital - Illinois' first hospital.
• The Adler Planetarium - the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere.
• Western Avenue - the world's longest street.
• Harold Washington Library/The Chicago Public Library - the world's largest public library.
• The Chicago Post Office - the only drive-thourgh post office in the world.
• Nabisco - the largest cookie and cracker factory in the world is located in Chicago.
• Keebler - the world's largest ice cream cone factory is located in Chicago.
• Charles Dana - a New York Sun editor that coined the now famous monicker "Windy City."
• The Taste of Chicago - the world's largest free outdorr food festival.
• These Are My Children - first TV daytime soap opera ever aired, making Chicago the birthplace of TV daytime soap opera.
• Playboy - first published in Chicago in 1953.

The Shedd Aquarium, or more formally, The John G. Shedd Aquarium, is an indoor aquarium boasting 5 million gallons of water and roughly 2100 species of marine animals. Opened to the public in 1930, the Shedd Aquarium was once the largest indoor aquarium in the world.

Kids will surely enjoy the aquarium's various exhibits including Wild Reef, Oceanarium, Amazon Rising, Waters of the World, and Caribbean Reef. Some notable animals on display are Beluga Whales, Giant Pacific Octopus, Moon Jellies, and of course Penguins.

Admission tickets go from $8 to $27.50 and The Shedd Aquarium is open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays and up to 6pm on weekends.

The aquarium will hold a Reptile Fest this coming April 12 to 13. Lizards and reptiles will highlight the said event, plus a special presentation about Komodo dragons.

Visit http://www.shedaquarium.org for more info.

www.lollapalooza.com will announce this year's Lollapalooza's lineup on April 7, 2008, although the festival is still a couple of month's away.

Lollapalooza is a music festival featuring all kinds of music and performances that one can think of. It was conceived by Perry Farrell (Jane's Addiction) as a farewell tour for his band. Originally, Lollapalooza tours from city to city, but on 2006 Chicago Park District and Capital Sports & Entertainment signed a deal to keep the festival at Grant Park in Chicago until 2011.
Some Notable Lollapalooza Acts

• Jane's Addiction
• Nine Inch Nails
• Rollins Band
• Primus
• Arrested Development
• The Smashing Pumpkins
• The Ramones
• Rancid
• Weezer

Lollapalooza will be held on August 1 -3 2008 on Grant Park Chicago. For more info visit their official website http://www.lollapalooza.com