Category Archives: Celebrity
Chicago PrideFest 2016 Jordin Sparks
IT’S OUR STORY | TAKE PRIDE
As the Northalsted Business Alliance prepares to welcome thousands of celebrants for Chicago Pride Fest on June 18-19, the organization marks the month by sharing Pride stories. Be it individual, collaborative community memories, or examples of neighborhood initiatives, NBA will share narratives across social media using the #OurStory hashtag.
Northalsted Business Alliance Executive Director Christopher Barrett Politan explains the initiative. “As our collaboration with The Legacy Project continues to take shape, it’s an honor to celebrate Pride Month with the LGBT trailblazers who adorn the neighborhood on The Legacy Walk. Most importantly, it is a reminder to take pride in not only our individual accomplishments, but our collective pride in the neighborhood and community.” Collective Pride is weaved throughout the festival as Pride Fest goers are encouraged to donate at the gates to support the neighborhood initiative to provide a clean, beautiful and safe space for everyone to celebrate.
A centerpiece of Pride Month is the two-day Chicago Pride Fest, which celebrates the past, present and future of the LGBT community. Entertainment options abound with Jordin Sparks lighting up the stage on Saturday, while former Danity Kane members Aubrey O’Day and Shannon Bex of the Dumblonde duo shake things up on Sunday. pridefestRising star Daya of ‘Hide Away’ fame joins Dumblonde in the Sunday line-up.
Other performers over the two-day festival include:
Boy Band Review, Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, Chicago Spirit Brigade, Emii, Fabio Campos, Goldhouse, Jason Maek & Zaena, Lakeside Pride Orchestra, Luciana, My Gold Mask, One Night Band, Rod Tuff Curls, Sushi Roll and Wedding Banned.
In addition, the perennially popular Pride Pet & Family Parade at 12:30PM on Sunday Funday, hosted by Ms. Foozie will open the second day of the festival.
Chicago Pride Fest June 18-19 11 am – 10 pm
Halsted from Addison to Grace $10 Entry Donation
About the Northalsted Business Alliance (NBA)
Formed in 1980, NBA represents more than 100 businesses along the Halsted Street corridor. The organization hosts major events throughout the year including Chicago Pride Fest, Northalsted Market Days, Frost Fest, Pride Prom and the Halloween Parade. For information about NBA and The Legacy Project visit www.northalsted.com
My Private Chef Cooking Class $10
GET A TASTE OF SPRING WITH CHEF CHRISTOPHER TONG OF MY PRIVATE CHEF
AT THE WHOLE FOODS MARKET-LINCOLN PARK COOKING SCHOOL, CHICAGO
Chicagoans appreciate when the calendar turns the corner toward spring. Celebrate spring and attend a cooking demonstration hosted by the popular Chef Chris Tong, of the upscale Chicago-based private gourmet dining service, My Private Chef.
He will present some delicious recipes perfect for spring entertaining. The cooking class is on the mezzanine level in the on-site classroom at the Whole Foods Market in Lincoln Park, 1550 North Kingsbury, Chicago. It will be held on Monday, April 11 from 7pm-8:30pm. The cost is $10.00 per person.
People who are casual cooks or lovers of gourmet food get to ask questions, discuss preparation, and come away with fabulous recipes that you can try at home. Chef Chris will provide tips on shopping
for the finest ingredients. And, everyone gets to have a taste!
Chef Tong’s Spring menu features:
Fresh Pea Soup, Crème Fraiche and Chives
Sautéed Pork Tenderloin, Red Beet and Heirloom Carrot Salad with Soy-Ginger Vinaigrette
and Jasmine Rice
Fresh Strawberries, Champagne Sabayon
Advance registration is requested to reserve your place in the class.
To register for the class, call Whole Foods Market, Lincoln Park at 312.587.0648
or sign up at the Customer Service Desk. Credit card payment will hold your place for the class.
My Private Chef is enjoying popularity as one of Chicago’s favorite private gourmet dining services. Trained in European-style fine cuisine, Chef Tong established his reputation at fine restaurants and hotels in Florida, California, and Chicago. Now he has adapted his impressive skills to the world of private entertaining. My Private Chef offers enticing cuisine for a wide range of events, from intimate dinners to weddings to corporate parties.
Chef Chris says: “Every event is different and I’ve met some wonderful people including many celebrities.
Being part of very special occasions makes my work worthwhile. I also love conducting cooking demonstrations where I get the feeling that audience members will go home and try some new dishes!”
For more information about My Private Chef, contact Event Services at 773.370.8131
or visit our web site: www.myprivatechef.net
Paula Poundstone in Chicago / Skokie
THE NORTH SHORE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS WELCOMES THE COMEDIC BRILLIANCE OF PAULA POUNDSTONE
The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, IL welcomes comedian Paula Poundstone on Saturday, March 19th.
Thirty two years ago Paula Poundstone climbed on a Greyhound bus and traveled across the country — stopping in at open mic nights at comedy clubs as she went. She went on to become one of our country’s foremost humorists. You can hear her through your laughter as a regular panelist on NPR’s popular rascal of a weekly news quiz show, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me. Paula lent her distinctive voice to the character “Forgetter Paula” in the Academy Award nominated Disney Pixar film “Inside Out.”
Poundstone tours regularly, performing standup comedy across the country, causing Bob Zany with the Boston Globe to write: “Poundstone can regale an audience for several hours with her distinctive brand of wry, intelligent and witty comedy.” Audience members may put it a little less elegantly: “I peed my pants.”
While there is no doubt that Poundstone is funny, the thing that probably separates her from the pack of comics working today and that has made her a legend among comics and audiences alike is her ability to be spontaneous with a crowd. Poundstone says: “No two shows I do are the same. It’s not that I don’t repeat material. I do. My shows, when they’re good, and I like to think they often are, are like a cocktail party. When you first get there, you talk about how badly you got lost and how hard it was to find parking. Then you tell a story about your kids or what you just saw on the news. You meet some new people and ask them about themselves. Then, someone says, “Tell that story you used to tell,” and then someone on the other side of the room spills a drink, and you mock them. No one ever applauds me when I leave a party, though. I think they high five.”
Paula’s interchanges with the audience are never mean or done at a person’s expense. She even manages to handle politics without provoking the pall of disapproval less artful comics have received.
Her most recent comedy CD, I HEART JOKES: Paula Tells Them in Boston was recorded during a performance at the Wilbur Theatre in the heart of the city and was released on April fool’s Day 2013. This was a follow up to her successful first CD I HEART JOKES: Paula Tells Them in Maine that was released in 2009.
Over the span of her career, Paula has amassed a list of awards and accolades that stretch the length of a great big tall guy’s arm. She not only shot through the glass ceiling, she never even acknowledged that it was there. Never one to stereotype herself as a ‘female comedian’ or limit herself to comedy from a ‘female’ point of view, in the early 90’s she was the first woman to win the cable ACE for Best Standup Comedy Special and the first woman to perform standup at the prestigious White House Correspondents dinner where she joined the current President as part of the evening’s entertainment.
In November, 2012 in Washington DC, Paula was honored, along with Nina Totenberg, NPR correspondent; David Brooks, New York Times columnist; and Bob Mankoff, New Yorker Cartoon Editor, with the 2012 Moment Magazine Creativity Award at their 35th anniversary symposium and dinner, followed by a one-hour panel on the intersection of humor and politics. Just weeks later Paula was hand-picked to interview Calvin Trillin for the Los Angeles-series-darling, Writers Bloc, a series that presents conversations between the featured author and another interesting thinker.
Paula has starred in comedy specials on HBO and BRAVO, won an Emmy Award, served as “official correspondent” for The Tonight Show during the 1992 Presidential race, pioneered the art of backstage commentary during an Emmy telecast, steps up to the plate for causes she believes in, and is almost always included in any compendium – be it film, television or print, noting comedic influences of the 20th/21st century, most recently, We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy (October 2012, Sarah Crichton Books). Paula also appears on “Late Night w/Craig Ferguson” about 3 times a year and she’ll do an occasional editorial for NPR’s “All Things Considered”.
In April 2013 NPR Laughter Therapy (Highbridge Audio) released a 2-CD collection of NPR’s best interviews and stories with “funny folks” including Paula’s Talk of the Nation interview. If it means anything to anyone, she is recognized as one of Comedy Central’s 100 greatest stand-ups of all time. Paula won an American Comedy Award for Best Female Standup Comic, and in 2010 she was one of a select group voted into the Comedy Hall of Fame.
Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me is now heard in 5 million homes across the country, including all of the major markets, internationally on NPR Worldwide and on the Internet via podcast. In 2008 it received a Peabody Award for broadcasting excellence. On the show Paula gets to match wits with some of the country’s leading pundits. In May 2013 the show filmed its first Cinecast from New York’s Town Hall and Paula was one of the Panelists. The show made its television debut on BBC America with a “2011 Year In Review.” Paula was on that panel as well. Poundstone quickly goes on record about how much she loves being part of the show saying: “I am a proud member of the endorphin production industry. They allow me to say whatever I want on Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me. The panelists are unscripted, so it’s perfect for me. I feel like I’m a batter in a batting cage. I get lobbed topics. Sometimes I just watch them go by, but every now and then I get a piece of one. If the others didn’t cheat, it would be an almost perfect work experience.”
Paula is also a published author and lecturer. Her hard cover book, There is Nothing In This Book That I Meant To Say (Crown, 2006, with a forward by Mary Tyler Moore) is still in release on audio (Highbridge) and in paperback. Other writing credits include the back page columnist of Mother Jones, The Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, and Glamour magazine.
Not only a writer, but an avid reader, Paula continues her role for the American Library Association (ALA) as the Nat’l spokesperson for United for Libraries, their “Friends of Libraries” national network – a citizens support group who work to raise awareness and much needed funds to support their local libraries. Paula has appeared as the headliner at the ALA’s annual conference for their Laughs On Us panel the last four years, and to quote Sally Reed, the ALA Nat’l Director: “…you’d have to come to one of these events to see how adored Paula is by librarians. We love her and it’s never repetitive.” Paula has hosted many events to great success, including the Art Directors Guild Awards an unprecedented 4 times.
The National Endowment for the Arts recently requested Poundstone to sit down for a chat about the art of comedy and her career. Take a listen: http://arts.gov/audio/paula-poundstone
GET A LAUGH with Paula’s comedy CD:
I Heart Jokes – Paula Tells Them In Boston
cdbaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/paulapoundstone1/
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-heart-jokes-paula-tells/id632789944
Watch Paula on Craig Ferguson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6WnBZ5G6fc
Visit Paula at: http://www.paulapoundstone.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/paulapoundstone
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PaulaPoundstone
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Showtimes: 8:00PM / Tickets: $45-$52 / Call: 847-673-6300
Visit: http://www.northshorecenter.org/
The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9501 Skokie Blvd.
Skokie, IL 60077
All Star Blues Bash Feb. 13th
The best blues artists in the world give a high dose of southern-style soul blues, house-rocking blues, contemporary blues, and genuine Chicago blues all rolled up into one awesome blues show that will be stuck in your memory forever. Bobby Rush headlines the All-Star Blues Bash bringing his Billboard R&B and Blues chart topping hits to highlight the bash.
Joining the bash as co-headliner is Joe Louis Walker, who is without a doubt one of the most exciting and innovative artists gracing contemporary blues. Kicking things off is Chicago’s very own and Chicago Blues Hall of Famer Wayne Baker Brooks, bringing his distinctive contemporary style of Chicago Blues with a fully formed new vision that updates the sound of the blues without falling into the same tired blues-rock clichés. Joining this all-star lineup is rising blues star Shawn Holt, son of blues legend Magic Slim.
Tickets: $40 General Public / $35 Seniors, Students, Staff
BUY TICKETS –
Steve Grand Christmas Song
WATCH THE NEW VIDEO AND SHARE IT
Download the song: https://stevegrand.bandcamp.com/track…
ONLY AVAILABLE on BANDCAMP! It will not be made available on iTunes.
Mario Lopez in Chicago Dec. 31
Chi-Town Rising, Chicago’s inaugural New Year’s Eve celebration Presented by Corona Extra and Hosted by Hyatt Gold Passport, today announces the celebrity talent set to host the New Year’s Eve broadcast both on NBC 5 Chicago and Telemundo Chicago. Mario Lopez will be the host talent for NBC 5 with Matt Iseman, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Courtney Lopez, and Marley Kayden as co-hosts. Penelope Menchaca and Maria Elena Ponticiello will be the host talent for Telemundo Chicago with Maricela Vázquez and Lily Fragoso as co-hosts. In addition to NBC 5 Chicago, Chi-Town Rising will air on over 40 NBC affiliates in the central United States. The program will also air nationally on COZI TV and in Spanish on TeleXitos.
The Chi-Town Rising live broadcast will be centered between Michigan Avenue & Columbus Drive, with the Chi-Town Rising Countdown Stage directly in front of the Hyatt Regency Chicago along Upper Wacker Drive. The broadcast will feature the musical performances of Billboard 2014 Top Artist American Authors and legendary rock band Chicago®, a dazzling midnight countdown with a 75-foot tall Chicago Star rising 360-feet into the night sky, and an epic fireworks display linking the event site with Navy Pier’s annual fireworks in one grand display synchronized to a musical soundtrack.
NBC 5 Chicago and Telemundo Chicago will broadcast the event live starting at 11:08 p.m. and Telemundo Chicago will begin at 11:00 p.m.
NBC 5 CHICAGO BROADCAST: 11:08 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015