Chicago River Dyeing, Chicagohenge and Chicago Bears

BEST DATE NEWS

March 14, 2024: Best Date News Volume #66

Good morning and welcome to another edition of Best Date News, Chicago’s most fun and interesting Thursday newsletter.

In today’s newsletter, we dive into Ravinia Festival’s 2024 lineup announcement, St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago, Chicagohenge, the Bears new stadium plans, a big surprise from Outdoor Voices, Pi Day and more!

March 14: National Holidays

• National Pi Day

• National Genius Day

• National Potato Chip Day

• National Learn About Butterflies Day

• International Ask a Question Day

Sponsored by our friends at Ravinia Festival

Ravinia Lineup Announcement

• Full Schedule Released: The popular Ravinia Festival in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park officially released its full 2024 summer lineup this morning.

• In case you are unfamiliar, Ravinia Festival is a historic music and event venue that puts on some of the best outdoor concerts in the Chicagoland area each summer. One of the best parts about the venue is that you can bring all your own food and drinks inside for the ultimate picnic experience!

• Some of the names you can look forward to seeing this summer are James Taylor, Norah Jones, Ben Platt, The Roots, The Beach Boys and many more. See the full list.

• The festival season at Ravinia this year will run from June 7-Sept. 15. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 24.

Chicago News

• St. Patrick’s Day: One of the most exciting Chicago celebrations of the year takes place this weekend! The dyeing of the Chicago River for St. Patrick’s Day is most of the most unique celebrations you will find anywhere in the world. If you haven’t figured out what you are doing yet to celebrate, here are some fun ideas to consider. Now, let’s hope for good weather and that everyone has a great time celebrating in the best city in the world!

• Chicagohenge: Twice a year, during the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun aligns perfectly with Chicago’s east and west corridor street grid. This amazing spectacle is commonly known here as Chicagohenge, and it brings all the photographers to the Loop looking to capture cool pictures. The spring equinox takes place next week, so you can go see it for yourself.

• Bears New Stadium: It appears that the Chicago Bears have reached a decision on their stadium of the future as the team announced this week that they will be shifting their focus away from Arlington Heights and back towards downtown Chicago. Their plan is to now contribute $2 billion towards a new domed stadium on the lakefront. See what people are saying about the decision.

• Outdoor Voices: The popular athleisure store made big news yesterday as employees revealed the company told them that they were going to be closing all their retail stores this week. Chicago has a Lincoln Park Outdoor Voices location right in the heart of the Armitage-Halsted District. Get the full story.

• New Brunch Cafe: Chicago’s cutest new brunch cafe is now open on Michigan Ave just in time for spring! Sugary Chicago is an all day breakfast and lunch cafe with beautiful speciality lattes, desserts, pastry towers, pancakes, crepes and more. You’ll definitely want to see how adorable this place is.

Just for Fun

• The Bear Filming: Did you see that The Bear has been filming all around the Chicago area this week? We saw Jeremy Allen White in person in Evanston on Monday! Take a look at this incredible clip of the whole cast filming a scene outside an Evanston church.

• 7 p.m. Sunsets: Chicagohenge isn’t the only fun Chicago sunset news taking place this upcoming week! This Sunday, March 17, will mark Chicago’s first 7 p.m. sunset of the year! It’s the first day of a stretch of 182 straight days with sunsets taking place after 7 p.m. in Chicago.

• Happy Pi Day: It feels like this holiday was a big deal when you were in school, right? Now not so much. However, if you are looking to celebrate today, there are places offering $3.14 deals. If you just want to know where to get a good slice of pie in Chicago, you can always do that too!

Poll Question of the Week

Last Newsletter's Poll Results

Poll Results: Last newsletter we asked you if you thought March is one of the best months of the year in Chicago. 83% of you said no, March is not.

• “While March is great, nothing compares to the summer and fall months in Chicago!” -Emily M.

Today's Sunset in Chicago

The sun will set in Chicago this evening at 6:56pm. Which means the sun sets today one hour and eight minutes later than it did last week!

Work with Best Date Food

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