2012 is the year of the Dragon – and it will be celebrated right here in Chicago with a parade that includes marching bands, floats, lions teams, a mystical dragon, and Miss Friendship Ambassador. Parade step-off time is 1 pm. Chinatown will also be featuring other celebratory activities as early as 11:30 am.

2012 also marks the 100^th Anniversary of Chicago’s Chinatown – there’s lots to celebrate!

Come and explore an amazing culture right in the heart of Chicago.

GUNG HAY FAT CHOI!

If you’re in the holiday spirit and want to “window shop” – head over to Macy’s on State Street to check out their spectacular window display.  You can also head inside to see the Great Tree – it’s the 103^rd year that the 45-foot Great Tree will be lit to celebrate the holidays. It will feature 10,000 LED twinkling lights and 1,200 amazing ornaments.

Holidays not your thing? That’s OK – you can join in on Chicago’s winter tradition: ice skating at Millennium Park’s McCormick Tribune Ice Rink.

Located on Michigan Avenue between Washington and Madison Streets, the Millennium Park Ice Rink draws more than 100,000 skaters annually. The rink is open to the public every day of the week and skating is free. (You read right – FREE!) Skate rentals are available for $10. The rink is in its 11^th season and is open until March 11, 2012, weather permitting.

For Ice Rink hours and additional information, click here.

Also, through January 8, a bit further down the road from OfficeLinks’ Chicago offices, the Navy Pier will host Winter Wonderfest. Escape any winter blahs and enjoy rides, lights, and even fireworks! Admission is free (yes – I said it again! Twice in one post: FREE!), but you do need to pay for an Activity Wristband for any rides or attractions.

For Wonderfest hours and additional information, click here.

Chicago is a wonderful place to be around the holidays and during the winter. Get out there and enjoy every second of it!

The Museum’s 45-foot Grand Tree will take center stage in the Rotunda with more than 30,000 lights and 1,000 ornaments, surrounded by more than 50 smaller trees beautifully decorated by volunteers from Chicago’s ethnic communities to represent their various cultures and holiday traditions.

You’re invited to stroll through the trees, enjoy intermittent falling “snow” and savor the performances on the Holiday Stage including school choral groups during the week, and ethnic song and dance performances on the weekends.

Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light exhibit and all performances are included with general museum admission.  General admission is $15, $13 for Chicago residents. For more admission information, click here.

Looking for something a little different? Also through January 8, 2012, The Museum of Science + Industry will feature the There’s Fun to Be Done! Dr. Seuss & The Art of Invention exhibit. There’s no doubt you’ll be amazed by “the thinks you can think” when you explore the mind and ideas of Theodor Seuss Geisel, the creative genius better known to millions and billions as Dr. Seuss. There’s Fun to Be Done! Dr. Seuss & The Art of Invention celebrates the life and art of Dr. Seuss, chronicling the common artistic links appearing in his work. See his multi-faceted talent at work through this collection of early editorial cartoons, drawings, advertisements, paintings and sculptures. Then get ready for whimsical, hands-on activities that focus on Dr. Seuss’s innovative thinking!

There’s Fun to Be Done! Dr. Seuss & The Art of Invention exhibit requires an additional ticket with a specified entry time. For more information, please click here.

The Museum of Science + Industry of Chicago is located at 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, less than 8 miles from the OfficeLinks Chicago office space located in Willis Tower.

The Museum is open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Christmas Day when it is closed.

For more information about the exhibits mentioned above as well as general information about The Museum of Science + Industry, click here.

Looking for a unique Halloween-themed experience? Come here after dark on October 20th!

Celebrate Halloween at the Adler Planetarium, about 2 miles from OfficeLinks’ Chicago location, on Thursday, October 20, for a “Spooky Space” celebration. Get into character and dress to impress for a Halloween costume contest (yes, there are prizes!), get spooked with scary constellation stories in the Atwood Sphere, sip on this month’s signature cocktail, the Rummy Worm, while you dance the nightmares away as DJ Tim Zawada spins records.

In addition, there will be screenings of some rare sci-fi films hosted by Odd Obsession, as well as some ghostly hauntings in the historic galleries on the lower level.  You can even create your own gooey monster capable of slithering through the states of the old planetarium.

Both the Adler’s Grainger Sky Theater and the Definiti will be running. You can also check out Adler’s newest show, The Searcher, or see what’s happening in the night sky in a special, one-night only Space Mysteries show in the Definiti Theater.

The Doane Observatory will be open for drop-in visitors until 6:45 p.m. From 7:00 p.m. onward, tickets are required for entrance to the observatory. Tour tickets can only be reserved when you purchase advance tickets; tickets will not be available with on-site sales. Please note that access to the Doane is subject to weather.

Advanced tickets to Adler’s After Dark Spooky Space event are $12 for non-members, $9 for members and students (with proper ID); tickets at the door are $17 for non-members, $12 for members and students (with proper ID).   Advanced tickets sales end at noon the day of the event. A cash bar and full cafe menu is available.

The fun doesn’t stop on October 20^th. The third Thursday of every month, 6:00 – 10:00 p.m., the Adler Planetarium offers folks 21 and over to enjoy cocktails and appetizers against the award-winning view of the Chicago skyline seen only from the Adler with their Adler After Dark events. Each month Adler After Dark reinvents itself with a new and exciting theme, so there is something new to discover and experience.  Want to find out more? Click here.

This year’s music performances include:

-       Johnny Wagner Band: 11:45 a.m to 2 p.m. Daily

-       Maggie Speaks: 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14

-       Sixteen Candles: 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15

-       Sorry For Partying: 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16

On Thursday, September 15 between 3-5 pm, The Berghoff will attempt to break the Midwest record for the longest brat. Bites of the brat will be sold as a fundraiser for the Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, whose residential, aftercare, and mentoring programs provide safety and opportunity for more than 400 young people every year.

There will also be two raffles to benefit the Mercy Home for Boys & Girls.

The Berghoff Brat will be around town starting in August spreading the word about this year’s Oktoberfest. “Spot” him, snap a pic, and share it on Twitter or Facebook for a chance to win t-shirts, steins, free food & drinks at Oktoberfest, a bar party for you and 10 of your friends and more!

Prost!

What are you doing the first Friday in August?

The first Friday of every month, you can wander just 2 miles from OfficeLinks’ Chicago office space to the Willis Tower to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago at 220 East Chicago Avenue, where you’ll enjoy live music from local DJs, the world’s only iMac G5 digital dating bar, creation stations, and more.

August 5, 6-10 pm you’ll have the opportunity to relax after a long workweek with a cash bar featuring specialty drinks and free Wolfgang Puck appetizers. Each month features an up-and-coming Chicago artist in a preview of the latest UBS 12 x 12: New Artists/New Work exhibition. First Friday’s theme for August 5 is Innocence, September 2 is Guilt, October 7 is Masquerade, November Minimalism, and December is Indulgence.

General admission is $18, advance tickets are $13. MCA members are $10. All tickets include museum admission, live entertainment, and complimentary Wolfgang Puck hors d’oeuvres. Buy tickets online or call the MCA Box Office, 312.397.4010. Note that guests must be 21 or older to enter

For more information about this unique happy hour experience, click here.

Uniqute 4th of July experiences are all apart of how Chicago celebrates Independence Day!

We saw this and just had to share it with OfficeLinks clients and friends in Chicago.

You have a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the 4^th of July in style: 2 hours on a charter yacht, enjoying the city views, the sunset, refreshments, and fireworks.  The evening starts with a short River and Lock Tour. Then you’ll cruise along on Lake Michigan as the sun sets over the Chicago skyline while you enjoy light appetizers (antipasto display of meats cheeses and breads, crudités, and a dessert bar), as well as a cash bar. You’ll remain on the lake for a gigantic Independence Day fireworks display over the lake.  Tickets are $100 (for all ages); boarding time is 7:45pm at Ogden Slip at Navy Pier.

There are other 4^th of July Fireworks Cruise options available as well:

$75 Sunset and Firework Cruise (boards at 7:45 pm at the West Dock of the Navy Pier)
$45 75-minute Architecture Fireworks Cruise (boards at 7:45 pm at Ogden Slip at Navy Pier)
$45 60-minute Lake Fireworks Cruise (boards at 8:15 pm at Navy Pier)

Please note that these cruises sell out quickly, so advance ticketing is strongly suggested.  You can purchase tickets to any of these wonderful 4^th of July celebrations by clicking here.  Your Independence Day already booked with barbeques?  There are fireworks cruises all summer long!  Click here for more information.

Start your own garden with Garfield Park Conservatory's seedlings.

Looking to grow your own garden this spring and summer?  The Garfield Park Conservatory, located less than 5 miles from OfficeLinks’ Chicago office space, is offering you an opportunity to come pick some special seedlings for your garden on Saturday May 21, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm.  There will be a unique, exciting and tasty variety of herbs, veggies, and fruits for your own growing pleasure, including heirloom varieties of tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, tomatillos and peppers, as well as former and current All-American Selections varieties.

University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer all of your questions.

Garfield Park Conservatory volunteers started all seeds in a Garfield Park Conservatory greenhouse, and all proceeds from the sale will go directly to the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance to help fund programs. Seedling prices vary by plant.

And while you’re there, you can pick up some FREE tulip bulbs at the Garfield Market Place Gate (just north of the Conservatory’s front doors).  Bulbs start to be given away at 9 am, but the line forms much earlier, and it goes until the bulbs are gone (which is usually around 11 am, so arrive early!).

So head on over to Garfield Park Conservatory, located at 300 North Central Park Avenue, to pick up your seedlings and tulip bulbs to support the Conservatory and your own green thumb!

Lori Ziesmer, General Manager for OfficeLinks in Chicago and Brian Fritton, co-founder of OfficeLinks' client, Tech@Cost on The Willis Tower Ledge during an April 28 Networking Event.

A networking event sponsored by the Metropolitan Club Business Alliance was held at Willis Tower in Chicago on April 28. Lori Ziesmer, General Manager for OfficeLinks in Chicago, sat on the planning board of this group and helped organize the event.  55 people attended, participating in “speed networking” for 45 minutes and then everyone enjoyed a tour to the most popular tourist attraction in Chicago…the Willis Tower Ledge.  It’s not often you are guaranteed to meet 50+ new people in less than an hour, view a popular tourist attraction and enjoy cocktails and food!