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What do Vic Mensa, Dilla and Meagan Culberson all have in common?

Join the Gertie crew for a tour of Vic Mensa's day in the Chi curated by Chicago's favorite urban historian Dilla

Hurry Up and Get Your Tickets

Join us for a day in Chicago with Dilla, a lifelong resident of Chicago's South Side and our favorite urban historian. His 60-second history videos have been viewed over 8 million times, and he's a regular guest across Chicago media. Outside our city, he's appeared nationally on The Today Show and The Kelly Clarkson Show.The tour will feature some of Vic Mensa's favorite spots and will end with a drink at Buddy Guy's — one of the last remaining Jazz and Blues lounges in the city.

Gather with us for Gertie Night on Thursday, November 3rd. We will be enjoying a performance of  The Wizards, a play by Ricardo Gamboa! Afterwards we will meet the cast and crew while sipping on delicious cocktails.

Join us for an evening filled excitement as we celebrate the launch of Gertie at the Museum of Contemporary Art this upcoming Wednesday from 6:30pm - 8pm. We will have some fun programming, light refreshments and engaging ice breakers that will comfortably take you outside your comfort zone.  Tell your friends to pull up! We would love to see y'all there!

We have LOVED getting the opportunity to meet new people and see old friends showing up to learn about Gertie. So far we’ve heard friends of Gertie saying things like:

“I’ve been wanting to meet this person for years and I’m finally meeting them a this event!”

“I've always wanted to go to Bridgeport Arts Center but never felt like I was allowed to go in!”

“I'm talking to someone I met at the artists' studio visit about a consulting gig!”


What we haven’t heard yet… is someone sharing their experience coming to Chicago as a visitor. Cue our amazing Communications Manager Meagan A. Culberson – you met her last week in our CONNECT section. This week, she gives us a more in-depth look at her first time here in Chicago.

Xx,
Abby

I’ve wanted to visit Chicago ever since I first heard Catherine Zeta-Jones scream “he had it coming!” in the song “Cell Block Tango.” Today’s Chicago is obviously different from the version in the musical, but it still made me want to find out what the city has to offer. (Who doesn’t love a jazz club??) Fast forward a few years, and I finally got the chance to experience Chicago in all its glory.

A few days after our guidebook (A) Part Chicago was released, I felt like the official “first” person to use it as a tourist. It has suggestions for every neighborhood, but since I was only in town for a few days, I decided to visit the “greatest hits” recommended by a few different contributors. That narrowed my list to the Garfield Park Conservatory, Monday Coffee Company, Harold’s Chicken, Cloud Gate, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Naturally, my first stop was Monday Coffee at the Garfield Park Conservatory — I needed an early-morning caffeine fix and figured it would kill two birds with one stone (sorry, vegans). I got myself a Honey Cinnamon Latte and walked around the conservatory, where I came across a koi pond and a leafy garden where I plotted my next move using the maps in the book. By then it was lunchtime and I needed to get something in my stomach ASAP!

Harold’s Chicken was a 10-minute drive up the road, so I called an Uber and jetted over. Once I got there, I chatted with an employee about their favorite thing on the menu (they suggested the 3-piece meal). Boy, was that fried chicken good! After scarfing down lunch, I looked through the book again to find the Art Institute. Google Maps told me it was less than 2 miles away, so I walked.

It was mid-afternoon when I made my way over to the Art Institute. The exhibit that moved me the most was Sophie Calle: Because—The Blind. It was a collection of interviews where Calle asked blind people about their ideas of beauty. It was humbling to see all the different assembled photographs answering the question. One person mentioned that “green” was their idea of beauty and I couldn’t agree more! Before the museum closed, I hopped over to the gift shop to grab a magnet printed with the iconic lion statues at the museum entrance. (I now think of the museum every time I open my freezer…and then the sub-zero temp reminds me why I live in L.A.)

I ended the day with a photo at the iconic Cloud Gate at Millennium Park. I can’t wait to visit the other (A)Part recs next time I’m in Chicago, but until then, I plan on trying out the recipes in my L.A. kitchen.

To read more about Meagan's experience check out her blog post
THE SINGLE GIRL TRAVEL GUIDE: Cell Block Tango Edition

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