Chicago Fireworks

Grant Park Fireworks
Grant Park
300 S. Columbus Drive

More than a million spectators flood the lakefront to see one of the country's most spectacular fireworks displays, complete with an accompanying concert by the Grant Park Orchestra featuring Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" and Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever."

Presented as part of the Taste of Chicago.

Jul. 3: 7:30 p.m. Concert 9:30 p.m. Fireworks

Price: Free.
Phone: 312-744-3315

www.GreatChicagoRealEstate.com

Wishing everyone a happy and safe 4th!

Saffron Realty Group would like to extend all our GreatChicagoRealEstate.com clients a great 4th of July weekend!

Ron Knoll

22nd Annual Chicago Blues Festival

Grant Park
300 S. Columbus Drive

The largest free outdoor blues event in the world features performances by local and national artists.

Performance Schedule

Thursday, June 9
Juke Joint Stage
12 p.m.: Erwin Helfer
1 p.m.: Roosevelt Purifoy
2:30 p.m.: Fernando Jones
4 p.m.: Roland Tchakounte
5 p.m.: Chicago Blues Poetry Showcase featuring Marvin Tate, Tara Betts, AvantRetro, hosted by C.J. Laity

Front Porch Stage
1 p.m.: Blues in the Schools-"That's All Right, Mama" Arthur Big Boy Crudup. Stone Academy, Grant Academy, Reavis and Agassiz Elementary Schools, Erwin Helfer and Katherine Davis, Eric Noden, Les Getrex, Billy Branch, Doktu Rhute with the Blues Heaven Harmonica Kids and Roland Tchakounte
3 p.m.: Nick Moss and the Flip Tops
4:30 p.m.: L-Roy and the Bullet Proof Band with Lady D, Lady Cat and Holly Maxwell

CrossRoads Stage
1:30 p.m.: Tommy McCracken and the Force of Habit Band
2:45 p.m.: Grana' Louise
4:30 p.m.: Toronzo Cannon and the Cannonball Express

Showcase Stage
2 p.m.: Planetary Blues
3:30 p.m.: After Midnight Blues
4:45 p.m.: Madman Blues Band
6:15 p.m.: Steepwater Band

Route 66 Stage
12 p.m.: A British Perspective featuring Mike Rowe, Bill Greensmith, Bob Hall, hosted by Jim O'Neal
2 p.m.: Blues in the Schools Session

Petrillo Music Shell
6 p.m.: David "Honey Boy" Edwards
7 p.m.: Kim Simmonds' Savoy Brown with Bob Hall
8:20 p.m.: John Mayall and the Blues Breakers with Mick Taylor

Friday, June 10
Juke Joint Stage
12 p.m.: Piano Willie
1 p.m.: Eddie Taylor Jr.
2 p.m.: Detroit Jr.
3:30 p.m.: Hubert Sumlin and Steady Rollin Bob Margolin
4:30 p.m.: Roy Meriwether

Front Porch Stage
1 p.m.: Sunnyland Slim Memorial Piano Set featuring Barrelhouse Chuck and Henry Gray
2:30 p.m.: Eddie Taylor Remembrance with Little Arthur, Johnnie Mae Dunson, Eddie Taylor, Jr., Larry Taylor, Brenda Taylor, Edna Taylor, Demetria Taylor and the New Legends of Blues All Stars
5 p.m.: Kim Simmonds and Bob Hall

CrossRoads Stage
1:30 p.m.: Robert Jr. Lockwood Band
3:30 p.m.: Eddie Kirkland with Eddie Burns

Showcase Stage
2 p.m.: Pat Smillie Band
3:15 p.m.: Scott Bradbury
4:30 p.m.: Latvian Blues Band
5:45 p.m.: Liz Mandville Greeson
7 p.m.: The Perpetrators

Route 66 Stage
12 p.m.: Wolf's Family Birthday Party
2:30 p.m.: Henry Gray, Bob Hall, Roy Meriwether, Pete Crawford, Jim O'Neal

Petrillo Music Shell
6 p.m.: Jody Williams with the Willie Henderson Horns
7:20 p.m.: Hubert Sumlin, Steady Rollin Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Mookie Brill
8:40 p.m.: Koko Taylor and her Blues Machine

Saturday, June 11
Juke Joint Stage
12 p.m.: Don Washington
1:30 p.m.: Waymon Meeks
3 p.m.: Jon McDonald with Eddie C. Campbell
4:30 p.m.: Bob Seeley

Front Porch Stage
1 p.m.: Aron Burton's salute to Jimmy Walker featuring Homesick James, Steve Freund, Tino Cortez, Jake Crosby, Glenn Davis and Aaron Moore
3 p.m.: Carey Bell with Lurrie Bell's Blues Band
5 p.m.: Chicago Blues Harmonica Project, 2005 with Dusty Brown, Larry Cox, Russ Green, Little Addison, and Omar Coleman featuring the Chicago Bluesmasters

CrossRoads Stage
1 p.m.: Linsey Alexander with Joanne Graham
3:30 p.m.: Latimore

Showcase Stage
1 p.m.: Diamond Jim Greene
2:30 p.m.: Michael Powers
3:45 p.m.: Howard and the Whiteboys
5:15 p.m.: Noah Wotherspoon Band
7 p.m.: Vera Lee

Route 66 Stage
11 a.m.: Soul Cooking with Marie Dixon, Koko Taylor and Katherine Davis
2:30 p.m.: Cultural Tourism: the Authenticity of the Blues

Petrillo Music Shell
5 p.m.: Erwin Helfer and His Boogie Woogie Ensemble
6:25 p.m.: Billy Branch and the Sons of the Blues with Pete Crawford, Lurrie Bell, Steve Freund
8 p.m.: Buddy Guy

Sunday, June 12
Juke Joint Stage
12 p.m.: Frank "Little Sonny" Scott Jr. and Dancin' Perkins
1:30 p.m.: Eddie C. Campbell
3 p.m.: Lucky Peterson
4 p.m.: Carlos Johnson

Front Porch Stage
1 p.m.: Victory Travelers
2:30 p.m.: Geraldine and Donald Gay
4 p.m.: Calvin Cooke
6 p.m.: George Stancell

CrossRoads Stage
1:30 p.m.: Sharrie Williams and the Wise Guys
3:30 p.m.: Fernest Arceneaux and the Thunders

Route 66 Stage
12 p.m.: George Jackson, Bruce Bromberg, Bob Jones, hosted by Larry Hoffman
2:30 p.m.: An hour with Al Bell

Showcase Stage
1 p.m.: Steve Arvey and Kraig Kenning
2:30 p.m.: Big G and the Real Deal
3:45 p.m.: Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne
5 p.m.: Matt Besey
6:15 p.m.: Molly Nova and the Hawk

Petrillo Music Shell
5 p.m.: Howard Scott and his Southside Review featuring Miss Jessi and Stan Mosely
6:40 p.m.: Lucky Peterson Band
8:20 p.m.: Mavis Staples

Through Jun. 12

Daily :

Price: Free.
Phone: 312-744-3370

Courtesy Metromix.com

More faux materials pop up in new-home construction

Many homeowners like it this way
Courtesy Top Producer Online
By Katherine Salant
Inman News

Walk down a street in almost any new subdivision in America and you'll see traditionally styled houses built with traditional materials. Or maybe not. Although that stone may look like the real deal, most likely it, along with nearly everything else on the facade, is a fake, or, as they say in the home-building business, "faux." Perhaps even more remarkable, most homeowners are quite happy with this arrangement.
In interviews with architects and home builders around the country, I learned that homeowners care a great deal about appearances, but not necessarily about authenticity. For the most part, this lack of purist fervor is driven by maintenance concerns, not price. The faux materials can cost the same or more than the traditional materials they are replacing, but they require little or no attention. Some can be left unattended for the foreseeable future, or at least over the 20 or 30 years that the owners might live there.
By contrast, natural materials weather as they are exposed to the elements. Depending on the climate and the material, most require some to a lot of care, but most people are so "time-crunched" they are unwilling to spend even a single weekend a year working on their houses. They want the exterior to take care of itself. If that means faux materials, so be it.
All the architects and builders that I spoke with said they used the synthetic materials with mixed feelings. Up close, most lack the subtleties and nuances of the real McCoy, but prudence dictates bowing to homeowner realities. As one Washington-area builder said, "What's the point of using real materials like wood when I know the buyers won't do the maintenance and the houses will look like my neighbor's with mushrooms growing out of the dining-room window sill?"
The material that suffers the most from weathering is wood – certainly a builder's and a homeowner's biggest maintenance headache. In most climates it needs a primer and a protective layer of paint or stain to keep it from absorbing moisture and a generous amount of caulk at the joints to keep moisture from getting behind it. Homeowners should check the caulking annually, and the paint or stain must be periodically reapplied. In many places this must be done every three to five years. Otherwise, the wood will check, spilt, and crack, the paint will peel off, and eventually the wood will rot. Before putting wood on their new house, owners need to know what they are signing on for.
Not surprisingly, wood is the natural material that is most often replaced. The first faux material to be widely used was aluminum siding that mimicked overlapping cedar boards. A similar looking product made of vinyl is more common now and the vinyl can be shaped to mimic shingles as well as boards. But, many architects and some builders objected to both because they looked fake, their color palette is limited, they can be dented by hail, errant baseballs, and pebbles thrown up by lawnmowers and weed whackers, and the vinyl can melt and burn.
But many of these same reluctant architects and builders are now happily using another faux wood siding product, fiber cement. It's a mixture of portland cement, wood fibers, clay and sand that can be shaped into boards that appear to be about the same size as real cedar boards or real cedar shingles. Installed and painted it looks very close to the genuine article, and it can be painted any color that the owner chooses. It's about 1/4-inch thick, about five times thicker than aluminum or vinyl siding and far less susceptible to damage from flying debris. It's fireproof, bug proof, and because it does not absorb moisture, it holds paint well. Owners can go as long as 15 years between paint jobs, compared to wood. It also more durable than vinyl or aluminum-some manufacturers, including James Hardie, which warrants its fiber cement siding for 50 years.
Wood siding is not the only wood element on the exterior to cause maintenance migraines. Less noticeable, but equally important, is the trim at the corners, and around windows, doors and the roof edge. This is an issue even when the siding is a non-wood material such as brick. Fiber cement can also be used for the trim pieces, and builders and architects like it for the same reasons they favor it for siding. Another wood trim substitute that is increasingly popular is cellular polyvinyl chloride. It has the density and resistance of pine without the downside – it doesn't rot or absorb moisture and it holds paint extremely well.
Maintenance-averse homeowners who want a trim material made with recycled content can use MoistureShield, a composite material made of recycled wood fibers, plastic grocery bags, palette shrinkwrap, and plastic milk jugs. It is similar to composite decking boards, and its manufacturer, A.E.R.T (Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies), also makes ChoiceDek. MoistureShield boards have been used for siding, but the manufacturer has not tested them for this purpose and does not recommend it at this time. As with the other nonwood trim boards, Moisture Shield also holds paint extremely well.
Not every natural material is a maintenance headache, however. Some, such as stone, are just pricey and have never been widely used. The stone that you see in new-home communities all over the country today is undoubtedly the faux look-alike, or generically speaking, manufactured stone veneer. It's about half the cost of real stone and meets the builders' need to offer something more upscale for higher-end homes. The faux stone is made with portland cement, sand and the same iron oxides that color real stone. The mix is cast in molds made from real stones, but the finished veneer is only about 2 inches thick and weighs 75 percent less. In the past, the faux stone looked clearly fake, but today's product can be remarkably realistic looking, so much so that "you have to tap it to tell," Newport Beach, Calif., architect Jeff Lake said. The faux has a thud; real stone has more of a ping.
In some new-home communities, the stone may actually be the genuine article. But, it's a thin, 1-inch veneer, not the full thickness of natural material, which can be as thick as 8 inches. The veneered stone, which costs a bit more than the faux product, was introduced about four years ago, and is not yet in wide use.
Some materials on new houses are the traditional ones they appear to be because home builders found that the synthetic look-alikes had their own set of problems. A case in point is stucco. Weathering was never an issue, but the synthetic product known as EIFS – for "exterior insulation and finish system" – promised to be faster and easier to install, and it offered designers the opportunity to add more interest and complexity to the exterior surface without great expense. Unfortunately, installing EIFS correctly requires a degree of precision that is not always possible in residential construction. When incorrectly installed, rainwater can get into the wall and cause mold problems. Another unexpected EIFS problem is woodpeckers. In some areas, including South Florida, it has proved irresistible to woodpeckers and they drill holes in it.
All this has led home builders back to the "old way," and this is the stucco that you see on new houses now. The stucco industry has refined the specifics over the years, but the basic idea is the same as it has been for at least the last four or five centuries: a mixture of sand, lime, and cement applied in two or three coats.
Manufacturers not specifically mentioned in the text:
Fiber Cement trim: www.jameshardie.com
Cellular polyvinyl chloride trim: www.azek.com and www.synboard.com
Recycled wood and plastic trim: www.moistureshield.com
Manufactured Stone Veneer: There are at least 200 hundred firms in the U.S. that make this product. The two biggest ones that offer the most varied stones are www.culturedstone.com and www.eldoradostone.com.
Real Stone Veneer: Rockland Rock (www.rocklandbrick.com)
Stucco: Several firms produce the components for making stucco. Two of the largest ones are Quikrete (www.quikrete.com) and LaHabra (www.lahabrastucco.com)
Questions? Katherine Salant can be contacted at www.katherinesalant.com.

www.GreatChicagoRealEstate.com

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May Fest Chicago

May Fest Chicago
Lincoln Square
4700 N. Lincoln Ave.

It's not officially fest season until someone busts out the lederhosen and, folks, that time has come. Head to Lincoln Square for the sixth annual brats-and-brews bash that features Maypole dancing (2 p.m. Sunday) and a keg-tapping ceremony (8 p.m. Friday). Catch performances by fest staples Fanfaren Corp and Amazonen Dancers (all day Saturday), and bring your appetite, 'cause there's plenty of traditional food and beer, plus oodles of gemutlichkeit (warm fuzzies) for all.

Jun. 2: 5 p.m.
Jun. 3: 5 p.m.
Jun. 4: noon
Jun. 5: noon

Price: Free.
Phone: 773-545-4800

See Metromix.com for more information