Don’t let the winter darkness get you down. Come to Andersonville’s St. Lucia Festival of Lights this Sunday, December 13!
One of Andersonville’s many traditional Swedish events, St. Lucia begins with a torch-lit procession down the sidewalks of Clark Street at 4:45 p.m., kicking off at the Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St. The procession highlight is the appearance of the specially chosen “Lucia Girls,” who will lead the crowd wearing long white robes and beautiful crowns of candles, and singing “The Lucia Song.” Children and adults are welcome to join in the procession.
Afterwards, all participants are invited to the Lucia celebration at the Swedish American Museum. Admission is $1 or a can of food to benefit the needy. The Lucia celebration features a telling of the Lucia legend, a community Christmas carol sing-a-long with Santa, and Swedish holiday treats including traditional “peppakakor” ginger snaps.
Check out our Flickr page to see pictures from last year’s Lucia festival.
Find out more about the origins of the Lucia festival after the break. Read the rest of this entry »
Perhaps no place captures the heart and soul of Andersonville more than the Swedish American Museum, and it does so in a variety of ways. It preserves the rich history of the neighborhood’s Swedish roots and the impact of Swedes on the Chicagoland area. It introduces Andersonville to thousands of children who visit the Brunk Children’s Museum of Immigration with school or park groups. It draws a diverse array of visitors each year for exhibits of local and international artists. And it serves as a venue for countless community and special events, whether a reading of a popular write hosted by Women & Children First or a fundraiser for a local non-profit.
What may not be as well known is the great gift shop at the Museum that features a eclectic array of great gift ideas that appeal to much more than just those of Swedish decent. Now that their renovation project is done, the shop is looking better than ever and totally worth a visit this holiday season.
Our Favorite Thing from the Museum featured in the Andersonville Holiday Gift Guide are these traditional handmade Tomte Dolls ($12.50-$64.00). ‘Tomten’ being Swedish for Santa Claus, these delightful dolls come in a variety of sizes and depict a wide array of traditional Christmas scenes and characters. A great collectors item for those on your list who love the holiday season!
Also featured from the Swedish American Museum are Gastromax Kitchen Utensils and a Pippi Longstocking Hardcover Gift Edition Book.
The Museum’s Julmarknad, a traditional Swedish Holiday Market, is this coming weekend Saturday, December 5 from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday, December 6 from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm with a special preview during Late Night Andersonville from 4:00 – 10:00 pm. There is a $2 admission per person that benefits the Museum.
Swedish American Museum & Brunk Children’s Museum of Immigration, 5211 N. Clark, 773-728-8111. For Museum and store hours, visit their website at www.samac.org.
It’s time to annouce the winners of the Andersonville 20/20 Display and Promotion Contest, where Andersonville’s businesses went head-to-head to create the best Andersonville 20/20-themed displays and promotions!
Didn’t hear about the contest? You should have signed up for Andersonville 20/20. Only registered Andersonville 20/20 Challengers were able to vote for the best Andersonville 20/20 displays and promotions. As a thank-you for voting, Challengers also recieved a FREE raffle ticket in the 20/20 Sidewalk Sale raffle (winners will be chosen this Friday, August 7th). View pictures of some of the display and see who won the contest after the jump!
Read the rest of this entry »
Little Dead Riding Hood premieres this weekend from Andersonville's own Chicago Tap Theatre! Photo by Josh Hawkins
It is hard to believe that May is almost over and June starts Monday. And you know what that means in Andersonville – Midsommarfest is just two weeks away, and the Farmer’s Market is only 3-1/2 weeks from opening night! So kick off your summer on a weekend that might actually feel like summer in Andersonville.
Read the rest of this entry »
Join the Swedish American Museum this weekend to celebrate their beautiful new facade!
Happy 3-day weekend, everyone! You may have a small vacation, but there won’t be a break in the goings-on in Andersonville over Memorial Day Weekend. Join the Swedish American Museum to celebrate their beautiful new facade with FREE admission to the Museum and activites all weekend. There’s also Memorial Day festivities with a parade and a community-wide pig roast sponsored by the West Andersonville Neighbors Together (WANT). See the complete list of events after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
Did you get your tickets to the Andersonville Wine Walk on Sunday? I hope so, because it is officially sold out! Don’t worry though, not only are there many great spots to grab a glass of wine in Andersonville (forget walking, I’ll just sit and relax) there are a lot of other fun things to do this weekend in the neighborhood!
Read the rest of this entry »
