In case you missed it! (ICYMI)
Secret Chicago wants to help you make the most of your free time and keep you informed! We’ll be putting out “Don’t miss” and “ICYMI” plans and news for you each week, so you’ll always catch an incredible event or story. Here are some of them that you may have missed over the last week.
1. 10 Essential Winter Experiences In Chicago
Chicago’s notoriously harsh winter needs no introduction. If you’re a Chicagoan you know full well what winter’s arrival means and if you’re not, well there’s very little chance you’ve not been warned already if you’re visiting this time of the year. Fall’s ephemeral beauty comes and goes in the blink of an eye, snowfall quickly goes from exciting to exasperating, and before you know it that teeth-chattering chill has settled in, and its wintertime in Chicago.
Luckily it’s not all doom and gloom. The many holiday traditions and many exciting events that emerge this time of the year are our shining lights in times of darkness. As winter sweeps through the city it is countered with festive fun and Christmas cheer. From sipping Glühwein in Daley Plaza to gliding around the quarter-mile ice rink in Maggie Daley Park, we’ve rounded up our must-do winter activities in Chicago in no particular order.
Click here for our full Chicago winter bucket list.
2. The Ice Skating Rink In Maggie Daley Park Has Reopened For The Season
One of Chicago’s best winter-time activities, the Maggie Daley ice rinks offers an “alpine in the city” experience skating down a quarter-mile rink in the heart of Chicago. The winding ribbon of ice curves up and down around a 40-foot climbing wall with the city’s stunning skyline in the backdrop. The rink has now opened for the winter season and it’s free Monday through Thursday if you bring your own skates!
You can read the full article here.
3. Godfrey Hotel’s Winter Wonderland And Heated Igloos Have Returned To The River North Rooftop
Boasting Chicago’s largest indoor-outdoor rooftop with a retractable roof, the Godfrey Hote has brought back its whimsical winter wonderland and signature heated igloos to its ritzy River North rooftop. The clear-domed igloos cover the rooftop’s portico and offer the perfect place to cozy up with a cocktail, s’mores, and sweeping skyline views.
Like last year, there will be frequent fire dancing, live DJs, and unique seasonal snacks all beneath the city lights throughout the winter months. The Windy City might plummet to teeth-chattering temperatures but at the city’s only year-round rooftop lounge guests shelter from the winter elements in style within their own personal snow globe.
You can read the full article here.
4. The 25th Edition Of Chicago’s Beloved Christkindlmarket Is Now Open Through December 24th
Chicago’s German-inspired annual Christmas market is back for its 25th edition after taking to the internet last year due to the global pandemic! Both the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza and the Christkindlmarket in Wrigleyville are now welcoming guests into villages to peruse handmade gifts whilst enjoying German food and beverages beneath the snowflakes and glistening lights.
Prepare for the smell of roasted nuts, fresh pretzels, bratwurst, hot spiced wine, and the magic of festive music all in the coziest of atmospheres!
You can read the full article here.
5. Lincoln Park Zoo’s Annual ZooLights Experience Has Returned
Lincoln Park Zoo’s much-loved annual ZooLights event has returned for almost eight weeks of family fun involving many of its cherished holiday traditions and some all-new features.
Hundreds of larger-than-life 3D LED displays now cover Lincoln Park while the usual delicious holiday snacks including warm spiced wine, frosty beers, and festive specials, will all be available throughout the event. Some exciting additional experiences have also returned to the zoo’s grounds such as the dazzling one-of-a-kind light maze and a reimagined and enhanced enchanted forest offering guests the chance to “meander among butterflies, flowers, mushrooms, and dripping lights with whimsical music and a magical ambiance.”
You can read the full article here.
6. Challenge Your Chums To Curling And Cocktails On The Gwen Hotel’s Luxury Rooftop
It’s around mid-November that Chicago’s rooftops and terraces begin reinventing themselves for the winter season. At The Gwen Hotel it’s an annual Curling & Cocktails event that marks the winter season’s imminent arrival.
The luxury hotel has once again kitted its rooftop out with not igloos, not ice skating, but an outdoor curling rink high in the sky. Curling sessions come with small bites and a complimentary round of cocktails meaning you can sip away on your favorite tipple while battling your buddies on the newly opened rink.
You can read the full article here.
7. A Brand New Light Festival Is Debuting At Rosemont’s Impact Field
An exciting all-new lights festival is debuting inside Rosemont’s Impact Field stadium this season. Delighting people of all ages, AMAZE is pure holiday magic featuring train rides, a holiday market, a candy shop, a Santa’s Workshop, and a “Thrill Hill” tubing slide where friends and family can race down icy slopes on single and double tubes.
Seven theme-based illuminated worlds offer a variety of different adventures and plenty of memorable photo opportunities. Bundle up and explore the different realms ranging from the company of elves in the North Pole to the smell of fresh pine at the Tree Farm.
You can read the full article here.
8. Soak In A 98-Degree Beer Bath At Chicago’s First And Only Beer Spa
While many of us out there might be used to drinking our fair share of beer, not many of us can ever claim to have bathed in it. In fact, not many of us would have even thought about it until West Town’s PIVA Beer Spa came along in 2018. Swearing that soaking in beer can have numerous benefits, PIVA Beer Spa provides a variety of services both beer-related and non-beer related from rejuvenating salt room experiences to luxury massage.
The relaxing beer soaks can be experienced through various packages available at PIVA Beer Spa but despite all the options, it’s sinking back into a huge larch wooden tub filled with near 100-degree beer, herbs, and hops for the first time that you’ll remember.
The spa claims that the extracts of hops, barley, and brewer’s yeast can help alleviate various respiratory conditions such as asthma, allergies, and bronchitis whilst also helping to improve numerous ale-ments (sorry), such as restoring damaged skin, revitalizing damaged hair, and helping to clear acne. Add to that the fact that beer soaks have been shown to be a natural sleep aid, reduce stress, and positively affect mind, body, and spirit, you can bet your bottom dollar you’ll be leaving any beer-soaking experience feeling lager than life (sorry again).
You can read the full article here.
9. A Gigantic Tech-Infused Mini Golf Concept Bar Has Opened In Oakbrook Center
An “upscale, tech-infused mini-golf experience” courtesy of UK-based Puttshack has now opened in Oakbrook Center. The exciting new mini-golf concept bar has been kitted out with four custom-made, tech-infused mini-golf courses powered by Puttshack’s patented Trackaball™ technology.
Each hole offers its own unique, interactive game according to the company website, “that means you can be working on your Beer Pong skills at one hole and then testing out your pop culture knowledge at our True or False hole,”
The 25,000-square-foot venue previously inhabited by the Lord & Taylor store will also have a bar offering food and drinks, and a private event space.
You can read the full article here.
10. 10 Magical Must-See Light Shows In And Around Chicago
With October and Halloween 2021 now behind us, Chicago is about to transition from autumnal delight to Christmas cheer. Of all the events to come, light shows are some of our most treasured traditions this time of the year and they’re coming back thick and fast to the Windy City. Having turned to drive-thru experiences last year due to Covid-19, many have returned to their original formats for 2021.
Every year more and more dazzling light shows pop up in extraordinary locations all around Illinois. Morton Arboretum, Chicago Botanic Gardens, Lincoln Park Zoo are just a few that guarantee an extra special festive spectacle. Gorgeous natural backdrops, cutting-edge light art installations, and festive cheer all combine providing some magical multi-sensory events like nothing else. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Lightscape at Chicago Botanic Garden
- Illumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum
- ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo
- Let It Shine at Northbrook Court
- Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo
Head to our list of 10 magical must-see light shows in and around Chicago for more.
[Featured image from Shutterstock]