Let me just get this out of the way - when it comes to festivals, my heart forever belongs to Summerfest. I spent about six years of my childhood living in Milwaukee, so I grew up on brats and Gilles and music on the lakefront. It’s been quite some time since I’ve been back - living in Michigan made it too difficult to attend most years, and since we’ve been back, we’ve been waiting for the kids to be old enough to manage in a throng of tens of thousands of people.

I saw the ad for this year’s festival, which starts (argh!) today - it’s the 40th anniversary. I thought to myself, “Oh yeah, we’re going!” and then I remembered it coincided with our family trip out East. Curses! I actually wondered what my mom’s reaction would be if I called and asked to reschedule. Grrr…..OK, so we’ll wait ’til next year.

Here’s the thing - I know there are plenty of Chicagoans that think the Taste of Chicago is “the bomb.” Jim and I took the kids last year - our first visit - and….I’ll stick with Summerfest. And this is without even knowing exactly how crazy/bad/good Summerfest has become in the last 20 years or so, so this is a completely uninformed decision. But here’s why:

The Taste was really interesting, but I thought the process to get my hands on something substantial to eat was a little ridiculous. I get the point - you’re getting a little “taste” of everything, but for me, standing in a bunch of lines to get something that amounts to the size of a regular meal isn’t really my idea of a good time. If I were working downtown and wanted to do something fun for lunch, then by all means. But a weekend trip for that specific reason? Nah.

And speaking of standing around in a bunch of lines…my anxiety level was at an all-time high trying to keep an eye on three little kids. Holy cannoli. People, police horses, more people, delivery carts, more people…yikes. And there was nowhere to realistically sit, either. I don’t know about you, but sitting butt up on a 2-inch high curb with hundreds of people walking by, so your only view is that of festival-goers’ shins, while trying to hork back a piece of pizza, isn’t all that fun.

Now, it’s safe to say you could make the same arguments against Summerfest. Crazy crowds, lots of lines, etc. But the main purpose of Summerfest is to check out all kinds of music - food is just a sideshow. I long for the day I can take the kids to Miller’s stage, grab some Saz’s ribs and mozzarella and just hang out, listening to jazz. Maybe take them to the polka tent and let them get their funk on.’

I also think there’s just way more for kids to do at Summerfest - kid-specific fun activities. At Taste, kids just follow parents around and wait for a bite of cheesecake from Eli’s. When was the last time your kids said that’s what they wanted to do?

From where I sit, we’re almost halfway in between each festival. Yeah, it’s technically a little longer to drive up north, but I’m telling you, it’s worth it.

If you do decide to go downtown, here’s my Insider Tip: Take the train. Seriously. Usually Metra has a “Kids Ride Free” special going on, or at a minimum, you can get the cheap weekend pass.

Oh, Summerfest. I’ll see you next year.

Technorati Tags: North Shore festivals, Summerfest, Taste of Chicago, music festivals, kids activities

Seriously. There’s something about a kids’ toys store that gets me every time. Who wouldn’t want to have a legitimate reason to sit around and play with really cool stuff all day long?

One of my North Shore favorites is Becky and Me Toys, with locations in Evanston and Glenview. Back in Michigan, there were two awesome toy stores I could depend on to find really great stuff, all while avoiding 95 percent of the junk that lines Toys ‘R Us shelves. (OK - that’s a little harsh. Maybe.)

Upon our move here, I immediately sought out a toy store where I knew I could go where the staff would be knowledgable and the quality of their inventory impeccable. Becky and Me fits that bill to a tee. They’ve got toys for kids of all ages, and the staff is always more than willing to help you pick something out. While I was there on a recent visit, Karen was able to show my kids some of the travel toys in stock, and at least two other customers came in asking for help looking for something age-appropriate for a three-year-old and were well taken care of.

Now - if you’re looking for Playstation or Wii, an Easy-Bake oven or Barbie, you won’t find it here. But because this is the stuff I try to avoid as much as possible (I’ll be honest - I’ve got an 11-year-old and 9-year-old - Playstation is pretty much unavoidable), I love this store all the more. I can take the kids in here and know they’ll pick something out that I like too. Yay!

Becky and Me also offers that fabulous free gift wrap - it makes birthday party present shopping so much nicer!

If you need something new for the kids to do, come check ‘em out!

Becky and Me Toys
620 Grove St.
Evanston
492-1030

1462 Waukegan
Carillon square
Glenview
729-8850
www.beckyandmetoys.com

Technorati Tags: Becky and Me Toys, Glenview toy stores, Evanston toy stores, North Shore toy stores, cool toy stores

For some of us, when visitors come calling, there’s that sense of dread - where can you go to entertain kids of all ages?

Enter the Chicago Botanic Garden.

This is one of my favorite places to go, chiefly because it is beautiful. Not just “Isn’t that some pretty landscaping?” nice, but downright “Yes, I don’t care if I blow my wedding budget - I have to get married here” kind of beautiful.

It’s also a happy medium when you have older people in the crowd that don’t need to see the children’s museum, and younger people who think anything indoors is boring.

With the kids, I steer them over to the Railroad Garden as soon as we get there. (Insider Tip: Don’t forget to get stamped on the way out - that way, when the kids have had enough of the Japanese Garden or the rose display, the adults can draw straws and take the kids back here for awhile.)

This season, they’ve added six Frank Lloyd Wright buildings - very cool. There’s always something new to see here, and the kids quite frankly just can’t get enough. The train engineers are the nicest bunch of docents at the Garden and are always willing to take time to talk to you and the kids.

Once the kids have had their fill, you can take as many of those posed “candids” as you like of the kids in nature’s beauty (All told, I think I took 70 shots yesterday - and that was without trying very hard!) They can also work on completing their botanic garden bingo cards, complete with a kid favorite - stickers - available at the information desk. The kids were thrilled to finally find the Japanese lantern!

See? Even a rowdy nine-year-old can dig the serenity of the Walled English Garden.

I love the Chicago Botanic Garden - and consider yourselves lucky to live close enough to go whenever you want. It’s my weekend Quick Pick - check it out! (Another Insider Tip? If you can bike, the North Branch trail runs straight through the garden - avoid the parking $$$ and take a bike!)

Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Rd.
Glencoe
Admission: Free
Parking $15 non-members, free for members
Railroad Garden: $5 adults ($4 members) $3 kids ($2 members)

Technorati Tags: Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Highland Park, North Shore attractions, botanic gardens, children’s gardens, flower displays