This is the link to the most comprehensive list of NATO Summit Events we have seen.

This is from Chicago Stories and is a non-profit, independent public service.

www.chicagostories.org/calendar

Phone: 773-234-NATO

This aims to be a definitive list of all NATO Summit-related events. Official, community, and protest. To get listed, email to: summit@newstips.org.

Events are presented as described on May 14. Use the links to primary document get up to date information.

Mark Your Calendars

Logan Square Farmers Market™
Starts June 3rd and runs through October 28th

More than 40 vendors
Food, Music, Flowers & Fun

Check back soon for more details

Farmers Market Website

Visit the Market virtually by watching this video!
Video courtesy of Mackenzie Neaton, a film student at columbia college. vimeo.com/user449320

Join us in the Logan Square circle for live music on the 4th Saturday of each month from June through September.

June 23, July 28, August 25, and September 22, 2012

Check the Summer Sessions Website for more details as they become available.

www.summersessionsonthesquare.org

Boiler Room

Must-try Guide for Logan Square

Restaurants, Bars, Patios, Tacos, Music Venues, Latin American food.

Click Here To View redeye Logan Square Guide.

Dear Neighbors,

We were a little startled when we saw Zina Murray’s various postings and comments about moving our Logan Square Farmers Market. She hadn’t told us that she wanted to take on that project!

So, just so you know…moving the Market from Logan Boulevard is something that the Chamber has looked at and been thinking about since 2009, at least.

At first we thought we could go to the soon-to-be Logan Square Plaza, where the el goes underground. We’ve outgrown that space, and agreed, when we were asked, that the Chicago Rarities Orchard Project the City’s now working to put there was a good substitute. Then we thought about moving to the Square itself.

Problem is, it’s not as easy as just putting up some barricades to block Milwaukee Avenue for nine hours on 22 consecutive summer Sundays.

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Alderman and the Chamber of Commerce have all looked, and we all agree: at the Square there are pedestrian and vehicle safety and traffic congestion and flow issues that need to be addressed, at some significant cost, before a move of the Market should be considered.

We learned from closing Milwaukee Avenue for the Arts Festival that unless you change the timing of the signals (a job that has to be done by hand, on three different control boxes around the Square, before and then reset after the event) the traffic backs up on Milwaukee and Kedzie. Drivers have to wait through multiple cycles to get through. They get impatient and aggressive and start putting the pedestrians in those loooong crosswalks at risk. Not a good situation!

The solution? Put in new digital control boxes that can be remotely re-programmed. Estimated cost, $250,000+. Length of time to find the money, plan the project (must meet federal highway standards!), purchase equipment and install: 18 to 24 months, most likely.

Alderman Colon has talked to CDOT about this. CDOT has been responsive, or so I understand. Rey’s even been able to get CDOT thinking seriously about revising their existing plan (for 2013-14) to reconstruct Milwaukee Avenue into a much more sophisticated improvement project. You may have seen some design drawings that Charlie Keel and other volunteer engineer/designer/architect neighbors put together and posted earlier this year, for the “Logan Square Bicentennial Improvements Project”. It’s a great idea, but it won’t happen this year; most likely won’t get started until the year after. Traffic projects have lead times almost as long as some of our Logan Square crosswalks!

So, where does this leave us? The Market’s staying where it is this year, and probably for a while longer. What should we be doing? The Chamber wants to keep our Market “Best in Chicago” and we’ll do what needs to be done to make it even better, where it is. One step towards that was the Constant Contact survey we sent out in February to 2,000 of our Market visitors. Nearly 200 of you responded, and we’ll be doing and trying many of the things you suggested when we asked “How do you think we could make the Market better?” Another step was the grass we had Christy Weber reseed on the parkway between Albany and Whipple last fall. It’s coming up pretty nicely, as you’ll see when you walk by.

As to CDOT? I think their people are receptive. So, if you’d like, let them know you support the Market and the improvement of the Square, and appreciate their help. But be realistic about how fast they can swing into action. In the meantime, look forward to 10 AM Sunday, June 3, when I hope to see you on Logan Boulevard, at the Market!

Paul Levin, Executive Director
Logan Square Chamber of Commerce

The Logan Square Farmers Market is a Project of the
Logan Square Chamber of Commerce

Click Here to Read about Logan Square in the April issue of Midwest Living Magazine!

A 70-foot monument, grassy parks and 2.5 miles of leafy boulevards belie Logan Square's artistic, passionate personality. Adjacent to hip Bucktown on Chicago's North Side, edgy Logan Square's mash-up identity blends rich Chicago history with ethnic and economic diversity?and really cool shopping. Churches reflect the neighborhood's Norwegian heritage. Restored gray stone mansions coexist with taco stands, corner grocers, and graffiti alley art that could hold its own in a contemporary gallery.
Start exploring at the Illinois Centennial Monument, designed by Henry Bacon, who crafted the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Logan Boulevard and Kedzie and Milwaukee avenues radiate like wheel spokes from the memorial. Artists, musicians and young families lunch at Lula Cafe, known for its farm-to-table dishes. Nearby is whimsical toy store Play; around the bend, independent, eclectic shops tuck between coffeehouses and ethnic bakeries.
Along Milwaukee Avenue, the main commercial strip, the neighborhood's artsy vibe thrives at the new Arts Center Logan Square/Avondale. Foodies flock to wine bar Telegraph, Revolution Brewing Company and Latin-fusion restaurant D'Noche. Each summer, more than 300 artists, musicians and performers showcase their work during the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival.
Even with all that's new, neighborhood treasures survive. Margie's Candies, opened in 1921, still dishes hot fudge sundaes in svelte silver gravy boats. That's a part of Logan Square that no one wants to change.-- Kit Bernardi
Read the rest of the article

The 2012 Sidewalk Café Season begins on March 1st. Applications for last year's sidewalk café permit holders have been mailed. Please let us know if you have not received your application packet. New sidewalk café permit applicants may download the "Sidewalk Café Application Information Package - 2012 Season" at www.cityofchicago.org/content/city/en/depts/bacp/provdrs/public_way.html. As a reminder, the entire application process may take 30 - 45 days, so make sure to submit your completed and signed application along with all the required documents to prevent any delays in processing. Please call us at 312-744-GOBIZ (744-6249) if you have any questions.