Oak Park Sculpture Walk

Oak Park has a summer tradition of installing temporary public art pieces around the village called the Sculpture Walk. Sculptures from all over the country are featured at various places and this summer it is hosted in the "Arts District", which is on Harrison Street. I serve as a board member on the Oak Park Area Arts Council (OPAAC) and I was able to help judge and select some of the pieces this year. The Sculpture Walk helps to highlight Oak Park as a jurisdiction, it fosters local business, and I like how it brings critical visual thinking to the community. While some pieces are more material based others have symbolic meanings. I love being apart of OPAAC and I think this year's Sculpture Walk has been a great success.

"Nutrition Sculpture" - Will Vannerson

"Blue Woman in The Twilight" - Jacqueline Willis

"Three Muses (Memory, Song and Practice" - Valerie Jean Schafer

"Quarry Moons" - Shawn Morin

"Popsicles" - Craig Gray

"Catch Up" - Shencheng Xu

"Ecosystem No. 1" - Margot McMahon

Chicago Riverwalk

One of the best features downtown in city is the Chicago Riverwalk. A meandering pedestrian and bike path that goes from the mouth of the river, starting from Lake Michigan, heading west for several blocks. The city is working to expand the walk further, which will be fantastic for runners, dogs, and anyone who wants to go for a stroll. The Riverwalk is actually very close to my office so sometimes before work I like to sit on a bench in the morning to read or finish a crossword. At the mouth of the river is the 1989 Centennial Fountain that shoots a stream of water for about five minutes, every hour on the hour, over the expanse of the river. The Fountain commemorates one hundred years since the city reversed the flow of the water to address public water needs. Being so close to the water is relaxing and it I love how convenient it is to get to. The Riverwalk has many benches and fun alcoves for people to sit and have lunch and it's also wonderful to look at all the great architecture that surrounds the river.

Corgi Walk

Corgis are a magical dog breed. I absolutely would love to have a corgi and hope to someday. This past August I was really excited to witness the Portland Corgi Walk, where several hundred corgis congregate to celebrate their breed and to commune with other corgis and their owners. John and I arrive a little after the event began, and so it seemed like there where only a few corgis around, but then after a little wait, the corgis started coming back from their roundabout walk and soon we were surrounded by corgis. Seriously, pictures can not describe the bounty of corgis. When all was said and done they beat their record of the previous year of corralling corgis--they had about 300 last year, and this year close to 370. Please enjoy my photos below!