Cocktails w/ Chicago Bears’ Rashied Davis & Teammates for Education at Rockit!

***UPDATED Monday, June 10th, 2013. Rashied Davis will host this year’s “Cocktails for Education” again at Rockit Bar and Grill – Tuesday June 11th from 6-9pm. For more info and tickets, click HERE!***

Fans of the Bears, helping the community, Education, great food & drink, meeting amazing people… This event is for you!!!  Chicago Bears’ Rashied Davis has supported my philanthropic events for art, theatre, feeding poor.. for years.. and I am honored to help him get the word out about how his huge heart has taken it to the next level by hosting his own huge party for a wonderful cause on Tuesday May 17th from 6-8p at Rockit Bar & Grill (22 W. Hubbard)!

This amazing event will support Rashied Davis Charities’ efforts to “teach students how to overcome obstacles to success through inspiration, preparation and discipline.” They help empower the fundamentals of reading, writing and speech to underserved kids teaching them how to apply tools to problem solve, communicate properly and just be an all around contributing member of society. I’m fully on board w/their mission, I have often talked about how communication leads to relationship building which leads to personal growth and opportunities.. And I’m always behind a fun time to help accomplish all of that!

So join us May 17th!  You can mingle with a bunch of Chicago Bears like Lance Briggs, Alex Brown, Anthony Adams, Jerry Azumah, Earl Bennett, Johnny Knox… different local celebrities, media, and all around fun supporters from everywhere who just care like you… cocktails, appetizers, silent auction & more… Get your tickets now: http://rashieddavischarities.org/homepage.aspx and I’ll see you there!

Tags: alex brown, anthony adams, bears, bears 2011, billy dec, charity, charity events, chicago, chicago bears, chicago event listing, chicago summer events, earl bennett, football, fundraiser, jerry azumah, johnny knox, lance briggs, rashied davis, rashied davis charities, rockit, rockit bar, rockit bar and grill, silent auction, sports

Chicago Bears Alum Anthony Adams Dancing with Chicago Celebrities at Arthur Murray for Breast Cancer

a Chicago Thing readers:
In my quest to make a fool out of myself on countless occasions, this is an occasion where I can raise money for breast cancer. I am honored to be participating in Arthur Murray Dancing with Chicago Celebrities. Participating in this great event gives me a chance to do what I love: Dance and Compete!

First of all, I love to dance. Dancing for a great cause gives me more incentive to do what I already love. Arthur Murray is raising money for breast cancer and it motivates you to dance because the quote is, “We’re Fighting Breast Cancer With Every Step We Dance!”

Secondly, I love to compete! There is a chance for me to win the MVP Award which goes out to the celebrity who can raise the money for breast cancer. So, I want to win the overall competition and the MVP Award. You can donate money here:
https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/DancingWithChicagoCelebrities_1/makeadonation.html
Scroll down to my name and donate money. Remember, the best nation is donation!

The event will take place March 8, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on Wacker Drive. It will be in the Regency Ballroom. Festivities begin at 6pm. Doors to ballroom open at 7pm. For tickets and more details click here http://www.amdwcc.org.

- Anthony Adams

Tags: anthony adams, arthur murray, breast cancer, brian urlacher, Carmen DeFalco, chicago bears, Chicago Celebrities, Dancing With The Stars, Danny Zederman, Double A, football, Harry Teinowitz, hyatt regency, jerry azumah, John Jurkovic, Matt Forte, Peggy Kusinski, ryan chiaverini, Sean Jenson, Spice Adams

Chicago’s Most ONEderful Time of Year!

The holidays are upon us, shopping is in full swing and the stress of finding the perfect gift is alive & well. Maybe that stress can be alleviated, at least a little bit…December 6^th-9^th the One of a Kind Show & Sale Chicago returns to Merchandise Mart for the 12^th year! For unique, artisan gifts this an event you don’t want to miss. Over 600 talented artists from across North America will come together to sell their goods at this market.  Categories of what you can find at One of a Kind range from accessories, fashion & jewelry to ceramics, glass, mixed media & painting to gourmet & holiday – and many others!

The ENTIRE 8^th floor of Merchandise Mart will be transformed into its own mall of sorts (ps – the map is from last year’s show, but it’s detailed enough so you get the picture) complete with its own food court! This market will have everything, and I mean EVERYTHING…aside from the vendors and food court, there will be three distinctive areas with various attractions; a Toyota Retreat section; fashion shows showcasing items available from the vendors; and live performances from local artists – because what’s better than live music while shopping? Aside from all of those awesome things there’s also parking available at 24 garages surrounding Merch Mart (some for as low as $6!), coat & package check will be available for a nominal charge, curbside carryout is available for your convenience and if you’re not from around here, shipping is also available! Now, when I said this event has everything, I literally meant everything because fellas, if you’re dragged brought along on this little shopping trip, don’t stress – they have a sports lounge complete with comfy seating, football on TVs and bar service just for you! Like I said, they have EVERYTHING at this thing!

Entry into the event ranges anywhere from $9 to $80 depending on if you just want general admission or a special package for up to four people – which also includes a super cute reusable tote! You can get your tickets here. To get even more excited about this event (is that even possible at this point??) take a look at their pictures from last year’s market here. This is a great opportunity to support small, independent retailers & find some truly great holiday gifts.

Happy shopping friends!

-Alex Chwastek

Tags: accessories, artists, Avalon, ceramics, chicago, DIY, Etsy, fashion, fashion district, food court, football, gifts, glass, goods, gourmet goods, guys, Holiday, holidays, jewelry, market, merchandise mart, mixed media, One of a Kind, One of a Kind Show & Sale, painting, parking garage, photography, shopping, small business, special, sports lounge, tickets, Toyota, treats, Unique, vendors

Sports Diva’s Game Day Training at Rockit Burger Bar

Show the men what’s up the next time football come’s up in a conversation at the water cooler – throw the pom pom’s down and take charge, ladies!

Come hang out at Rockit Burger Bar and learn the essentials of the NFL with the Sports Diva’s Game Day Training Brunch! Guests are invited to enjoy brunch, mimosa’s and Skinny Red Wine in Rockit Burger Bar’s intimate upstairs lounge while hanging out with other Chicagoans who might also need a little football refreshing!

The ladies of Sport’s Diva’s will teach you everything football and in a way that makes sense – from names, to the game rules and lingo. You’ll learn all the football facts you need to know to intelligently mingle with fanatics during the brunch training – After the class with Sports Diva’s, guests are encouraged to migrate to the downstairs bar to show off their new skills and watch the Bears vs Titans game (12pm).

Tickets are $25 dollars for Game Day Brunch – the deal also gets you two free drink tickets!

To purchase tickets, learn more information or make reservations click here!

-Mandy Sifter 

Tags: bears, brunch, Drink, Drinks, fanatics, football, game, Game Day, lingo, mimosa’s, NFL, reservations, Rockit Burger Bar, rules, Skinny Red Wine, Sports Diva’s, Titans, training

Good times w/ Gold Medalist buds Ryan Lochte & Conor Dwyer at Sunda Chicago after London Olympics

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw my night out last night w/Olympian buds Ryan Lochte & Conor Dwyer. You obviously know how freakishly talented they are and how great they represented and competed for our country, but just wanted to say on a personal level, they are two solid great guys, pleasure to hang out with for sure.

If missed it, I took them to join me at Sunda, and we all tweeted out this pic (click here) of us and this amazing sushi roll Chef made to look like a gold medal with real gold shavings sprinkled over the top. Had to share it with you! They were blown away, totally fun. Then we all went for Moonshine Bushwackers at my new place Dragon Ranch Moonshine & BBQ for the launch of our Tuesday Industry Night “Moonshine Social Club!“  After all that craze, we headed to a Hennessy Party where Ryan & I were just goofing off and made this little random off-the-cuff 2min Q & A video I think you’ll like…Enjoy!

Tags: "Jeah", basketball, billy dec, chicago, Dragon Ranch Moonshine & BBQ, football, Gold Medal, Gold Sushi, Hennesy, interview, lil wayne, London, Magic, miami, Minnesota Vikings, Moonshine Social Club, Music, olympics, Orlando, Randy Moss, Ryan Lochte, Speedo, sunda, twitter

Nike North v South Softball Battle w/ White Sox AJ Pierzynski, Bears Johnny Knox, Rockit Ranch Billy Dec & more!

Via Meghan Goulette: Had such a fun afternoon in the park yesterday with our CEO, Billy Dec, after invited to watch him play in the Nike Northside vs Southside Challenge. White Sox player AJ Pierzynski may have coached the Southside team to a victory, but Billy and the Northside crew gave them a  run for their money (led by Johnny Knox of the Chicago Bears who stepped in to coach when Cubs’ Ryan Dempster ended up on DL). The event showcased the Nike Fuel Band, keeping stats on calories (check the video for Johnny poking a little fun at Billy’s stats), steps & more…I actually just bought the band for my dad! Highlight of the game by far was Billy’s double play complete with a sky high catch (AJ coined it the “2nd best catch ever”…see what he called first best in the video). Shout out to all the players listed below!

Billy Dec
Trevor Kuhn
Tim Seong
Brotha Fred
Lisa Frame
Edgar Rico
Frank Cashmost
Adam Crouch
Chris Sifuentes
Berj Alexanian
Marie Purvis
Julie DiCaro
Frank Kladis
Players Player
AJ Pierzynski
Ernest Wilkins
Kayla Duffy
Michael Myers
Alex Gallegos
Kristin Cullinan
Frankie Loeza
DJDimepiece
Julie Zakarias
Joe Cowley
Kelli Zink
Twitter Player
Michael Bittles

Tags: AJ Pierszynski, baseball, bears, billy dec, chicago, cubs, football, Fuel Band, johnny knox, Nike, white sox

CHICAGO BEARS: BEHIND-THE-SCENES HOLIDAY HUDDLE AT HALAS HALL

Start calling the plays and bring your friends and family to the Holiday Huddle at Halas Hall. We see what goes down when the Bears take to the field, ready to play, but what do they do to prepare for game-day? Find out on December 9 from 6:00pm-8:30pm at Halas Hall when the team opens their doors “for a rare glimpse inside the headquarters and behind-the-scenes tours of their training facilities and Walter Payton Center.”

Mingle with current Chicago Bears players, alumni, staff and Chicago sports personalities as you take a guided tour through the gym and field house. Tickets are $125 per person, with proceeds benefiting The Gridiron Alliance. “Organized to help improve the lives of people who have been seriously injured or paralyzed playing school sports,” The Gridiron Alliance provides outreach and aims to prevent future injuries. To purchase tickets & learn more about their mission here: www.gridironalliance.org. Hope to see you on the field!

-  Evan Jones

Tags: chicago bears, December 9, Fieldhouse, football, Gym, Halas Hall, Holiday Huddle, sports, Sports Injuries, The Gridiron Alliance, Walter Payton Center