The Blue Line Coffee Crawl with the Caffentures!

Spring is here and our city is filling up with bar crawls, foodie tours and wine tastings. For those who would rather get their caffeine fix, pay attention because this event is designed just for YOU! The Caffentures present the first-ever coffee crawl/workshop in the history of Chicago—the Blue Line Coffee Crawl.

The tour will take you through Logan Square, Buck Town and Wicker Park to visit three local coffee shops. While tasting premium coffee you will be able to learn the lingo and immerse yourself into the culture and explore the art of this popular phenomenon.

The adventure begins at the first coffee shop destination, Gaslight Coffee Roasters in Logan Square, who share a space with Half-Wit Coffee Roasters. You will be able to experience up to three coffees at its pourover bar (way of brewing coffee), espresso from its Strada machine and charcuterie (cold cooked meats) plates! You will have these fancy shmanshy terms down by the end of the tour, I promise! You will then, hop on the blue line and travel to Ipsento Coffee and taste their fair trade drinks. Here you will learn about different processing methods, specifically how Ipsento sources their coffee from Panama farm. The tour will end in Wicker Park at Caffe Streets where you can experience different brewing options including the only cold-brew tower in a Chicago retail space! While your there be sure to pick up bags of coffee from around the country.

After the tour you will feel like jumping into the barista’s shoes and trying new techniques in your own home! But, if you coffee lovers have another urge for the adventure, they will take place every third Saturday and tickets are only $30. If you want to try more local coffee shops, the Caffentures has also added different tours including the Red Line Coffee Crawl and the Brown Line Coffee Crawl. For more information check out the Caffentures.

-Sammi Raines

Tags: Art, bar crawls, barista, Blue Line Coffee Crawl, Brewing, Brown Line Coffee Crawl, Buck Town, Caffe Streets, caffeine, Caffentures, charcuterie, coffee, coffee crawl, coffee shops, cold-brew tower, culture, fair trade, foodie tours, Gaslight Coffee Roasters, Ipsento Coffee, Local, Logan Square, Panama farm, pourover bar, Red Line Coffee Crawl, Spring, Strada machine, Taste, tour, wicker park, wine tastings

Aveda’s Salon V Celebrates Earth Day with a Cut-A-Thon

Hey Chicago! I’m Sammi Raines, the newest addition to Billy Dec’s intern team at Rockit Ranch Productions. With so many events up and coming, it is hard to pick the ones that stand out. With spring in the air, I thought I’d give a sneak peek to Earth Day.

It is right around the corner and what’s a better way to celebrate than by pampering yourself? Although planting trees maybe the first thing that comes to mind on this earth-friendly day, Aveda has another thing in store for us! Salon V is participating in Aveda’s global 24-hour “Cut-A-Thon” which gets you a new do while raising money for local charity.

On Monday, April 22^nd Aveda stylists in salons worldwide- from Tokyo to Sydney, Moscow, London, New York and Chicago-will volunteer their time to provide haircuts in return for a donation to Earth Month. Alliance for the Great Lakes, whose mission is to “conserve and restore” water, will receive 100 percent of the proceeds. Since 2007, Aveda salons surrounding the Great Lakes have been working together and have raised over $1.5 million dollars. Not only does Aveda aim to make this event the most successful, they plan on setting a Guinness World Record for raising the most money for a non-profit organization by haircuts within a 24-hour period.

Now, for the details! And, ladies and gents—if you haven’t been to Salon V before, now is your chance to get your toes wet and take the plunge! Disclaimer—you may find yourself making excuses to get in the door more often once you’ve met the team. Maybe that’s why my hair is a bit shorter than usual.

Come meet the faces of Salon V, no RSVP needed, between 10 am – 3 pm for a shampoo, haircut, hand massage and a blow-dry style. All you need is a minimum donation of $25 dollars. For an additional $10 dollar contribution, a massage therapist will welcome you for a much needed stress reliever.

If you have other Earth Day plans and can’t make it into Salon V, they have graciously set up an account with Crowdrise in benefit of Alliance for the Great Lakes. If you have additional questions visit Aveda, or contact for Veronica at Salon V.

-Sammi Raines

Tags: Alliance for the Great Lakes, Aveda, Aveda stylists, Billy Dec's, blow-dry, charity, Chicago Earth, Crowdrise, Cut-A-Thon, donations, Earth, earth day, earth friendly, Earth month, Great Lakes, Guinness World Record, haircut, intern, Local, London, massage, New York, non-profit, rockit ranch productions, Salon V, shampoo, Spring, stylist, Sydney, Tokyo, tree, water

Calling All Pet Lovers & Parade Goers!

Summer is actually here…and I think it’s here to stay! The weather for this Saturday is looking great!  So far…it’s looking like it’ll be warm, sunny and in the 80’s, a perfect day to come to Elmhurst’s 24th Annual Pet Parade! An event put on by the Spring Road Business Association and the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce, this is one fun family filled event that you want to come to!

Get ready to see a line of decked out pets walking down Spring and Vallette Roads. ALL pets are welcomed to march in the parade! But, it doesn’t stop there…

Following the pet parade, enter your pet in the Pet Trick contest which will be in the parking lot of the Silverado Grill (where the parade ends). Who wouldn’t want to see pets do some crazy tricks?!

Awards will be given to Most Obedient Pet, Best Dressed Pet, Best Groomed Pet, Oldest Pet, Most Original Pet Trick and Most Exotic/Unusual Pet. Pets registered by today, May 15^th will be eligible for these awards.

If you still would like to be part of the fun and don’t have a pet, don’t fret! You can deck out your bike and ride it in the parade. To add to the list of fun stuff to do…available for kids: face tattoos, bike decorating and a Moon Bounce all for FREE! Pet portraits will be available too!

The parade begins at the Ahlgrim Funeral Home parking lot at 1pm promptly and check in is at 11:30am so be there or be square!

-Michael S. Iliopoulos

Tags: Ahlgrim Funeral Home, Bikes, Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce, Elmhurst's 24th Annual Pet Parade, Face painting, Face tattoos, Moon Bounce, parade, pet contests, pets, Silverado Grill, Spring, Spring Road Business Association, Vallette Roads