St Patrick’s Day Free Festivities in Chicago – March 13

Chicago — everyone is Irish next Weekend!!  Come out for the annual free St. Patrick’s Day Parade and free Greening of the Chicago River on Saturday, March 13, 2010 as well as other festivities held around Chicago, including the new South Side Irish Family Fest. Read more

Free Mondays at Chicago History Museum – Mar 8, 15, 23, 30

The Chicago History Museum is free on Mondays so come out in March 2010 with the kids and family to see this Chicago museum devoted to collecting, interpreting, and presenting the rich multicultural history of Chicago and Illinois. Check out the new exhibit on Chinatown or the permanent exhibit Chicago: Crossroads of America. The exhibition Sensing Chicago invites children of all ages to explore the sights, sounds, and smells of the city. Visit the Sensing Chicago gallery to: Read more

Think Spring! Enjoy the Free Flower Show in Chicago – March, 2010

Come on Chicago, think Spring!  Come out to either the warm Garfield Park Conservatory or the warm Lincoln Park Conservatory and escape from the snow with the free Spring Flower Show. Nice and toasty under its Victorian-style glass house, the free Lincoln Park Conservatory boasts an impressive collection of palms, ferns, tropical plants and a show house for seasonal exhibits.  At the tropical free Garfield Park Conservatory, come view the free Spring Flower Show to enjoy gorgeous flowers long before they are blooming naturally outside. Read more

Free E-Book for March “Jokes!” Mar 1 Only – Plus More Free E-Books from Adobe

The University of Chicago Press continues to offer one free e-book every month. While most of these are academically challenging, this month’s free selection is excellent. The March 2010 free e-book selection is Jokes: Philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters by Ted Cohen. Read more

Free Chicago Museum Days in March 2010

It is time to get out of the house so plan a day at one of Chicago’s museums on a free day.  Here are the free days at Chicago museums in March 2010.  Please add more if you know of any we missed!

Adler Planetarium:

* March 2, 9, 16 & 23

Art Institute of Chicago:

* Free Every Thursdays 5 to 8pm Read more

Free Wi-Fi locations in Chicago

Now that everyone is carrying computer laptops and IPhones around to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we get lots of questions about where are the local free wi-fi places in Chicago to plug into the internet (freely of course).  Well we have done some research and found the several places with good lists, including Wi-Fi Free Spot,  Yelp (with recommendations),   Open Wi Fi Spots, that offer lists of free wi-fi in Chicago.

Help Us! If we’ve missed a great free wi-fi place, leave a comment below with your favorite place to help this 15,000 person Chicago community!  We are all in this together!

So get out your computer laptop, get your little notebook wireless mouse and head out to surf the internet for free. You should also know that Panera Bread offers free access and McDonald’s Corp. offers free wireless Internet access at most of its U.S. restaurants since January, 2010 as it tries to broaden its appeal.  “We’re not just about hamburgers,” said Dave Grooms, chief information officer for McDonald’s USA. The Oak Brook-based company, the world’s largest fast-food chain, offers free Internet access at roughly 11,000 of its 14,000 U.S. locations. Read more

Free in Feb: See Works by Georgia O’Keeffe at the Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago is free for the whole month of February 2010 so come out and see Georgia O’Keeffe, Willem de Kooning, Jacob Lawrence, Edward Hopper, and other artists whose responses to urbanization, abstraction and other early-20th-century phenomena are reflected in a free display of 140 prints, drawings, collages and watercolors from the museum’s permanent collection. Read more

Free Jazz This Weds “Under The Picasso” in Downtown Chicago – Feb 17

Enjoy some lunchtime free jazz “Under the Picasso” at Daley Plaza on Ash Wednesday in Chicago which features free lunchtime performances, free ethnic festivals, free holiday celebrations, farmers markets and more. All located on Daley Plaza (Washington & Dearborn Streets).  This Wednesday, Feb 17, see  Walter Yokley.  Come hear a musical tribute featuring jazz and popular standards by pianist and vocalist Walter Yokley to celebrate African-American History Month. Read more

Valentine’s Free Wine Tasting in Chicago – Feb 13

Come out and try some great wines this Saturday at a free wine tasting in Chicago at Just Grapes from 2-4pm.  Maybe you’ll be struck by Cupid’s arrow and fall in love with one (or a few!) of the luscious free wines being poured to commemorate Valentine’s Day! Read more

Chicago Chinese New Year: Free Concert/Free Dumpling Class – Feb 2010

Are you ready for the Chinese New year? There are lots of free things in Chicago included a free cooking class with dumplings and a free concert. This year, 4708, the festivities usher in the Year of the Tiger in the Asian zodiac (based on a lunar calendar, the Asian new year falls on a different Western date each year) . Read more

Free Things to Do in Chicago on Valentines Day

If you are a romantic, then Chicago on Valentine’s Day is a great place to be. If you are a cheap romantic, then you are going to love Chicago with all the free things to do in Chicago.  We suggest that if you are a visitors to the city, you also make it a point to check out the Visitor Information Center in the Chicago Cultural Center, located at 77 East Randolph Street. Read more

Great Women in Chicago Real Estate: Michelle Bobart

Michelle Bobart – Vice President of Mortgage Lending
(312) 379-3516 –   mbobart@guaranteedrate.com

Michelle Bobart, vice president of mortgage lending with Guaranteed Rate,  consistently ranks as one of Chicago’s top loan originators.

An 12-year industry veteran, Bobart exudes passion for the lending profession by continuing to elevate the bar to deliver extraordinary service levels to her clients, and her financial insight carries through a wide spectrum of transactions. “In 2009, I view my role to my clients primarily as an educator,” says Bobart. “As our lending landscape continues to change, my clients and Realtor partners must have clarity and be well informed to make good decisions.” Read more

Rich Chocolates: Free Tasting & Demo Thursday

Come out Thursday, Feb 11 at 6pm for a free tasting of chocolates at the Provenance Food and Wine’s Logan Square location (2528 North California Avenue) & meet Lauren Pett, founder of Rich Chocolates & Candies (www.richchocolates.com/). Read more

Reminder: Free Denny’s Grand Slam Breakfast – Tuesday, Feb 9th

Just a friendly reminder that everyone can get a Free Original Grand Slam® breakfast if you go to a Denny’s on Tuesday, February 9th from 6 a.m. through 2 p.m. (at participating restaurants). For more information on Denny’s, please visit www.dennys.com

“We are leveraging the power of Super Bowl advertising once again to connect with our customers to keep Denny’s in their hearts and minds by communicating our Original free Grand Slam® offer,” said Nelson Marchioli, CEO and President of Denny’s. “We know that times are still tough and a free hot breakfast helps a lot of folks and their families… we heard from thousands last year who thanked us. This year Denny’s will even go beyond just one day of free meals by offering a number of everyday affordable programs all year.”

From online and in store sweepstakes to birthday offers and endless fries and pancakes, Denny’s continues to give back all year long.

• Grand Slam For a Year – It’s more than just a Free Original Grand Slam® on February 9th. Anyone can register February 1st through February 14th, 2010 online at www.dennys.com or in store to win one FREE Original Grand Slam® every week for one year. There will be 52 winners announced, one each week. Winners will be posted each week on dennys.com.

• Free Burger and Fries – From February 1st through 14th, the first 500,000 people who sign up for the new Denny’s Rewards program online will receive a FREE burger and fries available March 1st through March 7th, 2010.

• Endless Pancakes and Fries – Denny’s will provide free refills to any order of French fries or pancakes at participating locations nationwide. In addition to the Free Original Grand Slam® giveaway and the sweepstakes, Denny’s

is distinguishing itself from its competitors with a limited time generous offer starting February 10th that takes refills beyond beverages and gives more everyday value to customers.

• Denny’s Birthday Original Grand Slam® - The Party’s back at Denny’s. Consumers are invited to celebrate birthdays with a Free Original Grand Slam® meal at participating restaurants. The Original Grand Slam® offer is free for the birthday guy or gal dining in and who shows proof that it’s their birthday. The Denny’s birthday offer continues Original Grand Slam® kindness…there are more than 300-million Americans who celebrate birthdays.

Denny’s integrated Super Bowl campaign also includes print ads in USA Today, an extensive social media program that extends the life of the characters from the Super Bowl spot into exclusive webisodes that will be featured on Denny’s Facebook and Twitter, digital media and a radio tour.

Chicagoans, Do You Agree with the Super Bowl Ad Meter?

We loved all the free things to do in Chicago around the Super Bowl and wondered how many of our thousand of readers spent time watching the free Super Bowl Ads.  If you did like we did, tell us……What did you think?  Do you agree with the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter below?  Let us know — we loved the Doritos commercials done by aspiring filmakers and the ad feature Betty White and Abe Vigoda (is he really still around?). Read more

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