On family history, parenting, education, social issues and more
Today is Igor’s birthday! My older son survived my first-time parenting, all the mistakes I made, all my backs and forths, and the turmoil of my personal life, and none of that prevented him from becoming the amazing person he is. I admire his honesty, dedication, and persistence in standing for the causes he believes in. Happy Birthday!
We celebrated today by going to Trattoria Gianni’s and the Steppenwolf Theater to see The Sanctuary City – a brilliant production totally worth seeing!
I have a lot of subscriptions this season; most of them are together with my neighbor, and this week is the first week when things really started.
After the Symphony ball last Saturday, there was the first of our regular subscription concerts, with Ricardo Muti conducting Stravinsky, Liadov, and Brams. There are several new young musicians in the orchestra, and my and my friend could not take our eyes away from a very young violinist who was visibly ecstatic being on the CSO stage and was eagerly following the maestro’s directions, beaming.
Since we both agreed that we prefer the close to the stage seating even if the view is a little bit obscured, we have no problem finding the tickets to our satisfaction. Today was our first Opera, Wagner’s Flying Dutchman. If was the first time that I discovered that the Opera House has the same pricing strategy, and the side seats close to the stage cost the same as the rear main floor. We sat unbelievably close like I never was that close to the stage at any opera. We could see the singers’ facial expressions (as clear as in the videos below), and we could read English captioning with no problem.
The 2 hours and 20 minutes opera ran without intermission, so I was a little bit unsure whether we would survive, but the music was so captivating, and the performers were so engaging that I didn’t even notice where the time went! I never heard this opera before, not even in the recording, and I enjoyed it immensely.
Since I promised one of my followers that I would tell all about the opera set and costumes, here is my report. The set was innovative but not extravagant (in fact, the video about the lighting provides good shots of the set). The way they represented both ships with one was very clever. The costumes were “historically neutral,” probably close to the end of the nineteenth century, so they were not distracting the audience from the music. We loved it!
My second Bike the Drive, and this year, I signed up for the 30-mile challenge, knowing that it would mean 36 miles for me (adding 3 miles each way to the closest entrance).
I am very happy with my results. I didn’t have to push myself; the whole ride was “within my abilities.” I was a little bit worried about the heat, but I was able to finish before it became really hot.
Excluding the wait at the start and two stops, my active biking time was 3 hours, which means 12 mph on average, including the city biking, and I hit 14 mph and even 15.2 mph on some 1-mile splits.
I didn’t like the main rest stop and the activities which were offered there. I liked the breakfast even less than last time. And I liked the MSI rest stop a lot: with plenty of boxed water, fruit and healthy snacks freely available, with the music, and with the sense of unity that was somehow missing at the main event. I think that next year, I am not going to pay for breakfast, and I am not even going to stop at the main event, and I will have a longer stop at the MSI.
I still didn’t find my photo on the event site, but I will keep trying :).
(As usual, I am waiting for more from Igor). I think it was a good idea to move this parade to Pullman, but the parade organizers have a lot of work to do to make this event better attended next year. I do not have pictures from the Eddie Fest because, once again, it was a suboptimal planning. We will do better next year!
Each time Igor and I come to Pullman (and especially since it acquired the status of the National Monument), we see some new improvements. This time, we wanted to check out the new visitor’s center and its exhibits.
I am not going to pretend that I know everything about the Labor History of Chicago, so I will simply copy-paste the information from the Pullman website about today’s event. I want to mention that the event was poorly advertised, and the participation was not so great. Igor and I went thee and took a decent amount of pictures, which I will ty to post tomorrow. But for now – just the information:
Official records vary, but one can be certain that Chicago’s first Labor Day Parade took place in the 1880s. Labor Day parades in Chicago before the turn of the 20th century regularly involved upwards of 30,000 working men and women and drew thousands more onlookers. Roughly 75,000 workers turned out to march in the 1903 parade.
Early parades were massive and aimed to show the solidarity and sheer size of the labor movement. Parades were often followed by picnics where workers could enjoy a relaxing day off with their families after marching with their union. However, support for the parade waned in the 1940s and would eventually be discontinued in the 1950s.
In 1959, the East Side Labor Day Parade was established. Chicago’s Southeast Side has always had a strong connection to labor, and with the steel mills in operation and working families employed at U.S, Wisconsin, Republic, and Pressed Steel, the booming economy of the neighborhood gave rise to the celebration of union and labor achievements. The parade ran strong for over 30 years until its retirement in 1993.
The Chicago Federation of Labor revived the Labor Day Parade that traditionally marched through downtown Chicago in the 1980s. Iterations of the parade through the 80s and 90s often included a festival and picnic component, held in Grant Park. The 1982 parade and festival was held over several days and included musical performances by Count Basie and Glen Campbell. But the “downtown parade” once again went by the wayside in the 2000s.
Years later the tradition was revived by former 10th Ward Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski Garza in September 2015 with the support of local businesses, unions, and community members. The new parade ran down Ewing Avenue on the Southeast Side and was followed by Eddie Fest, featuring live music, food and fun for the whole family. Eddie Fest was named after Sadlowski Garza’s father, the legendary United Steelworkers activist Edward ‘Oilcan’ Sadlowski.
The 2023 Chicago Labor Day Parade and Eddie Fest is moving from the East Side, but not far. After Sadlowski Garza’s retirement in 2023, the parade and festival will move to the Pullman Historic District, which has been developing and highlighting its ties to the Chicago labor movement and labor history over the past few years.
Labor Day is an American holiday that celebrates and honors the contributions of working-class people. Organized and run by the Chicago Federation of Labor, the parade seeks to celebrate union pride, solidarity, and community togetherness. We look forward to hosting another successful event that families can enjoy for years to come.
Since 1896, the CFL has fought for economic, social, and racial justice for all working people. The CFL proudly represents 300 unions, who in turn represent approximately 500,000 working people in Chicago and Cook County.
this musical was a part of my Boadway in Chicago subscription, and my neighbor with whom we share this subscription had a conflict, and then her conflict ran into my conflict, and finally, the only show we could see was the last one. And then she got COVID. And then she recovered but was still too weak to do things. And finally, she said she could make it!
We went on Friday night, and that was the beginning of my long weekend. The day at work was unbelievably quiet (after the end of the month, the end of the quarter, and before the long weekend, there was virtually nobody in the office). We were dismissed about 3-30, and I spent the next two and a half hours doing my things and picking up loose ends.
And then we went to the show, and it was fantastic!
The music was extremely moving and energizing, and since we sat very closely, we weree so absorbed by the music that we could not even talk after the show ended. We just repeated to each other: It was so good!
More pictures from Igor. He took tons, and I wanted to show as many as reasonable. Going through these pictures again, i can’t stop thinking about whether all these marches make any difference, but I hope they do…
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