Aside from the massive amount of cycling I've been doing this summer, Amy & I have tried to free up our evenings to do "summer things in the city."

Steve digs Jazz

Last week, the Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz series returned to Millennium Park. From now to the beginning of September, every Thursday night features a great free jazz concert. I like to call it a "Poor Man's Ravinia."

Live from the Jay Pritzker Pavilion

We packed a picnic dinner and caught the kickoff to this series, which was even opened with a speech by our new mayor, Rahm Emmanuel. One thing I noticed that was quite different about Rahm vs. former Mayor Daley: He uses complete sentences rather than the incoherent babbling from the man who thought that hosting the 2016 Olympics was a good idea.

"Celebrating the Legacy of Von Freeman"

There was a chance of rain when we attended, but we beat out the storm… which showed up shortly after we returned home from our trip on the 'L'.

Huge audience for "Despicable Me" at Portage Park

We've also been hitting up a few of the "Movies in the Park" events put on by the Chicago Park District. There was a big turnout at Portage Park to catch last summer's surprise animated hit, Despicable Me. It seems that the Park District has licensed this film like crazy, because it has a lot of showings slated around town this summer.

Amy looks forward to "The Sandlot"

On another evening we dropped by Norwood Park to watch The Sandlot. It was more of an intimate gathering this time around, but still a lot of fun with the folks who were there.

It's like the summer version of "A Christmas Story"

I got the impression that many kids had never seen this 1993 film (believe it or not, Amy hadn't seen it until last year!)

A beverage reviewer's job is never done

We once again packed dinner… and I even brought along a beverage slated for a future review, Coba Aquas Frescas Jamaica, a tasty, hibiscus-flavored drink.

There's nothing quite like free stuff to do in the city during the summer!