Bucktown Arcade Bar and Chicago’s Green Music Fest

Summer is officially in full swing as of a few days ago, so start the season with a little info about what’s going on around Ray’s!

Around Bucktown:

Emporium Arcade Bar is a new, unique spot that boasts over 37 arcade and pinball games and of course does not foget the importance of stocking craft beers on tap, including one of our employee’s personal favorites the Dogfish Head Raison D’etre (she hates raisins so this must be extra good, right?). Their full website isn’t up quite yet but you can find some more info here.

Holstein Park is our neighborhood park here in Bucktown and they are celebrating their 100 year anniversary!  The festivities will take place on June 30th and will include 14 Chicago based food trucks, Goose Island beer and live music.

Around Chicago:


The Chicago Pride Weekend takes place this starting weekend in the Boystown neighborhood, with the main parade event taking place on June 24th at noon, you can find more info and route information here. It can get a bit rowdy, but it’s a fun tradition, and great for people watching!

Chicago Summerfest is one of many neighborhood festivals that take place all season long.  This one takes place right off of Lake Michigan in the Lincoln Park neighborhood (just east of the Bed and Breakfast), and boasts some of  the more popular 80s music acts on the regular Chicago festival circuit, Too White Crew, and 16 Candles. Of course you will also find an emphasis on local food, and a decently family friendly atmosphere.

Also taking place this weekend is the Green Music Fest, produced by our neighborhood chamber of commerce, and with a focus on green vendors and local artists. The entertainment has been undertaken by Subterranean, a well-known neighborhood music venue and you can view the lineup here.

Around Ray’s: 


A lot of our guests have been out and about enjoying the warm weather and taking advantage of some summer entertainment options.  If you are looking for a unique way to tour the downtown / Millennium Park area consider a Segway tour.  While you definitely won’t be whipping around at breakneck speeds on these, it’s still a fun way to get your kids to look at architecture. (They also have a Fireworks Tour and Chicago Haunted Tour as well)

An update to our herb garden:  Mint is taking over the backyard, and our Morning Glories have reached the top of the fence!  All or our plates are sporting hefty and colorful garnishes, with nasturtium  flowers for all the ladies.

Rocky’s Ringside Ramble (the good cat): Still enjoying some good lap time with guests, although I really do not like sharing the attention of the staff with our neighborhood cat Calvin,  I think he’s trying to take over my territory, not cool.
Maggie’s Rant (the psycho cat):  As usual, everyone bugs me, so just leave me the hell alone.


(The World Revolves…) Around Ray:

Even when Ray is thousands of miles away he still likes to keep tabs on us here at the B&B.  We are saving a phone message he attempted to leave entirely in Spanish for future embarrassing blackmailing purposes, but as always, we are excited to see him come home, and hoping that he brought the staff presents!  So far we are guessing he has added at least a dozen or two new species to his birding “life list”, and last we heard he was heading off for some mysterious adventure, either in a Jeep or an airplane, or a boat, who knows.  

Maybe he’s seen one of these Resplendent Quetzels – only found in a handful of Central American countries. We could always use a pet bird!