Broadway in Chicago has offered Members of the Alliance a special deal on their new show “Come From Away,” playing February 22 – March 6 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. Using the promo code HEART, tickets for the show on select days are only $72. Here are the details:
Show Info: Come From Away
Cadillac Palace Theatre
February 22 – March 6
$72 TICKETS! *
Use offer code HEART when ordering.
*Offer valid on February 22, 23(mat/eve), 24; March 1, 2(mat/eve) and 3 performances. Offer ends Thursday, March 3rd at 7:30PM. Valid on select front orchestra, dress circle, and loge seating locations only. Subject to availability. Not valid with any other offers or previously purchased tickets. Normal ticketing fees apply. Other restrictions may apply.
The true story of the small town that welcomed the world. Broadway’s COME FROM AWAY has won Best Musical all across North America! The New York Times Critics’ Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.
Don’t miss the breathtaking new musical written by Tony® nominees Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and helmed by Tony-winning Best Director, Christopher Ashley. Newsweek cheers, “It takes you to a place you never want to leave!”
On 9/11, the world stopped. On 9/12, their stories moved us all.
New Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Commissioner Erin Harkey recently hosted two informational sessions to talk about their increased funds for the arts and culture sector, highlights from recent research reports and program assessments, and plans for DCASE’s strategic direction moving forward, followed by a Q & A session. You can watch either session at the links below.
Get ready to kick off the Year of the Tiger! Lunar New Year starts on February 1 this year, and it’s time to celebrate! Lunar New Year is a great time to reflect on the past, welcome the changing of the seasons, get ready for the year ahead, and learn a little more about the diverse communities that call Chicago home.
Dragon Dancers at the Alliance’s 2014 Mosaic Gala. Photo by Jason Brown Photography
What is Lunar New Year?
Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in many cultures across East Asia, and to people of East Asian descent across the world. While in America the new year starts on January 1, as determined by the Gregorian calendar, many cultures instead mark time by moon cycles. Lunar New Year always falls on the first New Moon to appear between January 21 and February 20.
Lunar New Year is a major holiday in China, Korea, Singapore, Japan, Tibet, Vietnam, and Mongolia, and many other countries celebrate as well. Specifically in China, it is known as the Spring Festival. Though it occurs in the coldest time of year, it is a hopeful time of looking forward to the new year and the coming of spring.
How to Celebrate Lunar New Year in Chicago
Because we have diverse communities across the city and suburbs, of course there are going to be some Lunar New Year celebrations in Chicago! Check out some events where you can learn more about this holiday and the cultures that celebrate it:
Chinese New Year Online Celebration
The Chinese American Museum of Chicago is hosting a virtual Lunar New Year celebration this year! Join them on Wednesday, February 2 at 6pm for a free event where you can learn about the holiday, hear musical performances, enjoy the lion dance, and lots more. Register here.
Korean Traditional Furniture Exhibition
The Korean Cultural Center of Chicago is doing something a little different for Lunar New Year– an exhibition celebrating the beautiful decorative arts of traditional Korean furniture. It’s a fun and interesting way to learn more about Korean culture in a more relaxed setting. Learn more here.
Argyle Lunar New Year Celebration and Parade
The diverse neighborhood of Uptown has hosted a Lunar New Year celebration in Chicago for over 40 years! This year is no different, with a parade and other festivities kicking off on February 5th. Learn more here.
Have fun! Hoping the Year of the Tiger brings you health and happiness.
Marie Rowley, Marketing and Communications Manager
As part of their COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Recovery Grants Program, Illinois Humanities is offering virtual learning and capacity building opportunities for grantee-partners across the state throughout 2022.
This Capacity Building Series will cover topics such as fundraising, available grants opportunities, proposal writing, and many more. Stipends of $100 will be provided to each attendee, and workshops are capped at 60 participants. 30 slots will be reserved for participants from grantee-organizations in Cook County and 30 for participants from grantee-organizations outside of Cook County. There is a limit of one participant per grantee-organization per session; however, recordings of all sessions will be made available afterwards.
Registration is open now for the first session!
“Strengthening Your Fundraising Capacity”
Date: Wednesday, February 9th, 2022, from 1-3PM CDT
Description: This 2-hour session will focus on understanding how to position and strengthen your fundraising capacity as a nonprofit organization.
Presenters: This session will be led by Juana Guzman, a national arts strategist, who is a board member at Illinois Humanities, consultant for Bloomberg Philanthropies, and former Vice-President at the National Museum of Mexican Art; and Tracy Taft, former Executive Director at the International Sonoran Desert Alliance, who spearheaded the Curley School Artisan Housing Community Development and Urban-Rural Planning.
To register for the first session, click here. Note that this is a password-protected page; the password is IL2022 (case sensitive).
Upcoming activities will include a funders panel (April 2022) and workshops on proposal writing (June 2022) and how to grow & manage your volunteers program (August 2022), as well as facilitation trainings (which Illinois Humanities has offered to grantee-partners since 2017, please note stipends are not available for our facilitation trainings).
Join HUB’s Employee Benefits Compliance Officers and Employment Law Attorneys for a two-part webinar series covering important changes and updates in 2022 impacting employee benefits and employment law issues.
Part 1: Employee Benefits Compliance Wednesday, January 26th | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CT
Join HUB’s Compliance Officers for the first of our two-part webinar series discussing regulatory changes that impact employee benefits compliance in 2022. During this webinar we’ll cover:
COVID-19 changes impacting group health plans
Updates to the Transparency Rules and reporting
What the No Surprises Act means for your organization
Colleen McGaughey (she/her) is the director of development at the National Public Housing Museum, where she leads the strategic direction of the museum’s fundraising efforts with a focus on creative and community-centric approaches.
Mario Longoni
Board Member
Mario Longoni is a cultural anthropologist (“Lead Environmental Social Scientist”) in the Keller Science Action Center at the Field Museum. For over 20 years, he has worked with individuals and organizations to surface and activate cultural and natural assets (specific strengths and characteristics) to help communities meet the challenges they face.
Rob Fojtik
Board Member
Rob Fojtik is Vice President for Neighborhood Strategy at Choose Chicago, the city’s official tourism and convention promotion bureau. In this capacity, Rob oversees efforts to promote and support Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods to visitors from near and far. Programs include the award-winning Neighborhood Content Creator program that leverages resident-made digital content, and Chicago Alfresco, a $2.5 million placemaking initiative created in partnership with the Chicago Department of Transportation to transform public spaces into community plazas for outdoor enjoyment.
Before coming to Choose Chicago, Rob was a Senior Advisor to Mayor Lightfoot on economic development and international relations at City Hall, as well as LGTBQ+ affairs and the expanded outdoor dining program. In this role, he also worked to recommend and place over 150 civic leaders and residents onto City boards and commissions. Prior to government service in the Lightfoot administration, Rob ran her winning campaign in the crowded 2019 Chicago mayoral race as Chief of Staff. In past lives, Rob has worked as a public affairs manager for a Fortune 500 company downtown; had misadventures in management consulting, art sales, and personal cheffing; and spent time in Washington DC working for former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. Rob also served a one-year appointment at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence as a policy advisor on Central and Eastern Europe. In this role, he was part of the NSC’s interagency process to develop a comprehensive sanctions regime on Russia as a consequence of its 2014 invasion of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine.
After receiving his BA in Slavic Languages and Literature at Northwestern University, Rob lived and worked in the Czech Republic teaching English and tending bar before moving to Washington, D.C. to pursue a MA from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies (CERES). He enjoys cooking, learning foreign languages, hiking with his partner and their dog, and visiting Chicago’s many neighborhoods.
Paul Durica
Board Member
Dr. Paul Durica is the Director of Exhibitions at the Chicago History Museums and worked in a similar capacity at The Newberry Library. From 2015-2020, he served as the Director of Programs and Exhibitions with Illinois Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Prior to that he drew upon his work as a writer, researcher, and teacher to produce a series of free and interactive talks, walks, and reenactments focused on narratives from Chicago’s past that resonate with its present.
These public history programs led to collaborations with cultural institutions in the city such as the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Chicago History Museum, Newberry Library, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Chicago Cultural Center among others.
Each program made use of both his original research and the skills of the arts organizations, community groups, local businesses, and publications that acted as my partners. Some of these programs, such as the full-scale reenactment of the Haymarket Affair in 2011, involved recruiting and directing over 300 volunteers and 1,000 participants.
To produce these programs successfully, he wrote grants; managed budgets; generated web content; worked closely with program partners of varying sizes and resources; and identified, engaged, and sustained a diverse multi-generational audience.
Lynessa Rico
Board Member
Dr. Lynessa M. Rico is the Associate Chair of the Business Psychology Department at the The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Chicago campus. She is also a business mentor at 1871.
Lynessa is a results-driven Strategic Consultant with over 25 years of experience enabling leaders to meet strategic business objectives by identifying and aligning business growth opportunities with strategic direction of culturally diverse organizations. By leveraging her strategic experience in identifying and impacting business growth opportunities and maximizing profits in retail firms and higher education institutions, Lynessa leads workshops focused on the creative mindset, women’s entrepreneurship, emotional intelligence, and the value and application of design thinking within entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Her services also include consulting with and educating leadership on emotional intelligence, the power of design thinking and the creative mindset, and leadership styles to support inclusive, creative workplaces. She has presented to leadership and innovation teams in small, mid-size, and Fortune 500 companies.
Lynessa received her undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Management from Wichita State University. She then went on to earn a master’s degree in Business Administration from Wichita State University with a focus in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. After earning her master’s degree, Lynessa received her doctorate in Business Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology where she successfully completed her dissertation titled, “The Relationship Between Personality Types and Color Preference for Color Combinations.” Her current research interests include women’s entrepreneurship, design thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and entrepreneurship self-efficacy.
Outside of work and research, Lynessa enjoys mentoring start-ups and judging pitch competitions. Lynessa currently resides in Chicago, Illinois with her four cats. She is an avid long-distance runner, having completed 5 full marathons (and counting), and enjoys watching musical theater.
Briana Thomas
Board Member
Briana Thomas is the Museum Associate at the Abrahamic Center for Cultural Education (a core member of the Chicago Cultural Alliance). She wears many hats including developing exhibition content, facilitating community programs (children and adults), liaising with visitor artists, and other responsibilities. Her previous experience in the nonprofit space includes her tenure as the Financial Empowerment Coordinator at AMERICORPS Sharing Life Center as well as engaging with the public at the Dallas Arboretum. Her past professional experience has remained rooted in marginalized communities. It is their needs,discourse and histories that she has routinely been tasked with protecting and showcasing in the face of poor infrastructure, and willing ignorance. Creating safe spaces is an ancestral practice she has inherited.
