Green Parent Chicago

New Location Announced for Flavorfest This Weekend

This weekend's Whole Foods Flavorfest organizers just announced a change of location for the annual Chicago food fest. The event will now take place in Trebes Park at Webster and Racine, instead of Wrightwood Park as previously advertised.

Admission to the festival is $5. Proceeds will benefit the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce.

Hours for the festival are:
Saturday & Sunday, August 23 & 24
11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday
11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sunday

Children's activities will be held in the Children's Pavilion on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m to 3 p.m.

Swiss Adventurer to Make "Solartaxi" Stop in Chicago On World Tour

Swiss adventurer Louis Palmer and his solar powered car, the "Solartaxi"  will stop at the country’s tallest building Monday, as part of a world tour to bring attention to solutions to climate change.

Palmer will give a presentation from noon to 2 p.m. at the southwest corner near the Sears Tower Skydeck entrance on the vehicle's technology and green features.

The Chicago visit is part of a world tour of the vehicle that began July 3, 2007. Palmer, his vehicle and his team plan to travel 32,000 miles and visit 40 countries on five continents without spending a single penny on gas or releasing a single emission into the air.

The Solartaxi team says the car, which travels at a maximum of about 50 mph is the first of its kind to drive around the world on the energy of the sun alone. The car is electric with a trailer covered in solar cells. Solar energy generated is stored in the battery, allowing the car to drive at night without sunlight.

Monday's visit is hosted by the Consulate General of Switzerland in Chicago and the Chicago-Lucerne Sister Cities Committee.

Rolling On The River Bike for the Environment Saturday

Rolling on the River, a family bike ride to benefit local environmental organizations will be held Saturday August 16 at the Kendall County Fairgrounds.

The event includes a camping option, food, live music and an after-ride party. Money raised from the event will benefit Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund, Illinois Stewardship Alliance and Prairie Rivers Network.

The ride consists of a 15, 25, 45, 62 or 100 mile option. The routes traverse the rolling hills of the Fox River valley, crossing the Fox River multiple times and traveling through scenic countryside and nearby towns.

In addition, roundtable talks on environmental topics, an enviro expo and other family-friendly outdoor activities will be held following the ride. Though online registration for the event has ended, registration will be accepted on the day of the event from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

All level of cyclists are welcome. Children must be 8 years old to ride alone on their own bike.

Why Not Try Meat-free Meals With Kids?

Vegetarian diets are greener. Just reducing your weekly consumption of meat and animal products can make a big difference in your family's environmental impact. Vegetarian meals for kids needn't be time consuming or require special planning.

In fact, many kids favorites like pizza, mac and cheese and quesadillas are already meatless. Meatless breakfasts have been commonplace at family tables for years. Take for example  cereal, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles, muffins and bagels.

To start, you could include a meat-free dinner in the list of those that you already enjoy as a family each week.  Or you can try experimenting with making a current favorite dish meatless. You might be pleasantly surprised at the results. You can look for meatless recipes in any basic cookbook. The kitchen bible "The Joy of Cooking" has countless vegetarian recipes. When you're really stuck for ideas, there's nothing wrong with breakfast for dinner. Just add fresh fruit in place of a vegetable. Kids will love the novelty of it.

If you have concerns about adequate nutrition, think of this: without meat your children will have more room in their diets for the fruits, vegetables and those whole grains they probably need more of anyway. For good, sound and comprehensive advice on vegetarian nutrition for kids, pediatrician Dr.Sears' website lists and discusses different types of vegetarian diets (those that include eggs and dairy, those that include fish, and the vegan diet, which avoids using or consuming any animal products) and the nutrition behind them.

Here's some more resources to get you started complete with recipes, impact calculators, nutrition research and more:

Vegan Lunchbox

Kid Friendly recipes and tips

Nutrition information

Vegan family life

Your Eating Green score

Raising Chickens in Your Backyard: Chicago Edition

Radish Magazine, one of our favorite regional magazines on natural and sustainable living out of the Quad Cities area (that's western IL/eastern IA) has a straightforward how-to this month by Darcy Maulsby on how to keep backyard chickens for homegrown eggs.

From the sound of it, and having talked to a chicken raising friend of mine, it appears to be similar to having pets with much of the work consisting of cleaning, watering and feeding the birds. Additional variables such as the cost of feed and a coop factor in, however. Maulsby's article includes tips on what type of breeds to consider for a harsh Midwest winter and the advantages to keeping chickens.

In addition, she lists resources for more information such as BackyardChickens.com, a veritable compendium of info on raising the feathered flocks. Their forum boasts thousands (!) of members.

Backyard Poultry magazine published out of Wisconsin devotes its issues to detailed information for the chicken raiser, such as what to do when you go on vacation.

According to The City Chicken, it appears that Chicagoans can have an unlimited number of chickens if they are only kept for pets or eggs and cannot be used for slaughter. Chickens must be penned. Other states are listed on the site as well. Little other information is listed online on city ordinances. However, last fall, there was some indication that City Council members were considering a ban on backyard chickens for a time.

Gaia Girls Author Lee Welles in Chicago this Weekend

Lee Welles, author of the Gaia Girls from Chelsea Green publishing is touring the country and will be making 3 stops this weekend to sign books from her young readers series in the Chicago area.

Welles will appear Saturday Aug. 9 at the gift shop at Shedd Aquarium from noon to 4 p.m., Sunday Aug. 10 she will be at Morton Arboretum and Monday Aug. 11 Welles will speak at 7 p.m. at the Chicago Public Library-Budlong Woods Branch.

The Gaia Girls series, aimed at ages 9-12, consists of 2 books (Welles is currently writing a third.) Debuted in 2006, the series chronicles the adventures of "'average girls' who team up with the Earth to fight back against environmental destruction." The books have won several book awards and gathered recommendations from environmental press such as Grist magazine. 

A freelance writer and former summer nature camp director, Welles recently introduced the "Summer of Gaia 2008" on her Gaia Girls blog. Each week she posts a video mission to kids on exploring nature. Kids can then download a mission log from the site and post to her blog on their findings.

While You Can, Best Free Things to Do Outdoor With Kids in Chicago

August is already here and for some families kids will soon be heading back to school.

While summer winds down, check out some of Green Parent Chicago's top picks for free and low cost things to do with kids outdoor in Chicago.

-The Grant Park Music Festival completes its season on August 16 at Millennium Park. Pack a picnic dinner and hear the nation's only remaining free outdoor classical music series.

-Take a dip in the lake or build sandcastles together at the beach. Chicago beaches are open for swimming until September 1. Looking for something specific? See this list of beaches with a nearby playground, peace and quiet and even poetry: The Beach Poets series originally in residence at North Avenue Beach now takes place Sunday afternoons at Loyola Beach.

-See a movie in the park now until the end of the month. All movies begin at dusk at various parks around the city.

-Join a Stroller Strut with your wee one and get some exercise, fresh air and learn about nature in the city together. Four dates are scheduled for August, see the Chicago Park District Nature Oasis site for times and location.

-Go fly a kite. Cricket Hill at Montrose Harbor is a grassy plateau which is said to be the highest point on the city’s lake shore and an ideal location for wind "obstruction-free—far from buildings, trees and, most importantly, power lines," says Time Out Chicago's Jake Malooley. Or try Columbia Beach Park also on the city's northside.

Add your own suggestions below!

Kids Big Wheel Race at the Chicago Criterium Sunday

A Kid’s Big Wheel Race will take place Sunday in Grant Park as part of the line-up of events for the first ever Chicago Criterium bike race.

The Chicago Criterium, the first of its kind in the city, will begin at 7 a.m. and continue throughout the day.

A criterium is a cycling race held in a closed circuit loop and is approximately 1.1 miles in length. Adult participants will compete for a total of $40,000 in prize money.

Sunday's Big Wheel event is open to kids age 2 to 7 and will be held in front of Buckingham Fountain. The first 200 children to sign up will receive a commemorative championship T-shirt. Each child will receive a "champion" medal and a $25 savings account opening bonus courtesy of ING Direct. The race begins at 12:10 p.m. A bike safety seminar will be held 5 minutes prior to the race start.

Registration is available online or on race day starting at 11:00 a.m. at the registration tent located on the northeast corner of Columbus and Balbo streets. Children may bring their own big-wheel or borrow one at the race. A limited number of big wheels will be on hand to borrow, first come, first served.

Chicago scores 4th in Rank of Most Walkable Cities

Walk Score, the site that helps people find walkable neighborhoods, recently announced the most walkable cities in the U.S.

On a scale of 0 (car dependent, drive only) to 100 (a walkers paradise), Chicago scored an overall ranking of 76, with 66% of Chicago residents having a Walk Score in their neighborhood of 70 or above.

2,508 neighborhoods in the largest 40 U.S. cities were ranked according to the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks and other amenities.

According to the site, Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a "car-lite" lifestyle—not how attractive and scenic the area is for walking,

The top most walkable city, according to the site's rankings: San Francisco, followed by New York, with Boston coming in third.

What about strollers? CTA May Introduce Seat-less Train Cars Soon

Ridership is up on the CTA. Due in part to the rising cost of gas and the CTA's free rides for seniors program that just began in March of this year. Citing the increase Wednesday, CTA officials announced at a transit board meeting that the agency will soon experiment with seat-less cars on rush hour trains to address increased ridership and crowded trains.

While this would serve as one solution to allowing more riders on board, how might this effect the ridership of parents with kids, who may also be carrying a folded up stroller along?

The cars would debut on the Brown Line by fall, according to CTA President Ron Huberman.  An eight-car train would include at least two contiguous cars without seats. Elderly, disabled and pregnant passengers could choose to ride in the cars with seating, Huberman said.

While some parents never bring a stroller along on public transit, opting to travel with a sling or carrier only. Other parents, including many who also bring a sling or carrier tote a lightweight stroller along for their older child or to ease the burden of carrying a diaper bag, lunch and sleeping baby all at once.

Though most parents who ride the CTA during rush hour and other busy times are probably no stranger to crowded conditions, it will be interesting to note what type of extra planning parents may have to consider before boarding a seat-less train. In addition, it remains to be seen if the plan will actually cut ridership numbers of parents with young kids.

We want to hear from you at Green Parent Chicago: would you plan any differently for trips on a seat-less train? If so how? Or is planning as simple as avoiding peak travel times or just leaving the stroller at home?