AMak Color

A new gem

I love it when great things come right to my front door! Well, in this case, 3 blocks from my front door. Recently, the Morse Theater opened in our Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park. A very old classic building was converted into a brand new 300-person live music venue that offers jazz, acoustic, classical and world performances. Weeks before its original scheduled opening date, the theater was nearly destroyed by arson, most likely caused by some locals opposed to gentrification. Amazingly though, that delayed the opening date by only about a month, and the theater finally came to life in the end of 2008.  Since then, we had a blast watching all kinds of concerts there, and looking forward to many more shows. A perfect remedy for this brutal winter. (By the way, today’s temperature is -7. Fahrenheit.)

Election Night in Grant Park, Chicago

Even though this is not, by any means, a political blog, I am inspired by all things cultural. Last night’s election, no doubt, had a huge cultural significance regardless of whether you’re black, white, “red” or “blue.” So, here is a brief coverage of the Obama Rally - election event in Chicago which we had the privilege of attending.
My mean husband woke me up at 5:45 AM so we could get to the voting location early. We got there at 6:15 and waited for over an hour in line to cast our votes. Once done, I was happy about our timing, so I guess he wasn’t being so mean after all... :)
I took the train to downtown at 5 pm to meet Kurt, and the streets were already packed with people. Ticketed crowd was separated and directed to Hutchinson Field, where we went thought multiple levels of security screening, including these super sensitive metal detectors.

At 7 pm, the main filed area was getting more crowded by the minute. A jumbo CNN screen kept us updated on the results. It was pretty much like a major sporting event: every time the number of blue electoral votes went up, the crowd jumped and screamed.

The 75-degree weather was unseasonably warm – statistically, the warmest November 4th since 1964.
 

Here is the media tent:

And this is us watching us on CNN. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

People surrounding us were very diverse, very polite, and their average age was about 27-30. Ohio results got the loudest cheers, and when Obama was formally announced The President, people just went nuts. A couple of minutes later almost everyone around me wept, and strangers embraced each other. This type of a scene may make a corny movie, but to be there was very moving. Literally and figuratively!

By about 11 pm, he came out and made his acceptance speech, and that ended the event. Here is a very blurry Obama. It was impossible to take a sharp photo of him, too many people around me were jumping and waiving their cameras. Note, to the right of the podium there is a clear bullet-proof wall, put in place to block him from possible high-rise snipers.

More shots of crowds and media:


Back in the center all the major streets were closed to traffic, and it felt like a New Year’s Eve celebration all around us. Here is Michigan Avenue scene:

We had no choice but to stick around for a few hours, since Kurt’s car was right under us, in the Michigan Ave parking garage.  So naturally, we met up with some friends and headed to the nearest bar to get a long awaited drink and toast. Not so easy, though. All the bars were packed to their fullest. After a half hour search we found a little hole in the wall that had some room.

One the way back to the car, here is the "police charter." It is not often that you see a city bus full of cops!
By about 3 am, we finally made it home. Oh what a night. 

November 4th is tomorrow

Tomorrow, of course, promises to be interesting and historic. I usually tend to not enjoy being sardined by huge crowds, but this time I am making an exception. We are headed right for the madness - the Chicago's Hutchinson Field. If we come out alive, I will post whatever photos I can take at the pinnacle.