Right now, COVID-19 has gripped the entire world in uncertainty, as the global pandemic has accelerated stress and heightened fear. As you know, stress is the enemy of the immune system, so any which way you can alleviate tension is always a good thing.

Think of it as relaxing music for mitigation, and it’s a genre that’s being talked about much more these days. Streaming of classical music, along with folk and children’s music, has seen a surge in popularity recently. Classical music has always been a staple for accompanying studying or reading, but now more people are finding it can sooth frayed nerves as well.

And there are plenty of resources online to help you find the appropriate relaxing music. At melodyloops.com, you
can download royalty free background music that’s perfect for presentations or podcasts. The very first featured channel? It’s entitled Green Fields and it describes itself as “calm and gentle acoustic folk background music played with guitar and piano.”

You’ll also want to check out this recent program on Wisconsin Public Radio, in which host Rob Ferrett suggests music for living in high-stressed and uncertain times. Sirius XM, just this Tuesday, announced the launch of their newest station, The Calm Channel. 

According to its description, it features “soothing sounds of ambient music, nature melodies, quiet lullabies and simple meditations providing the perfect backdrop to take a deep breath and let go of life’s daily stresses.” The channel is partnered with, naturally, the meditation and wellness app Calm.

“Certainly music has an impact on the brain, and anxiety and stress impact the immune system,” Dr. Andrew Levin, a University of Pittsburgh neurologist told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“Music is a part of my stress release paradigm. We know that music can affect brain states, so I don’t believe it is much of a stretch to say that music can indirectly affect our physiology, and there is research that supports this notion.”

The science is in, and it says relaxing music can help. And if we’re all going to get through this current pandemic, we need to make sure we listen to the scientists.

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.

You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.

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With the landscape changing daily, due to the coronavirus, it is hard to predict the future for Summer 2020.

But we can hope for the best.

With many events and festivals already cancelled, one thing we can say for sure, it is not the typical carefree, festival-filled summers of the past that we took for granted.

As of today, we are in Phase II (Flattening) of Governor Pritzker’s five-part  plan to “Restore Illinois” and reopen the state.

At this point we are directed to wear a face covering when outside the house. We can return to some limited outdoor activities including golf, boating and fishing with restrictions and practicing social distancing. The lakefront and riverwalk are still off-limits.

Next, Phase 3 (Recovery) will allow for reopening of manufacturing, offices, retail and salons with gatherings limited to 10 or fewer–still not good for festivals.

We have to get to Phase 4 (Revitalization), which will allow gatherings of 50 people or fewer, to even have a shot at some small summer gatherings.

Phase 4 will also allow, restaurants and bars to reopen, along with reducing travel restrictions and reopening child care and schools with face coverings and social distancing required.

What we really need to aim for to save any of our summer festival season is Phase 5 (Restored). At this point the economy fully reopens including conventions, festivals and large events.

In order for this to happen a vaccine or highly effective treatment must become widely available or the elimination of any new cases over a sustained period (sustained period, not defined–a week? a month?).

Since the governor’s plan offers no time table for phases to take place we need to take things day by day.

Even though the outlook does not look promising at this point, there is hope. Nothing has been cancelled for August or September with some festivals  originally scheduled for May, June and July including the Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest,  Andersonville Midsommarfest, James Beard Awards gala and Milwaukee Summerfest have been rescheduled to late summer. Others such as the LaGrange Pet Parade are virtual.

Show Me Chicago will continue to track the cancellations, postponements and rescheduling of summer events updating our original SUMMER FESTIVAL CALENDAR. we published if February to reflect the Covid-19 impact.

Here’s the latest 0we will continue to update).

ON-GOING SUMMER

• Grant Park Music Fest 2020, June 10 through August 15, Most concerts take place on Wednesday and Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m., and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (Note: there will be no concert on Friday, July 3.), Millennium Park. SEASON CANCELLED
• Navy Pier Summer Fireworks, Memorial Day through Labor Day, Wednesdays and Saturdays from Saturday, May 30 through Saturday, September ?: Wednesdays at 9:30 pm. & Saturdays at 10:15 pm. EARLY SHOWS CANCELLED THROUGH JUNE 10
• Year of Chicago Music, summer lakefront and neighborhood events/festivals. MOVED TO ONLINE WITH SOME EVENTS RESCHEDULED FOR 2021
• Ravinia Summer Festival,  May 30 -September 15, 2020. Green Bay Rd. just north of Lake Cook Road, Highland Park 2020 SEASON CANCELLED
• Chicago SummerDance 2020, June 25 – August 22, Grant Park, TBD

MAY 2020

• Chicago Kids and Kites Fest, Saturday, May 2, 2020, Free Admission, 10am–4pm, Cricket Hill in Lincoln Park, W. Montrose Drive CANCELLED
• Chicago Beer Fest, Saturday, May 2, Soldier Field CANCELLED
• James Beard Foundation Awards May 4, Lyric Opera MOVED TO September 25, 2020
• Illinois Craft Beer Week (ICBW), May 10-17, throughout Chicago and Illinois POSTPONED
• Lincoln Park Wine Fest (6^th annual) Friday-Sunday, May 15-17, Jonquil Park, 1001 W. Wrightwood CANCELLED
• Manifest Urban Arts Festival, May 15 Wabash Arts Corridor between Michigan and Clark and Congress and Roosevelt VIRTUAL EVENTS
• Bark in the Park, May 16, Soldier Field CANCELLED
• Wright Plus House Walk, Saturday, May 16, Oak Park and River Forest CANCELLED
• Chicago House Music Conference & Festival, May 21-23, Chicago Cultural Center & Millennium Park CANCELLED
• Mole De Mayo, May 22-24, Ashland and 18th Street, Pilsen VIRTUAL
  Navy Pier Fireworks, blast off May 23 (Wednesdays and Saturdays and July 4 through September 5)THE FOLLOWING SHOWS CANCELLED:  May 23, 27 and 30 AND June 3, 6 and 10 
• Chicago Memorial Day Parade, May 23, wreath laying 11am, Parade noon, State St. from Wacker to Van Buren CANCELLED
• Randolph Street Market Festival, May 23 – 24, 2020,  first outdoor festival of the season, 1350 block W. Randolph and 1340 W. Washington Street between Ada and Ogden CANCELLED UNTIL JULY 25,26
• Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest, May 23, 24, on Sheffield from Belmont to Roscoe MOVED TO AUGUST 22-23
  
• Gospel Music Festival, May 26-May 30, Millennium Park & Citywide Locations CANCELLED
• Bike the Drive, Sunday, May 24, Lake Shore Dr, post ride festival, Grant Park CANCELLED
• Do Division Street, May 29th-May, 31st on Division Street between Damen and Leavitt (2000W-2200W Division St.) CANCELLED
• Mayfest, May 29-31, Armitage at Sheffield. TBD
• LaGrange Pet Parade, May 30, 2020,  line-up, 8:30 am., Downtown LaGrange, Cossitt Ave. & LaGrange Rd. VIRTUAL PARADE
• Chicago Taco & Tequila Fest, May 30 & 31, 2500 N. Cannon Dr. Lincoln Park, Cannon Drive just north of Fullerton

JUNE 2020

• Chicago Blues Festival, June 5–7, Millennium Park CANCELLED
• Lincoln Park Greek Fest, June 5 – 7, 2020, Sheffield Avenue outside St. George Greek Orthodox Church. Free. 
• Harvard Milk Days, June 5 – 7, Harvard, IL. MOVED TO OCTOBER
• 57th Street Art Fair June, 6 and 7, Hyde Park CANCELLED
• Printers Row Lit Fest June 6 & 7, South Loop along Dearborn POSTPONED TO SEPTEMBER 5TH AND 6TH, 2020
• Wingout Chicago, June 6 and 7, 2 to 6 pm. St. Michael’s parking lot in Old Town POSTPONED DATE, TBD
  Hyde Park Summer Fest. June 6 – 7 , downtown Hyde Park, 53rd and Harper Court moved to August 22-23
• West Loop Fizz Fest, Saturday-Sunday, June 6-7, 1000 W. Washington Blvd. (at Morgan), Chicago
• Run for the Zoo  10K, 5K, and kids’ stampede, June 7,  Lincoln Park Zoo and Lincoln Park VIRTUAL EVENT FOR 2020
• Chicago Underground Film Festival June 10-14, 2558 W 16th Street, Stage 18 POSTPONED
  Spring Awakening 2020, June 12-14, Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph CANCELLED
• Naked Bike Ride, June 13, departing from Fulton River Park 
• Andersonville Midsommarfest, Friday, June 12-Sunday, June 14, 5200 N. Clark MOVED TO August 21-23, 2020
• Ribfest Chicago June 12-14, Lincoln / Irving Park / Damen CANCELLED
• Old Town Art Fair June 13 – 14, Old Town Triangle Historic District 
• Wells Street Art Festival June 13-14, Old Town, on Wells between North and Division POSTPONED  Tentative Dates: Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30, 2020
• Winnetka Music Festival (4^th annual), Friday-Saturday, June 19-20, Elm Street and Lincoln Ave., Winnetka  CANCELLED
• Festa!Pasta!Vino! Italian Street Festival, June 19 – 21, 2020, 24th & South Oakley POSTPONED
• Country LakeShake 2020, Fri, Jun 19 – Sun, Jun 21, Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, 1300 S Linn White Dr. CANCELLED
• Craft Brews At Lincoln Park Zoo June 19 & 20, Lincoln Park Zoo
• Craft Beer Festival, Saturday, June 20, Morton Arboretum, Lisle
• Taste of Randolph Street, June 19-21, offers three stages of music, 14 restaurant booths, and artisan vendors at Randolph Street & Peoria Street. Donation CANCELLED
• Puerto Rican Parade, June 20, Division Street from Western Avenue to Sacramento Avenue, Humboldt Park DECISION PENDING
• Chicago Vegandale, Vegan Food Festival, June 20, Butler Field in Grant Park. Free admission for children age 12 and younger 
• Chicago Food Truck Festival, June 20 & 21, South Loop Green Space
• Ravenswood on Tap, June 20, 21, beer & spirits from local producers, food from nearby restaurants, live local music, and more Ravenswood Avenue and Berteau Avenue. Donation. 
• Chicago Pride Fest®, June 20-21, Halsted and Addison in Boystown POSTPONED
  Fountain Square Artisan Summerfest June 20 & 21 2020, Evanston, IL- Sherman and Church Street 
• Make Music Day, June 21, various locations including Millennium Park and Navy Pier. Free. 
• Dragon Boat Races, June 21, teams compete in colorful boats on the river, music,  dance, vendors, Ping Tom Memorial Park, 300 W 19th Street. Free. RESCHEDULED: August 22, 2020 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Ping Tom Memorial Park.
• Father’s Day BBQ, June 21, with a cash bar, Brookfield Zoo.
• Swedish Days, June 23 – 28, 2020, Downtown Geneva
• Millennium Art Festival June  26, 27, 28 2020, downtown Chicago at Lake Street and Michigan 
• Logan Square Arts Festival, June 26, 27 & 28, Milwaukee, Logan & Kedzie  CANCELLED
  Pride In The Park June 27 & 28 2020, Grant Park  POSTPONED
• Highland Park Festival of Fine Arts, June 27 & 28, Downtown Highland Park Art Center
• Renegade Craft Fair, June 27, 28 food trucks and craft cocktails for sale, Andersonville, Clark Street (from Edgewater Ave. to Bryn Mawr Ave.). Free
• Chicago Pride Parade steps off at noon on Sunday, June 28, 2020, at Montrose Avenue and Broadway in Uptown and ends near the intersection of Diversey Parkway and Sheridan Road in Lincoln Park POSTPONED

JULY 2020

Taste of Chicago

• Windy City Ribfest in Uptown (12^th annual), Friday-Sunday, July 3-5, Lawrence & Broadway (Uptown),
• Chicago Eyes to the Skies Festival, Friday-Sunday, July 3-5, Lisle Community Park, 1825 Short St., Lisle CANCELLED
• The African/Caribbean International Festival of Life, July 3-5, Washington Park, 55th & Cottage Grove CANCELLED
• Fourth of July Fireworks, July 4, dusk, Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand
• Lake Forest Festival & Fireworks (14^th annual), Saturday, July 4, Deerpath Park, Deerpath and Hastings Rd., Lake Forest, IL CANCELLED
• Lake Bluff 4th of July Parade, 10am., downtown Lake Bluff CANCELLED
• Chosen Few DJs Music Fest & Picnic, Saturday, July 4, Jackson Park (South Lake Shore Drive near 63^rd Street), Chicago  CANCELLED
• Taste of Chicago 2020, Wed, July 8 – Sun, July 12, Grant Park, 337 E Randolph St
• Irish American Heritage Festival, July 10-12, 4626 N Knox Ave., Chicago,   CANCELLED
• Windy City Smokeout, Fri, Jul 10 – Sun, July 12, United Center
• Square Roots Festival, July 10-12, Lincoln Square on Lincoln between Montrose and Wilson RESCHEDULED TO August 28-30
• West Fest, July 10, 11 &12,  Chicago Avenue between Damen Avenue and Wood Street (1800W – 2000W Chicago Ave.) CANCELLED
• Roscoe Village Burger Fest (14^th annual), Saturday/Sunday, July 11-12, 2000 W. Belmont (at Damen), Chicago
• Bastille Day 5/8K Run & Walk, July 13, Cannon Drive & Fullerton
• Green City Market Chefs BBQ, July 16, Lincoln Park 
• Pitchfork Music Festival 2020, July 17-July 19, Union Park, 1501 W Randolph St. CANCELLED
• BenFest 2020, July 17-19, St. Benedict’s, 2215 W. Irving Park Rd
• Race to Mackinac and Parade of Boats, July 18, from Navy Pier
  Silver Room Block Party, July 18, Downtown Hyde Park
• Chalk Howard Street, Saturday, July 18, 2020 from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., just east of the Howard Red Line ‘L’ stop CANCELLED
• Chinatown Summer Fair, Saturday/Sunday, July 18-19, Wentworth Avenue & Cermak Rd. (aka 22^nd Street), Chicago
• Chicago Food Truck Festival at Wrigley Field, July 25, 2020
• Chicago Margarita Festival,  July 25 – July 26, Navy Pier, 600 E Grand Ave
• Taste of Lincoln Avenue (37^th annual), Saturday/Sunday, July 25-26, North Lincoln Avenue between Fullerton & Wrightwood, Chicago
• Randolph Street Market Festival, July 25, 26 2020, outdoor festival vintage, antiques, entertainment, food, drinks 1350 block W. Randolph and 1340 W. Washington Street between Ada and Ogden
• Lollapalooza Music Festival 2020, Thu, Jul 30 – Sun, Aug 2, Grant Park, 337 E Randolph St OK
• Jeff Fest, Friday-Sunday, July 31-August 2, Jefferson Memorial Park, 4822 N. Long (Lawrence and Milwaukee Avenues), Chicago
• Wicker Park Fest, July dates TBA, on On Milwaukee Ave., from North Ave. to Ashland Ave.

Lollapalooza. Photo: Chicago Tribune

AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER

We will add August and September as more information is available.

PLEASE NOTE:  Mayor Lightfoot will provide an update at 1:30pm. today from City Hall outlining the city’s plans for reopening that may continue information on city run festivals.

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BY SANDRA GUY

If ever Mom needed a boost of healthful calmness, it’s now.

After all, when has she ever more assiduously performed the roles of personal chef, homework overseer, stay-at-home computer troubleshooter, Zoom classtime scheduler, zealous bacteria cleaner and timekeeper for the dog’s walks?

The coronavirus mandate has heightened what research, and most women’s experience, have long recognized: Mothers spend more time cooking, cleaning, shopping and doing laundry when a man is in the house than do their single-mom counterparts, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey dating back to 2012.

So why not transform one single day — Mother’s Day on May 10 — into a daily “thank you” for an heroic woman in your life — whether she’s a taken-for-granted mom, a step-mom, a pet mom, a single mom, a teacher aka “student mom” or any other?

What might be on the list? Just a few ideas:

• A basket of easy-to-use, at-home manicure and pedicure products.

• An entire new line of her favorite moisturizer, cold cream and other skincare boosters.

• A health-filled dinner that you pick up from a high-end restaurant that’s offering take-out.

• Gift certificates for her favorite spa, hairdresser, masseur or masseuse and personal trainer – events to look forward to post-pandemic.

• Natural soothing remedies such as lotions, bath salts and herbal teas. Most notable is Echinacea, which some studies have shown can boost the immune system, soothe anxiety and reduce inflammation. Just be sure to add a note of caution: Echinacea should be taken with food, and beware if she has allergies or is taking any prescription drugs that would adversely interact with the herb.

• Flowers, including those than you can plant in your yard or in a flower pot.

• Anything home-made, just for her – perhaps a morning wakeup note.

In this new age, people are awakening to the factors that boost immunity and even keep oxygen flowing: Sleep, relaxation, vigorous exercise and a fresh-food diet.

Just taking slow, deep breaths can decrease pain and anxiety, research shows. Helping mom get there may indeed be the greatest gift of all.

My grandmother once blew up an oven. She left the gas running while she went in search of matches to light the pilot. She eventually found the matches and put her head in the oven to light it. Ka-bam! It wasn’t a big explosion, but still dramatic. It sort of sums up her role as a cook in my mind.

We didn’t go to my grandmother’s house for the food. Except for the mashed potatoes. That she did better than the best. How can you go wrong with creamy milk and butter and potatoes? But pies, roast, cakes, not her specialty.

I remember one year making what seemed like hundreds of heart-shaped sugar cookies with her for my mom. Even at the young age of seven, I knew that you didn’t casually scoop flour out of the bag and dump it in the bowl. You measured it. I watched in wonder at her approach to baking, so unlike my mother’s. Lord knows what those cookies tasted like.

My grandmother retired as the vice president of the loan department at First National Bank in Albuquerque, NM. She began as a teller, without a college degree, and advanced to the top. She eventually graduated from college the year I graduated from high school.

Seeing her at work was a joy. She was a different person, so unlike the woman who lit a match in an oven full of gas. She wore suits and looked oh so professional. When I graduated from college, she took me to the boutique where she shopped and bought me a navy blue suit and a blouse with a tie attached. To look like her was everything.

My grandmother was of the WWII generation. She had an infant when her husband deployed. So did her best friend, and they worked out an arrangement that her friend would watch the children while she went to work in the meat section of a grocery store and they’d share the wages.

I don’t know how long she worked there, but she left the job when the knife sliced through her left arm. The scar was long and I’m sure there was all sorts of damage.

She still had to work, so she started at the bank. She never stopped working there, unlike so many women of that era, even when her husband returned from war. I’m sure he was suffering from PTSD, and when she caught him sleeping with prostitutes, she realized that she’d have to support herself.

She stayed with him, even after my mother contracted gonorrhea. As a Baptist, she felt god required her to do so.

People are complicated. She and my mother had a tumultuous relationship. Growing up, I had trouble knowing whether my grandmother or grandfather damaged her more. My grandfather spent most of his time sitting in a chair surrounded by his CB radios, talking to strangers, and smoking many packs of cigarettes a day. He worked only sporadically.

In response my grandmother supported all of them and scrubbed the walls once a month. I saw this as a strange obsession when I was young, but came to realize that she was scrubbing the yellow hue of nicotine off.

Her house was always pristine. There was a sign in the laundry room, “My house is clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be happy.” It was an aspiration at best. Neither dirt nor happiness thrived in that house.

Which isn’t to say that happiness couldn’t be found. One of my fondest childhood memories was sitting with her in a big lounge chair early in the morning. She held her sugary, creamy coffee and gave me sips. My brother and I were her “chunk-in-lunkins.”

She left change in the bottom of her many purses and I’d play dress up. My brother and I would line up the couch cushions and pretend we were on a train and I’d reach in the purses and find change to pay for my ticket. Every quarter produced a thrill because she let me keep the change I found.

I tortured myself as a child because of our relationship. She yelled at my mother, criticized her mercilessly in the cruelest of ways. But she loved me in the ways I needed to be loved. I was perfect in her eyes.

I felt the sting of her criticism a time or two, like when she begged me to break up with my high school boyfriend, a Latino, both so I wouldn’t have brown babies and so that I would go to and complete college. I think she was prouder than I was when I did graduate. When I finished the PhD she was in orbit with joy.

In the past few years, I’ve accepted that my love for this woman and her love for me are ok. I don’t have to feel guilt about our relationship because people are complicated. I’ve learned to accept the contradictions and the conflict. I’ve learned to accept the love.

She is, in many ways, the key woman in my life, serving as an inspiration to achieve. Watching her go to college and work full time are images that stick with me even now. Seeing her in my mind’s eye in one of her suits and high heels, watching her learn to use a computer before any of the rest of us did, knowing that she’d gladly sit in that big chair with me and share her coffee even now if she were still alive—these things sustain me.

I love her and I knew her love for me in a palpable way. For that I am grateful and I honor her on Mother’s Day.

Like me, you probably dislike all of the ads on this page. They pop up unexpectedly, sometimes cover text, start playing videos and clutter the post itself. I have no control over any aspect of the ads, from content to form to placement to number. I am sorry that they have taken over our blogs on ChicagoNow and I appreciate that you continue to read. 

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With most sports around the world on pause, revisit iconic sports moments from the past to help fill that void.

Basketball legend Michael Jordan has a long connection with golf and the PGA TOUR. You even can catch a few players reppin’ his iconic Jumpman shoes on the course.

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• Sports lookback: Michael Jordan on the golf course

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