It’s no surprise that winter quarter can be stressful. There’s a lot going on and a lot to have to keep tabs on: class assignments, thesis progress, social events, etc. Despite this, there are many ways to ease the tension and anxiety that comes with having such a heavy workload. It may surprise you to learn that one of the best ways to cope with winter-quarter stress is to do more. Getting out of Hyde Park, investing your time relaxing activities and exploring the city are all things that can greatly improve both your outlook and overall winter-quarter experience.
As such, we are very excited to announce that the Annual Maphle Raffle will take place next Friday, January 29th at Social Hour!
Disclaimer: May be tepid
This is how the Maphle Raffle works:
- Between now and lunchtime next Friday, bring us a ticket, stub, receipt, souvenir, photo etc. from any location in the city outside of Hyde Park, and we will put said ticket (or your name) into our top hat.
- On Friday the 29th, the mentors will draw two names out of the hat and name the winners of two fantastic prizes (to be announced at the drawing.)
Escape from Hyde Park and explore the city despite the arctic temperatures, with a double incentive of both fun and prizes. So please, go and have fun, provide us with an evidential token, and enter to win big!
Seriously. Absent yourselves.
Ways to Get Out of Hyde Park
Restaurant Week
January 22nd- February 4th
What a great way to get out and “taste” the town. Restaurant week provides 14 belt-busting days of special-priced menus.
Coffee Shops
Study Time / Catch Up With Friends Time
There are great places to study and work all over this amazing city. It is really worth it to get up early, hop on public transport, and get a break from Hyde Park. Looking back, I wish I did this more last year. We suggest this website for recommendations.
Performances
Go see a movie, play or performance — Anytime
We’ve got a list of great movie theaters courtesy of Matt Hauske. Favorites include Music Box and Logan Theater. Hauske recommends:
- “Showplace ICON is the closest multiplex to get to. They have good deals on Tuesdays (I think it’s $6 all day Tuesday for every movie?), and they’re on Roosevelt, so not far from Target and Trader Joe’s (smuggle in your candy). The complex they’re in has H&M and some other stores and stuff if people want to make a day of it or get some shopping done. Excellent theater, mostly.
- River East is good, and actually not that hard to get to if you take the 6 all the way to the end then go down the stairs to Lower Wacker and walk north. There’s also an adjacent bowling alley (!!!).
Another Music Box
- The Gene Siskel Film Center downtown also shows repertory, indie, and international art house. They show really great stuff, but I’m not crazy about the theater. Great student discounts, though, and they’re just at State and Randolph so really easy to get to. They’re running a Seijun Suzuki series right now, he’s a crazy Japanese director who made crazy Japanese films starting in the 1960s. They are really eye-popping, were scandalous at the time, still are scandalous, probably.
- The Music Box is a great theater that plays mostly older films; lots of revivals, festivals, series. They also play American art house and European films. They’re a bit out of the way if you’re taking transit, but easy to get to with a car. They sell booze. Good popcorn. Amazing theater, it’s like 90 years old. Sit close! The screen’s not that big. They still have the roadshow version of Tarantino’s new movie, until the end of the month. They have midnight movies on the weekends and lots of special events.
- There’s a new ArcLight cinema on Clybourn south of North that I haven’t been to yet, but ArcLight is the major fancy theater in the LA area–I guess they’re expanding nationally? Anyway, it should be a first-rate experience, though I think they just show mainstream new releases
- Navy Pier is the place to go for IMAX, and Star Wars is still there (who knows how much longer).”
Thanks for that, Matt. Maren Robinson also has some theater recommendations, many of which you can go check out now:
- “Chicago Theatre Week is February 11-21 and has a bunch of cheap tickets for a number of different theaters all over town.
“Dark and gritty” – Maren Robinson
- In shameless self promotion (although I didn’t work on these) my theater companies have Sunset Baby, by Dominique Morriseau coming up. She is already becoming a well-known young playwright and was a classmate of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Midnight Cowboy at Lifeline goes into previews February 19th–just as dark and gritty as the book!
- If they don’t already know about Arts Pass they should check it out but hottix can often have even cheaper tickets the week of a performance and they sort by comedy, drama, musical, improv, etc.
- London Wall at Griffin Theatre has been getting good reviews it is on my list to see.
- Closer to home Satchmo at the Waldorf is playing at Court! (Both London Wall and Satchmo have tickets on hottix right now too).”
More ways of Exploring Chicago!
- Lincoln Park Conservatory is a great place to go to stay out of the cold and, according to their website, “be transported to another place!”
- Go skating at either Millennium Park or Maggie Daley Park!
- Play a boardgame at a bar! Into Settlers and beer? Me too!* For those who are partial to playing backgammon while sipping a cocktail, finding a bar with a decent board game selection is key. Check out this list of great places to drink and play!
Clancey wearing her lucky “competition vest”
- Visit a Museum! There are a bunch a free days coming up this weekend. Check this website for specifics.
Again, anything that gets you out of Hyde Park counts toward the Maphle Raffle!
All the best,
The Mentors!
*Seriously though, when are we going to play? Please bring your boardgames to Classics 117.