¡Hola! Ya llegó el verano. Por fin, hoy hace calorcito y brilla el sol. Espero que se estén disfrutando del tiempo con la familia y los amigos. Aquí comparto unas ideas para gozar del verano en Chicago. Hay tantas cosas que hacer para celebrar nuestra diversidad.
Summer has arrived! Finally, today it's feeling warmer and the sun is shining. I hope you are enjoying time with family and friends. Here are some ideas for enjoying summer in Chicago. There are so many things to do to celebrate our diversity.
Celebrations abound in Chicago, especially in summer. Just browsing Metromix's list of festivals comes up with scores -- 18 pages of listings! There are festivals for a multitude of ethnic groups -- Japanese, Greek, Thai, Celtic, Scottish, Swedish, Irish-American, Chinese, Korean, Armenian, Croatian, Mexican, Puerto-Rican, African-American, Caribbean, French, Peruvian, Ukranian, Italian, and more. Be sure to check out the "Fun Links" for Metromix for all the details and many more ideas for Chicago fun. Below is a sampling of some "Spanish-flavored" festivals.
Stretch your brain and your world: You can also work on building your family's language skills over the summer. Brain research shows that it helps our brains grow in ways different from any other learning. Plus our world just keeps getting smaller.
First, keep speaking, reading, singing your heritage languages. Many students' families speak a language other than English! Some that I know of are Spanish, Greek, Polish, Serbian, Russian, German, Norwegian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, .... It's important for your children to be surrounded by these languages. They are proud of their heritage, love to know words in different languages, and love to make comparisons between them and our Spanish learning.
Second, the Oak Park Public Library offers an on-line language learning service called "Mango Languages." All you need is your library card number and your pin (usually the last 4 numbers of your phone number.) Each person in the family can choose a different language and work at his or her own speed. Go to the main oppl page and then click on the "research" section. Mango Languages will be one of your choices.
Nine languages are offered including Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and 3 separate English programs (for speakers of Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, or Polish). I tried Spanish, Italian, and Japanese last night. Because of Spanish, my Italian lessons go much quicker and more easily than my Japanese, but I'm even making progress there. Check out "Fun Links" for the Oak Park Public Library and have fun!
Festivals
For a Spanish-language flavor, here's just a taste:
Fiesta Back of the Yards: June 12, 5-10 pm, June 13, 10am -10 pm, Mexican music, food, ...
Chicago Summer Dance Festival: Begins June 12 runs for 11 weeks, Grant Park, 1 hour dance lesson, 2 hrs live music & dance of all kinds and many cultures; A few "Latin dance" dates: June 18, tango; June 19, salsa & cha, cha, cha; other dates for more salsa, rumba, mambo
Fiestas Puertorriqueñas: June 16, 4-10:30 pm, June 17, 4-10:30 pm; Puerto Rican food, salsa, merengue
Peace Festival: June 19, 20
Puerto Rican Day Parade: June 20, 12:00 noon, steps off from Columbus & Balbo, up Columbus to Monroe
African-Caribbean International Festival of Life: July 3, 4
12th Annual Chicago Folk and Roots Festival: July 11, 12
Fiesta del Sol: (Pilsen), July 30, 31
Peruvian picnics: July 12, Aug 16 (check out Peruvian Cultural Center link for more details)
Chicago Carifete: Caribbean festival, August 15, 16
¡Viva Chicago! Latin Music Festival: August 29, 20
Mexican Independence Day Parade: Sept. 13
Sin más por el momento, ¡Feliz verano! Happy summer!
Sra. D
No comments:
Post a Comment