FLASH GIVEAWAY: WIN Tickets to Chicago Travel & Adventure Show 1/17 & 18th

JANUARY 17-18 

*Tickets On Sale Now; Kids 16 and Under Free 

with Adult Admission*

ChiIL out with ChiIL Mama THIS weekend at the Travel & Adventure Show in Chi, IL. We're giving away 5 adult tickets and kids 16 and under are FREE with an adult admission! 

ENTER HERE and find out where your next great adventure will be! Quick giveaway ends at midnight TONIGHT 1/15. Winners will be contacted by e-mail and announced on our blog and via social media Friday. 



Disclosure: It's our pleasure to partner up with the Travel & Adventure Show. They have given us review tickets and tickets for our readers. As always, all opinions are our own.

I've always loved to travel, and my husband has also been all over the world for business and pleasure as a location sound guy for film and TV shows. In our past 14 years as parents, we've taken a 3 generation vacation to Sweden, zip lined over a train & a chasm in Vail, bungee jumped on Mt. Hood in Portland, rocked Disney World, Sea World and Universal, and had more great food, fun, and family memories than you can believe. We've seen sled dogs in Alaska over summer solstice, and gotten old school with Old World Wisconsin. Check back with ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Travel Kids in 2015 for more top travel tips, vacation destinations, and get aways that range from international to our own home town, sweet home Chicago.

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CHICAGO TRAVEL & ADVENTURE SHOW BRINGS PACKED SCHEDULE OF COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS, CULTURAL PERFORMANCES AND

INTERACTIVE, FAMILY-FRIENDLY EXPERIENCES 

TO ROSEMONT JANUARY 17-18 

Chicago Travel & Adventure Show announces the 2015 show programming with a roster of top chefs, dynamic dance performances and family-friendly activities including camel rides, a Segway track, vintage replica trike rides, Alaskan sled dogs and wild friends from SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment. 

Now in its 11^th year, this year’s show will bring top travel experts, travel seminars, thousands of vacation options and more to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center January 17-18. The show is the perfect place to meet with hundreds of travel experts to learn more about planning a dream vacation or a weekend road trip. 

“Traveling is about experiencing a culture with all of the senses. The array of tastes, sights and sounds at this year’s show allows visitors to journey across the globe in one weekend,” said CEO of Unicomm John Golicz.  “Our exhibitors, guest speakers, chefs and performers create a stimulating, inspiring atmosphere for the whole family.” 

TASTE OF TRAVEL 

Nothing connects a traveler more to a destination than food.  At the Taste of Travel Stage, visitors will be transported and discover the unique cultural flavors of global cuisine, and also see how Chicago area chefs transform international cuisine for the contemporary palate. Samples will be served after each demonstration. 



Featured chefs include:

Saturday, January 17 

11:45am – 12:30pm    

Krista Cheeseman, of Wilderness North,  will showcase a Wilderness North Walleye Nuggets recipe

1:15pm – 2:00pm

Judson Todd Allen, of Healthy Infused Cuisine, LLC, will showcase a “Healthy Infused” Flatbread Pizza

3:00pm – 3:45pm
Dwight Evans (2013 ACF Chicago Chefs of Cuisine Chef of The Year), of Covenant Village, will showcase a Pan Seared Sea Scallop with Black Truffle and Saffron Risotto recipe

Sunday, January 18 

11:45am – 12:15pm

Karyn Calabrese, of Karyn’s Raw Bistro, Karyn’s Cooked and Karyn’s of Green will showcase a Party Quinoa Salad and Berry Delight Parfaits recipe

1:00pm – 1:30pm 

Rhonda Russell, of Taste by Chef Rhonda will showcase Louisiana Chicken Étouffée recipe

2:00pm – 2:30pm

Rebecca LaMalfa, of Trenchermen and former Bravo’s “Top Chef” contestant will showcase Sweet& Savory Crepes

3:00pm – 3:30pm

Klaus Lotter, of Hofbräuhaus Chicago will showcase Jägerschnitzel

Click here for a more detailed schedule for TASTE OF TRAVEL 

GLOBAL BEATS STAGE

At the Travel & Adventure Show, attendees will see culturally diverse dance and music performances representing destinations from around the world on the Global Beats Stage. Visitors will also learn a little about the artistic and cultural significance of each performance – and have the opportunity to join the dancers on stage and learn new dance steps. Performances on January 17-18 include Belly dancing, Nordic Folk Dancing, Mexican Folkloric Dancing, Bollywood and Classical Indian Dancing, Native American Dancing, Indonesian Cultural Dancing, Hawaiian Dancing, Jazz, Tap and Hip Hop Dancing, Irish Dancing and Thai Cultural Dancing. 

Click here for a full schedule

FAMILY-FRIENDLY HIGHLIGHTS

Parents can learn about the best destinations and kid-savvy travel tactics at the Chicago Travel & Adventure show through informative booths and experts on family-friendly vacations. Find unique adventures including Key West’s Sunset Key resort’s Tweencation packages, geared towards tweens and their parents, and West Virginia’s New River Gorge whitewater rafting trips, to name a few.

Spanning all 50 states and 150 countries, Road Scholar allows parents and kids to choose from 5,500 educational tours including “A Family Adventure in Magical Oxford: From the Narnia Chronicles to Harry Potter” and “Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the Badlands: Expanding Horizons.” For families who want to hit the beach, Sandals & Beaches Resorts offers many exciting adventures like dolphin encounters, catamaran sailing and dune buggy off-roading. Tauck Cruises offers families exotic excursions that include South African safaris, pizza making in Italy, river rafting in Alaska, and South American snorkeling adventures.

Several popular Midwest destinations for families will be included on the show floor this year, including the French Lick Resort, a pair of historic grand hotels nestled in the Hoosier National Forest of Southern Indiana. Named America’s Best Historic Resort by Historic Hotels of America, French Lick Resort has a roster of seasonal kid’s activities including hayrides, crafts, cooking and sports. 

Another one of the Midwest’s hottest vacation spots, Ohio’s Lake Erie Shores & Islands provides a mix of historically significant sites, family-fun amusements, gorgeous scenery and outdoor recreation. Double JJ Resort in Wisconsin offers family activities galore, including horseback riding and an indoor water park. Also in Wisconsin, Wildman Adventure Resort creates trips for families ranging from rugged tent sites to decked-out lodges full of kid-friendly adventures and exciting sports such as whitewater rafting, paintball and rock climbing. 

One of our regional favorites here at ChiIL Mama is Old World Wisconsin. Visitors time travel to the late 19th century through sights and sounds of the era with hands-on educational experiences including tending to a chicken coop and riding replica tricycles, also available for a spin at the Travel & Adventure Show. 

ChiIL Mama's Adventures at 

Old World Wisconsin

While at the show, kids can get acquainted with animal friends at the SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment booth, imagine trekking through the Sahara desert while riding a camel and pet real Alaskan Husky sled dogs brought to the show by the Minnesota-based tour company White Wilderness Sled Dog Adventures. 

SCHEDULE AND TICKET INFORMATION

The Chicago Travel & Adventure Show takes place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center (5555 N. River Rd, Rosemont, IL) January 17 and 18, 2015. On Saturday, January 17, the show opens at 9:30 a.m. for travel professionals, with general public hours set from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. On Sunday, January 18, the show floor opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. Single and two-day tickets are currently available online for a discounted rate of $11 (single-day) and $17 (two-day) with promo code: CHPR, and are also available on-site for $16/$25. Children 16 and under are admitted for free. For tickets and more information, visit www.TravelShows.com/Chicago. 

In addition to the experiential qualities of the show, attendees can discover more than 300 exhibitors from both international and domestic destinations.  Sponsors for the 2015 Chicago Travel & Adventure Show include Official Travel Agency Partner AAA Travel, Supporting Sponsors Mexico Tourism Board and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Group; and Contributing Sponsors HotelTonight and India Tourism.  The event’s National TV Media Sponsor is Travel Channel.

About Unicomm and the Travel & Adventure Show

Unicomm, LLC is an independent business to business communications company specializing in originating and managing world-class trade shows and conferences. Unicomm’s properties include the Nation’s largest and longest running series of travel events, the Travel & Adventure Show®, in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco/Bay Area, Washington, D.C., San Diego and new for 2015, Philadelphia. 

Click here to order your advanced tickets. 

Disclosure: It's our pleasure to partner up with the Travel & Adventure Show. They have given us review tickets and tickets for our readers. As always, all opinions are our own.

Welcome American Girl Caroline Abbott: Book Review, Signings, Events & Give Aways

Here at ChiIL Mama, we were super stoked for September, because we got to welcome the newest American Girl historical Doll, Caroline.   But the fun doesn't stop there!   October brings Caroline book signings, cute Halloween doll costumes, Caroline's celebration dinners, a meet n greet with the author of the historical Molly books, a Caroline hero video contest, and so much more!

**We're very excited that the author of the Caroline books, Kathleen Ernst, will signing at the Chicago store October 13th from 1:00pm-3:00pm.**

We were lucky to catch an early sneak peek at her Meet Caroline book and eagerly raced through it.  This cliff hanger of a mystery drew us all in and left us wanting more.   We naturally had to pay a visit to our local, Chi-Town American Girl Place at Watertower and buy the sequel which we're enjoying now!

It's this view below that makes me wanna move in and live at American Girl Place!   I've been a book lover since I was a child, and seriously wish my real house looked like this, with a cool, two story, "book tree house".



Sure, the collector dolls and all their adorable accessories and sets are fun.   But, the American Girl books make me happy as a mom.   I trust them to get the details right, and provide entertaining, educational, quality stories that encourage the qualities I encourage in my own young girl.





The historical girl books are well researched, in fact, Kathleen Ernst, author of the Caroline books worked as a curator for Old World Wisconsin so she's got a rich store of knowledge of the past!   She's even written an adult mystery series set there.   For loads of cool history and background info about the Caroline books and the year 1812, we highly recommend checking out author Kathleen's blog right here.



My American Girl at Old World Wisconsin with 3 generations of our family.

We paid a visit to Kathleen Ernst's former workplace this summer, and we'll have a photo and video filled adventure feature right here at ChiIL Mama in the near future.   Old World Wisconsin was quite impressive and highly recommended.

Sagezilla wrote her first book report of the school year on Meet Caroline, complete with a cool, slick presentation on Prezi.    Here's her take on the book, as a nine year old girl.



Sage Words:

caroline on Prezi

ChiIL Mama's take:

My daughter and I read Meet Caroline within days of each other and I was as engrossed in the story as she was.   It was fun to discuss the story together and speculate on how the tale continues.   Caroline's a smart, caring, brave little girl. She's got spunk and isn't afraid to speak up when she feels an injustice is going on.   When Caroline's father is captured by the British before they even got word that war had begun, the young girl finds herself at home with 3 generations of women.   She's relentless in her quest to bring her dad back home, and at the end of the first book she performs a selfless act and gives up something special and valuable to save her town.

At first I was a bit leery about the 1812 date, as choices and roles for women and girls were so much more restrictive then.   However, author Kathleen Ernst does a fabulous job of empowering her women and girls while still staying true to history.  After her father is taken prisoner, her mother steps up to run the shipyard and Caroline helps, despite some initial disbelief from locals that they could handle it.   Grandma, who lives with them, is wise and amazing, too, with valuable nuggets of insight for Caroline.

I was also a little concerned about the backdrop of war, but this series doesn't glamorize the conflict.   The focus is on the village and on worried people on both sides who fervently want peace.

We can't wait to read the rest of the series.   We just bought Caroline's Secret Message, the 2nd book.   As a mom, I'm thrilled my daughter's excited about reading and has found a strong role model in Caroline she can empathize with.   The historical American Girl books are a true gift, as they bring history alive, spark imagination, and personalize the past in a way that dry accounts and facts just don't do.   After reading Meet Caroline, my daughter is also now  jazzed to go to museums and historical sites to learn more about the early 1800's.   Works for me!

Click here for all the details

Have you ever had to be brave? Enter our contest by creating a video clip (up to 60 seconds) about a time you felt like an everyday hero. You can tell a story, re-create a moment, or even act out the scene with your doll. Ask your parent to upload your video here by October 31 for your chance to win.*

Then come back November 5 to vote for one of our six finalists and help choose the winner of our grand prize, which includes a trip for four to Washington, D.C.; an extra-special day at the American Girl store; a Caroline doll, books, and accessories set; plus a VIP tour of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to learn more about life in Caroline's day.

SAVE THE DATES:

Check back with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often.   We have a special meet n greet with author Valerie Tripp through Priceless Chicago and Mastercard on 10/23.    She wrote all the books in the Felicity, Josefina, Kit, and Molly series and three of the books in the Samantha series!   She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland and will be coming to town to have brunch with a lucky group of Chi-Town moms and daughters.   Check out more about Valerie Tripp here.     We'll have a photo filled feature for you after our brunch on 10/23.

We're extra excited to meet Valerie, since we just bought 4 American Girl DVDs and Sage has been using her own "helpful works money" to buy them.   We were pretty jazzed they were temporarily on sale for just $5 each instead of $15.    It worked out perfectly since $5 is exactly what she earns each week.   She just watched Kit, Samantha & Molly's movies and is now eagerly reading three Molly books, though Kit is her favorite.   Her grandparents still live in Cincinnati, where Kit is from, and her grandma grew up there during the late 1930's and 40's, not too long after the time Kit's books and movie take place.

We have lots of exciting American Girl features coming including book reviews, author interviews, a photo filled Cafe Birthday party feature, monster cake fun from the fall American Girl magazine, and much more. 

**Thanks to American Girl for sending us books, magazines and dolls to review and give away to our readers.    All opinions expressed are our own and we are not financially compensated.