Experience the Taste of Chicago

The smell of food wafts in the air as people of all ages taste a full range of the city’s finest culinary dishes. For ten days each summer, Chicago’s lakefront becomes a multicultural culinary celebration, featuring dishes from restaurants across the city. Visitors to the Taste of Chicago—forecast to be more than six million for this year’s installment—can enjoy food from more than 70 restaurants, all against a backdrop of the city’s famous skyline and magnificent beachfront.

This year’s musical performers, such as Stevie Wonder and Bonnie Raitt, provide the festival’s soundtrack, which ranges from old-school soul and R&B to rock and country. Chicago 2016 is offering a full schedule of Olympic and Paralympic demonstrations, as well as several gateways throughout the festival where people can register their support for the bid.
“We come every year,” said Robert Dusek, 44, from the Southeast Side. “It’s just so good. I always get pizza and some kind of Chinese food. It’s just beautiful—the lakefront, the architecture and the parks.”

The Taste of Chicago is the second-largest tourist attraction in Illinois, according to the City of Chicago. The free-admission festival is now in its 27th year and is a perfect place to be on a sunny, summer day.

Restaurant vendors, representing the city’s ethnic diversity, feature food from countries throughout the world such as France, India, Italy, Mexico and Poland. People from across the city, state, country and world travel to this park along the lake to sample the fare, which includes such dishes as pad Thai noodles, tacos, tandoori chicken, polish sausage and samosa.

Chicago’s famous Buckingham Fountain is nestled into Grant Park and provides many convenient areas to sit on the grass or relax near the lake. Next to fountain, the Taste of Chicago’s International Pavilion features cultural activities, demonstrations and entertainment. People can purchase products from Africa, Europe, South America, and Asia.

“It’s just a nice day out to enjoy the different varieties of food,” said Laverne Uwangue, 43, of the North Side. “I like the African food.”

Local Paralympian Heading to Beijing

Life may have started with a fall for world champion Josh George of Champaign, Illinois, but the new two-time Paralympian is soaring to new heights. The 24-year-old qualified for the Beijing Paralympic Games in an unprecedented six events—winning five wheelchair sprint distances in the process—at this month’s U.S. Paralympics Trials in Tempe, Arizona. He took first in the 100-, 200-, 400-, 800-, and 5,000 meters and was third in the 1,500.

“I was happier about my times than about winning,” said George, who came within a second of the world record in both the 100 and the 200. He also qualified for the Games in wheelchair basketball. “I went over the [Paralympics] schedule. I never race more than twice in a day, with one in the morning and one in the evening, so it works out okay.”

George survived a 12-story fall at age 4 to become one of the youngest members of the U.S. national wheelchair basketball team, at age 21, and a world record–holder in the 100- and 800-meter sprints in wheelchair track. He won back-to-back titles in the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in 2003 and 2004, added a third victory in 2006 and captured two bronze medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. He also notched four gold medals at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Championships in the Netherlands. In addition, he won gold as a starting member of the U.S. Wheelchair Basketball Team at the 2007 Parapan American Games.

His success includes serving as the Beijing-bound athlete-speaker at a June 6th rally in Daley Plaza to commemorate the International Olympic Committee’s selection of Chicago as a Candidate City to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “It was motivating,” he said about the speech that included sharing the stage with Mayor Richard Daley and Senator Barack Obama. “It’s nice to communicate with the people you’re representing when you compete. It gave me a different [perspective about] for whom I’m competing.”

George grew up in northern Virginia and was recruited to play basketball and race. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in journalism in 2006 and played on the U.S. National Wheelchair Basketball Team for three years.

“I put off making that decision for so long, it took months,” he said about deciding to focus on athletics and the marathon. “To be forced to face that was rough. I kept going back and forth before I decided to put basketball aside. Now I just have to train more. I’ve got to get faster.”

Yet competitions are in the plans too. George finished sixth on June 21—just behind his coach, U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympic Coach of the Year and fellow competitor Adam Bleakney—at the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, to improve his endurance, and he plans to race in several more events before he heads to Beijing. “I would love to medal in every event I’m doing,” he said. “I’d like to win at least one gold medal. I won two bronzes in Athens, and I’d like to upgrade.”

 Two Chicago-area students to attend Olympic Youth Camp in Beijing

The Olympic Youth Camp, which is part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing this summer, offers young people from around the world an opportunity to learn about the Olympic Movement. Two representatives from each of the 205 countries participating in the Games will attend the camp. Chicago 2016 recently selected Meelun McCray and Peter Park, two students from the Chicago area, to attend as the official U.S. ambassadors.

The camp will be held August 6–17 in Beijing, with activities focused on the theme, “Youth Create the Future.” The students will attend the Opening Ceremony and various Olympic events, visit the Olympic Village and enjoy the sites and culture of Beijing China with hundreds of their counterparts from around the world.

Chicago 2016 selected Park, 18, and McCray, 18, because of their dedication to sports and excellence in academics, leadership and community service. McCray recently graduated from Marshall High School, where she was captain of three sports teams—cross country, track and field, and the state championship basketball team. She was also made the state finals in track and field and chess. Park, who originally hails from New Jersey, is a member of Northwestern University’s swim team, where he competes in the 400-meter medley and the 200-meter butterfly. He helped his team achieve a 12th-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Swimming Championships. Both McCray and Park hope to make the U.S. Olympic team for the 2012 or 2016 Olympic Games. Below are video profiles for each student.

Peter Park
Meelun McCray

International sailing comes to Chicago

On June 21–28, World Sport Chicago and the Chicago Yacht Club play host to the Etchells World Championship Regatta. More than 80 yachts with some of the world’s top sailors will compete for the Etchells world title. Countries represented in the race include Australia, Bermuda, Great Britain, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States. The Chicago Yacht Club has a very active Etchells Fleet (Etchells Fleet 11) that has been competing since 1973.

The Etchells is a fast, stable 30-foot sloop that can be raced competitively and safely by three or four sailors. To be eligible to race in the Etchells World Championship, each skipper must qualify in his or her home fleet. For the 2008 Worlds, the top 23 percent in each fleet are eligible to enter and race in the championship.

More information on the event, along with a complete race schedule, can be found at www.etchellsworlds2008.com and www.chicagoyachtclub.org.

In addition to the regatta, World Sport Chicago is sponsoring a harbor race on June 20 that will pair students from Rickover Naval Academy with top skippers from around the world. In July Rickover students will begin a sailing training program with the Chicago Yacht Club in hopes of launching an academy team.

Shining a light on Chicago’s multiculturalism

To celebrate Chicago’s diversity, we’ll be highlighting many of the ethnicities that combine to make the city a rich tapestry of people and cultures. Chicago’s unique communities all have stories to tell—from their city-renowned events and local establishments to their rich histories—and are a testament to how the city welcomes and embraces people from all backgrounds. Check back frequently in the coming months as new profiles are added.

New Chicago 2016 emblem unveiled

On June 6, Mayor Richard M. Daley unveiled the new Chicago 2016 emblem as part of the closing ceremony for the weeklong International Sister Cities Festival. The event, held at Daley Plaza, was attended by top government leaders, including Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama; bid leaders; Olympians and Paralympians; and thousands of Chicagoans.

The IOC’s selection of Chicago as a Candidate City confers the honor of adding the Olympic rings to its logo. Also, the words “Applicant City” have been replaced by “Candidate City” to denote that Chicago has entered the next stage of the bidding process. The Olympic rings are one of the signature symbols of the Olympic Movement and bring with them a rich history. Chicago is humbled to join this incredible tradition as a Candidate City. 

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Chicago selected as Candidate City

On Wednesday, June 4, in Athens, Greece, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected Chicago as a finalist city in its bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Chicago is now officially a Candidate City and enters the international phase of the bid process. A special event is planned on Friday, June 6, at 11:30 AM in Daley Plaza.

This is a significant milestone for Chicago 2016 on a road that began in 2006. The United States Olympic Committee selected Chicago as the U.S. bid city in April 2007, and the bid submitted its Applicant File—an overview of its plan for the Games—in January of this year. The IOC will select a Host City on October 2, 2009, in Copenhagen.

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A delegation from Chicago 2016, including Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chairman and CEO Pat Ryan, will attend SportAccord in Athens, Greece, from June 2 to June 6. On June 4, as part of the conference, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce the list of finalist cities in the bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. If the IOC selects Chicago, it will become a Candidate City and enter the international phase of the bidding process. In addition, Chicago 2016 will be able to add the Olympic rings to its logo.

The announcement is scheduled for 10:30 AM Chicago time. To watch the event live, go to www.olympic.org, the official site of the IOC.

Check the Web site for more information about next week’s announcement as well as information about upcoming events.

Welcome to the Official Site for Chicago 2016. We are dedicated to strengthening the Olympic Movement and hosting the 2016 Games in Chicago. To bring the Games to Chicago, we need everyone in the community to show their support. Let’s Stir the Soul™ of Chicago and the world. Together we can achieve this goal.

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