There was a lot of excitement in Chicago last week, and there will be plenty more in the upcoming couple of weeks. Unfortunately, none of this involves either of the woeful baseball teams.

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Last Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks ended a 49-year drought by winning the Stanley Cup. On Friday, an estimated one-million-plus people were downtown for the parade and ceremonies honoring the team.

This weekend, the Blues Fest is here. Few things in life are better than a warm evening by Lake Michigan with jazz greats supplying the soundtrack. The James Cotton Blues Band with special guest Matt “Guitar” Murphy as the headliner.

Starting June 25 and running through July 4 is the Taste of Chicago. The Taste is Chicago’s largest festival and the world’s largest food fest. The musical headliners this year are Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys. The Steve Miller Band, Rob Thomas and dozens of other acts will be performing. At the Taste, the food is the main attraction, however. There will be more than 50 food vendors serving Chicago mainstays, plus assorted other specialities such as crab nuggets, mango rice pudding and chicken apple gouda sauage. You can’t go away hungry from this event. It will be a great time in the downtown area.

I must admit, though, that from my distributor’s point of view, I hate the congestion. Forget your car, take public transportation and be prepared to endure some major crowds en route to having a great time. By July 5, after these events are done, summer will be in full gear in Chicago. Maybe even our baseball teams will start to heat up.

— John Wroblewski, distribution specialist