The Windy City Saga Tour
Aug 31 - Sept 2, 2023
Itinerary
Join Christy Award-winning author Jocelyn Green for a weekend in Chicago like none other. We’ll explore the city’s rich history through the sites found in The Windy City Saga novels: Veiled in Smoke, Shadows of the White City, and Drawn by the Current.
Thursday, August 31, 2023 -- Optional Pre-Weekend Day!
Welcome to Chicago!
Check in to the amazing Palmer House Hilton Hotel, 17 E. Monroe St., after 3pm.
Those who arrive early enough may participate in an optional excursion to kick off the weekend. We’ll gather in my suite for a Welcome and Orientation Reception at 4:15pm, then at 4:45 we’ll head outside to hop on a shuttle that will take us south to the Prairie Avenue Historic District. In Veiled in Smoke, this is the neighborhood where Sylvie and Meg Townsend live after the Great Fire displaces them from Courthouse Square. We’ll embark on a guided walking tour about 90 minutes in length.
In the late nineteenth century, Prairie Avenue was the most exclusive street in Chicago. Nearly ninety mansions lined the six blocks from 16th to 22nd streets, including the homes of the city’s three wealthiest citizens - department store owner Marshall Field, meat packer Philip D. Armour, and sleeping car manufacturer George M. Pullman.
Our guide will be William Tyre, executive director and curator of Glessner House, and author of Chicago’s Historic Prairie Avenue. This tour will explore over two centuries of history—from the Battle of Fort Dearborn in 1812 through the neighborhood’s recent transformation into what is once again one of the most fashionable and desirable neighborhoods in Chicago. The tour will include Second Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest congregations in the city and the only church in Chicago to be designated as a National Historic Landmark with its extraordinary Arts & Crafts sanctuary and collection of Tiffany windows.
At the Glessner House, we’ll enjoy a casual dinner.* Our evening entertainment will be a private performance by Ellie Presents as she portrays Catherine O'Leary, the Irishwoman who was blamed (along with her cow) for the Great Chicago Fire. In The Exoneration of Cate O'Leary, she'll set the record straight on her role.
Afterwards, we'll return to the hotel. Settle in and rest up for an exciting weekend ahead!
*After you are registered, and closer to the date of the trip, you’ll choose your own dinner from the catering menu. Expect a box dinner style, with salad and sandwich options, plus sides.
ALTERNATIVE: If you've already seen the Prairie Ave. Historic District and don't want our private meal/program with Cate O'Leary, you may opt out of this to reduce your cost. Or, if you'd rather begin your weekend with us tomorrow morning instead, that would also save you the cost of Thursday night at the hotel.
Friday, Sept. 1, 2022
Our first full day in Chicago is a big one! Enjoy breakfast on your own, or come to my suite for a light breakfast of fruit, breakfast pastries, coffee and tea. At 9am, we'll hop on the shuttle with Kevin Doerksen, owner of Wild Onion Walks. From the Palmer House, we’ll drive past sites relevant to the novels, including the historic Water Tower and St. James Cathedral. This church, where Lincoln worshipped, still bears marks on its steeples from having survived the Great Fire of 1871. Next we'll head to the Chicago History Museum where we'll get out and stretch our legs. From here, we'll see the melted remains of a hardware store caught in the Great Fire, then join Kevin on a walking tour of the famous urban greenspace, Lincoln Park. OR, if you'd rather excercise your mind without quite all the excercise of your body, stay and visit the Chicago History Museum instead.
After the walking tour of Lincoln Park, we'll meet up outside the museum again and ride the shuttle south for a semi-private lunch at River Roast. This award-winning restaurant is housed in the Reid-Murdoch Center, which was used in 1915 as a temorary morgue for the victims of the Eastland Disaster. (Don't worry, you'd never guess its history as a morgue today!) Located right at the river's edge, you'll have a chance to take pictures of the site of the Eastland Disaster, like the one below.
After lunch, you choose your own adventure! From the restaurant, you may depart the group for free time, or hop back on the shuttle for a ride south to the Chicago Maritime Museum. Here, curator Dylan Hoffmann will give us a private tour of artifacts related to the Eastland Disaster. At 2pm, sit back for a joint program designed just for you--and open to the public because we're convinced it's going to be that great:
Fact and Fiction: The Eastland Disaster, and the Bestselling Novel it Inspired
Presented by: The Eastland Disaster Historical Society and Jocelyn Green, Author of Drawn by the Current
I am so excited about this! To read the full program description, view this PDF.
After the program, which will end around 3:15, we'll hitch a ride with the shuttle back to the hotel, and you're on your own for the rest of the day and evening. You may want to unwind with a good book or friend in the amazing Palmer House lobby, or at one of several nearby coffee and tea shops. (There are the chains you'd expect, along with local options.) If you're ready to see more but would like to stay within a short walk of the hotel, I recommend visiting Millennium Park (see Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean"), The Art Institute, Grant Park's Buckingham Fountain, or walk the Lakefront Trail along the shore of Lake Michigan. More about these and other ideas for excursions and dining can be found here.
Saturday, Sept. 2 , 2023
It's going to be another fabulous day! This morning you are invited to a Breakfast Book Club in my suite, with not just one author (me) but three! Joining us will be the brilliant and award-winning novelists Kate Breslin and Laura Frantz! Between the three of us, we have written novels in four different centuries. Come with questions!
After breakfast, we'll meet up with Kevin again and walk to the Chicago Cultural Center, 0.3 mile from the hotel. The Chicago Cultural Center was the first dedicated public library in Chicago, and boasts breathtaking Tiffany glass mosaics and domes. In Drawn by the Current, the scene set at the Chicago Public Library takes place here. We'll be in author-reader heaven!
From the Cultural Center, we'll walk another block or so to Macy's (formerly Marshall Field's) for a historic building tour with Kevin, which will end on the 7th floor just in time for lunch at The Walnut Room. The store, which fills an entire square block at 111 N. State St., was the world’s largest when it was built and is now third-biggest. Visitors will be awed by the soaring Tiffany mosaic ceiling, and, among other things, learn the legend of a millinery saleswoman, Mrs. Hering, whose homemade chicken pot-pie started a revolution in department stores. The Walnut Room has served Marshall Field’s customers since 1909. Mrs. Hering’s chicken pot-pie is one option on the menu. (Gluten free and vegetarian options available.) Kate and Laura will be joining us for lunch here, too!
After lunch, do as you please! If you need to travel home this afternoon, Godspeed and happy trails to you. Otherwise, you have time to travel (uber, taxi, public transit) to destinations anywhere in the city. If you'd like to stay within a short walk of Macy's, continue on to the Riverwalk, embark on a river cruise, or visit the American Writers Museum or Chicago Architecture Center. If you're looking for something close to the hotel, consider The Art Institute. Or pop in a local coffee or tea shop and enjoy your hot drink right there in the cozy ambiance, or while strolling through Millennium Park, Grant Park, or the Lakefront Trail along the shore of Lake Michigan. More about these and other ideas for excursions and dining can be found here.
Those who are staying Saturday night in Chicago may opt to attend A Novel-Tea Evening with the Authors at 7pm, in the Crystal Room on the third floor of the Palmer House. Join us for a tasteful evening with tea and talk of books, writing, history, and the power of story. Meet and hear from bestselling and award-winning novelists Lynn Austin, Amanda Barratt, Kate Breslin, Susie Finkbeiner, Laura Frantz, Jocelyn Green, and Joanna Davidson Politano. More details on this event here!
Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023
Check-out from the hotel is 11am. When you depart, carry new friendships and fond memories of your very own Windy City Saga with you.
ABOUT JOCELYN GREEN
Jocelyn Green inspires faith and courage as the award-winning and bestselling author of twenty books, including The Mark of the King; Wedded to War; and The Windy City Saga: Veiled in Smoke, Shadows of the White City, and Drawn by the Current, winner of the 2022 Christy Award in historical fiction. Her books have garnered starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly, and have been honored with the Christy Award, the gold medal from the Military Writers Society of America, and the Golden Scroll Award from the Advanced Writers & Speakers Association. She loves to bring historical settings to life for readers with her novels. With The Windy City Saga Tour, she is eager to bring readers directly to the historical settings.
- For optimal experience, read Veiled in Smoke, Shadows of the White City, and Drawn by the Current before the trip.
- Registration deadline is June 1, 2023.
Pricing
$550 per person, plus lodging
What's included in the $550 per person price:
- Transportation to and from Thursday night's activities
- Private walking tour of the Prairie Avenue Historic District
- Private tour of Second Presbyterian Church and its Tiffany windows
- Catered Thursday night dinner at the Glessner House
- Private performance by Ellie Presents, "The Exoneration of Cate O'Leary"
- Two light breakfasts, including fruit, breakfast pastries, coffee and tea
- Transportation Friday to Chicago History Museum, Lincoln Park, River Roast, Chicago Maritime Museum and back to the hotel
- Private driving/walking tour with Kevin Doerksen of Wild Onion Walks, focusing on Great Fire sites and Lincoln Park Friday morning
- Friday lunch at River Roast
- Private docent-led tour at Chicago Maritime Museum
- Joint program Friday at Chicago Maritime Museum: Fact and Fiction: The Eastland Disaster and the Bestselling Novel it Inspired, presented by the Eastland Disaster Historical Society and Jocelyn Green
- Breakfast Book Club with Jocelyn, Kate Breslin and Laura Frantz Saturday morning
- Private walking tour with Kevin Doerksen Saturday morning, featuring Michigan Avenue, Chicago Cultural Center, Macy's
- Saturday lunch at The Walnut Room with Jocelyn, Kate Breslin, and Laura Frantz
- Time with Jocelyn and her husband Rob (he's mildly amusing)
- *At the time of registration, you'll have the option to add a ticket to the Saturday night Novel-Tea event at a discounted price of $20
What's not included in this price:
- Lodging. We've reserved a group rate at the Palmer House hotel of $199 per night, which comes to $233.63 per night with all taxes and fees. You choose whether you want to stay for one, two, or three nights. Sharing a hotel room will obviously cut the cost in half per person. (A third or fourth person can share the room, too, for a nominal extra charge.)
- Friday night and Saturday night dinners
- Tickets to your chosen excursions. For example, if you'd like to visit the Art Institute, the Museum of Science and Industry, you'll be responsible for purchasing your own tickets ahead of time. On Friday morning, if you'd rather skip the Lincoln Park tour and visit the Chicago History Museum instead, you will need to purchase your own ticket to the museum.
- A Novel-Tea Evening with the Authors. You can add this when you register for the discounted price of $20. (Tickets to the public are $32 each plus Eventbrite fee.)
- Transportation to Chicago from wherever you live
- Transportation from an airport to the hotel
Optional:
- You may choose to join our weekend on Friday morning rather than Thursday afternoon, which would reduce your cost by the price of the Prairie Avenue Historic District tour and dinner and the cost of one night at the hotel.
- Or, you could leave Saturday (either before or after the grand finale) to avoid spending the night at the hotel Saturday night.
- You can add a third or even fourth roommate to your hotel room to share the hotel cost. Ask me for pricing details.
- You may choose different lodging other than the Palmer House, but please keep in mind you'll need to get yourself to the Palmer House to meet up with the group Thursday afternoon, and both Friday and Saturday mornings.
- If you're local, there's no need to stay at the hotel at all, as long as you're able to meet us at the appointed times for the group activities.
How the Pricing and Registration Works
- The full registration amount is due upon registration, and that deadline is June 1 or until capacity is reached.
- After you've paid the full registration amount, I'll send you a link so you can reserve your own hotel room. The hotel will not charge your card until the weekend of your stay.
Register Here by June 1!
For more information about the tour, see the pages in the dropdown menu under The Windy City Saga Tour tab on the navigational bar at the top of this Web page. Or click these links for: