Itinerary*
*Subject to minor changes
Thursday, December 8, 2022 -- an Optional Pre-Weekend Day!
Welcome to Chicago!
Check in to the amazing Palmer House Hilton Hotel, 17 E. Monroe St., after 3pm.
4:00pm Welcome and orientation meeting in the Wilson Room, Floor 3 of the Palmer House. We'll introduce ourselves, answer some questions, and you'll receive your welcome bags here. My husband, Rob, will be joining us on this trip as my administrative assistant. (He's the mayor of our town, so I'm pretty sure he can handle it. ;) ) After our meeting, you'll have a chance to drop off your welcome bags in your hotel room if you wish.
5:00pm We'll meet the shuttle at the Monroe Street entrance for our ride to the Glessner House, a Gilded Age mansion named one of the top 10 historic homes to visit during the holidays by USA Today. The house will be wearing its Christmas best, and we'll get a 75-minute private tour by experienced docents. At the end of the tour, we'll enjoy a catered hot buffet meal in the conservatory. (Gluten-free options will be available.) During dessert, I'll give a presentation tying what you'll see during the rest of the weekend into my novel, Shadows of the White City.
ALTERNATIVE: If you've already seen the Glessner House and don't want our private tour and catered meal/program, 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, December 9, 2022
9:00am (Optional) Book Club with Jocelyn. Bring your own coffee up to the Marshfield Room, Floor 3, of our hotel for book club with the author. We can talk about Shadows of the White City or any of the other books in The Windy City Saga. Plus, hear the inside scoop about Jocelyn's upcoming March 2023 release, The Metropolitan Affair.
10:00am A visit from Jane Addams. Also on the third floor of our hotel, in the Cresthill Room, come hear from a living historian in period dress who will give us a private performance as Jane Addams, co-founder of the Hull-House settlement in Chicago. The Hull House was a vibrant beacon among immigrant communities in the 1890s, and Jane Addams' portrayal (complete with a set) will show a different side of Chicago than the Gilded Age mansions we're seeing this weekend.
The performer is Bestsey Means, artistic director at WomanLore, and we are so fortunate to have her as a highlight of our weekend. Here she is, speaking about her work, below:
A time for questions will follow her performance.
11:20am (Optional) Guided Tour of Marshall Field's (Macy's) department store. Meet at 11:20 at the Concierge Desk just outside the hotel lobby. We'll be joined by Kevin Doerksen, owner of Wild Onion Walks, and walk the two blocks to Macy's together.* Kevin's tour of this iconic Chicago deparment store will open your eyes to its fascinating history. The tour will end by 12:30 near the Walnut Room on the seventh floor.
*Macy's is just over two blocks from our hotel. If you don't wish to walk there, you may arrange for your own taxi or uber and meet us there.
12:30 or later (Optional) Lunch in The Walnut Room inside Macy's, formerly Marshall Field's department store. This is a Chicago tradition with roots stretching back to 1890, just a few years before the World's Fair. If you choose to eat here, expect to spend about $30 on lunch, including a meal with drink, desert, tax & tip. I'll share details about making reservations with those who register for the weekend.
After lunch, the afternoon and evening are yours! Options include:
- Do a little Christmas shopping in Macy's while you're there.
- Visit the Chicago Cultural Center in the adjacent block from Macy's to see the city's first dedicated public library. It was built by the same architects who built The Art Institute, and features gorgeous Tiffany mosaics and domes. This buiding was in progress during the 1893 World's Fair, completed two years later. It's free to visit, and there is a free public tour at 1:15pm on Friday. See details here.
- Visit The Art Institute, one of only two buildings still standing that were erected for the 1893 World's Fair. While you're there, check out the impressionist paintings gifted by Bertha Palmer, wife of the hotelier Potter Palmer, whose hotel we are staying in. And be sure to see the Egyptian exhibit in honor of the Egyptian art theme in Jocelyn's upcoming novel, The Metropolitan Affair.
- Ice skate in Millennium Park, just a couple blocks from out hotel.
- Explore Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza, just two blocks west of Macy's. This is a famous outdoor German Christmas market, with similarities to the Midway from the 1893 World's Fair.
- Attend a matinee performance at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at 1:30pm. The hero of Shadows of the White City is a violinist for the CSO, and many CSO musicians also played in the Exposition Orchestra during the 1893 Fair. The performance will be Hilary Hahn playing Tchaikovsky & Bartok. (Purchase your own ticket for this ahead of time here.)
- Enjoy Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Drake Hotel. Arrange your own transportation for this - and make a reservation here now!
- Dinner is on your own- see dining options here.
- After dinner, rest at the hotel, see A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre, or whatever suits you best!
For a list of excursion and dining options, see this page.
Saturday, December 10, 2022
9:00am Private, customized city tour with Kevin Doerksen, owner of Wild Onion Walks. Meet the shuttle at the Monroe Street entrance to the hotel. Kevin's tour of 1890s Chicago is sure to be another highlight of the weekend. Details are still being worked out, but so far include:
- Drive through the Prairie Avenue Historic District, aka Millionaires Row
- Drive by The Art Institute, one of only two buildings still in Chicago that were constructed for the Fair, and hear the story of the lions guarding the entrance.
- Drive by Auditorium Theatre, original home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
- Step inside The Rookery. This office building opened in 1888 and housed the architects John Root and Daniel Burnham, who coordinated the 1893 World's Fair. The lobby was redesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905. The Rookery is one of the greatest surviving examples of the early commercial skyscrapers.
- Step inside The Marquette Building. Completed in 1895, the artwork in this commercial building, now a national historic landmark, celebrates the city's early history, including this mosaic by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
- See the exterior of Jane Addams' Hull House, the settlement house that offered a beacon of hope to immigrants and urban poor starting in the late 19th-century.
- Step inside Second Presbyterian Church, which has national landmark status and an impressive collection of Tiffany windows.
- (Weather permitting:) Visit Olmsted's Wooded Island and the Japanese Garden, designed for the Fair.
- Drive down the Midway and imagine the dozens of concessions that had been built there for the Fair, from Cairo Street to Old Vienna.
- Drive by (stop here if you want) the Museum of Science & Industry, the only building aside from the Art Institute that was constructed for the 1893 World's Fair.
The rest of the afternoon is free. We'll be keeping the shuttle in order to offer transportation to various options--and please remember these are just options. You can do as many or as few of these as you like. There is plenty to do within walking distance of our hotel (see the bulleted list of suggestions for Dec. 9, above).
At the end of our tour with Kevin, if anyone would like to get out and spend time at the Museum of Science & Industry, you're welcome to. We'll pick you back up in a couple of hours!
We will also provide shuttle transportation to and from the Driehaus Museum (a Gilded Age mansion) which is close to neighborhood restaurants. In keeping with our World's Fair theme, I recommend Portillo's Hot Dogs, which is just a few blocks from the Driehaus Museum. It's inexpensive, charming ambiance, fast, and you'll get to eat a famous Chicago hot dog, which has roots in the World's Fair. (The menu also offers Italian Beef sandwiches, pasta, and more. See it here.)
If this doesn't appeal to you, there are several other nearby options, as well. You could also choose to do some Christmas shopping on the Magnificent Mile this afternoon, and we'll pick you up at a designated spot later to bring you back to the hotel.
From the hotel, the shuttle will take anyone with tickets to see the Nutcracker to the Lyric Opera House for the 2pm performance. The Nutcracker ballet debuted in 1892, while the World's Fair was being built in Chicago. This ballet is set at the 1893 World's Fair! You won't find another performance like this one. (Purchase tickets on your own ahead of time.)
Dinner is on your own.
7:30pm The finale to our weekend will be in the Crystal Room, Floor 3 of our hotel, where we'll enjoy a performance by living historian and actress Dr. Leslie Goddard as she portrays Bertha Palmer. Bertha Palmer was the wife of Potter Palmer, who founded the hotel we're staying in—but she did so much more than that, especially during the World's Fair.
Leslie Goddard, Ph.D., is an award-winning actress and scholar who has been portraying famous women and presenting history lectures for more than ten years. She holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University specializing in U.S. history and American Studies as well as master's degrees in both theater and museum studies. A former museum director, she is the author of two books on Chicago history and currently works full-time as a historical interpreter, author, and public speaker.
What a treat to have her perform for our group!
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Our adventure is wrapping up! Check-out from the hotel is 11am. Whoever has time can share breakfast or coffee together before we part ways, bringing new friendships and fond memories of your World's Fair Christmas weekend with you.
ABOUT JOCELYN GREEN
Jocelyn Green inspires faith and courage as the award-winning and bestselling author of nineteen 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. 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.
Pricing
$750 per person*
*Based on double occupancy during a three-night stay
**If you attended The Windy City Saga Tour in April 2022, receive a $25 discount
What's included in the $750 per person price:
- Three nights at the Palmer House Hotel (Dec. 8, 9, and 10, with checkout on Dec. 11), based on double occupancy.
- Transportation to the Glessner House Thursday night
- Private tour of the Glessner House
- Catered buffet dinner at the Glessner House
- Dessert program by Jocelyn Green
- Book Club with Jocelyn Friday morning
- Private performance by Betsey Means, as Jane Addams
- Private tour of Marshall Field's (now Macy's) with Kevin Doerksen, owner of Wild Onion Walks
- Private shuttle tour Saturday morning with Kevin Doerksen with three interior visits
- Transportation on Saturday to and from the Museum of Science and Industry, the Driehaus Museum/ Portillo's Hot Dogs, and the Nutcracker Ballet at the Lyric Opera House
- Private performance by Dr. Leslie Goddard, as Bertha Palmer
- Time with Jocelyn and her husband Rob
What's not included in this price:
- Meals other than the catered dinner at the Glessner House Thursday night.
- Tickets to your chosen excursions. For example, if you'd like to visit the Art Institute, the Museum of Science and Industry, or attend a performance such as the symphony, a play, or the ballet, you'll be responsible for purchasing your own tickets ahead of time.
- 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 private mansion 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.
- 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 $522.79, and that will be due by September 30.
- The rest of the cost will be for the hotel room. Our discounted group rate is $129 per night, which comes to $151.47 per night including taxes and fees. You'll reserve a room through a link I'll send you as soon as you've paid the full registration amount of $522.79. The hotel will not charge your card until the weekend of your stay in December.
Register Here by September 30!
For more detailed information, see these pages: