Tag Archives: Chicago

Flirty Cupcakes Puts Desserts on Wheels in Chicago

Posted on December 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

Logo courtesy Flirty Cupcakes

Audio Slideshow: A look at a day downtown with the Flirty cupcakes truck.

By Vi Nguyen, Nimrah Pervez and Beth Kotz

Cakes are cumbersome. Cupcakes, on the other hand, are compact confectionary treats- the perfect baked good for any glutton on-the-go. The Flirty Cupcake truck, a mobile mini bakery, roams city streets seeking to satisfy the sweet teeth of busy Chicagoans.

Tiffany Kurtz, owner and founder of the Flirty Cupcakes, attributes her novel idea not to big city trends, but to enjoyable moments from her childhood. Kurtz began the venture with her husband, Chris Sewell.

“I remember being so excited when I heard the ice cream truck coming,” she said, “then I saw this beat up old truck sitting on the street, and it all just came together. While I wouldn’t chase after ice cream now, I would chase after cupcakes.”

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Posted in Business, Chicago, Food, News, Streets

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Chicago’s Englewood Neighborhood on the Rise

Posted on November 21, 2010 | 3 Comments

Audio Slideshow: Listen to Asiaha Butler and Englewood residents talk about what they’re doing in their community.

By Matt Bailey and Rashanah Baldwin

Frustrated with the lack of programs and outlets for youth in Englewood, lifelong neighborhood resident Asiaha Butler started working to change the impression of her neighborhood with a program that gives young people an opportunity to express themselves with words rather than gunfire.

Asiaha Butler 

Asiaha Butler begins the dialogue (Photo by Matt Bailey)

“I’m not an anti-violence activist. I’m a peace activist,” Butler said.

Beginning last April, she started a series of documentary screenings, in donated spaces, followed by open-floor debates of issues raised in the films, called, “So Fresh Saturdays: Docs and Dialogue.”

This monthly gathering of people between the ages of 12-20, provides an opportunity to have “a fun, safe and educational space, in the heart of a place that people call so violent,” Butler said.

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Posted in Chicago, Maps, News, Streets

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Misericordia: Chicago’s Hidden Community

Posted on November 21, 2010 | 1 Comment


Misericordia is a community for people with special needs. (Photo by Kristen Aguirre)

By Catherine Durkin and Kristen Aguirre

For the past 18 years Tina Stendardo wakes up, gets ready, and heads to work, where she strives to help people with intellectual disabilities do the exact same thing. Enhancing the lives of others with special needs is her passion, which correlates with the values of Misericordia.

Stendardo is the developmental training director at Misericordia, a not-for-profit corporation that houses individuals with developmental disabilities. As the developmental training director, she oversees the work programming at the organization. Stendardo has worked with Misericordia for almost two decades, and says her experience has been anything short of “wonderful.”

“As corny as it sounds there is such a family feel here,” Stendardo said. “For an organization who has 1,000 employees and 600 residents and so many things coming and going, there really is a nice family feel at Misericordia.”

Podcast: Tina Stendardo discusses how Misericordia allows its residents to feel like they belong in this world and are part of a special community.

Misericordia Final 2 by Cdukin2

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Posted in Chicago, Health, Maps

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Chicago’s Small Museums Preserve the Passion

Posted on November 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Journals and newspaper collections from the Lansing Historical Society. (Photo by Nathan Ottens-Sanders)

Audio Slideshow: Visit some of Chicago’s small museums and hear from some of the owners and proprietors.

By Jim Crago and Nathan Ottens-Sanders

Giuseppe Gaglione of Stampland on Chicago Avenue has a passion for collecting rare rubber stamps – some used from the early 20th century. He also schedules as much time as possible for making rubber stamps to put on display for all to see.

“We don’t receive any monetary donations,” Gaglione said. “But donations of rubber stamps and stamp pads are always welcome.”

When visiting Stampland, it was obvious that Gaglione took his craft very seriously. When asked about his idea for Stampland, he lit up like a child finding presents under a Christmas tree.

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Galleries Bring Eye-Popping Changes to the Loop

Posted on November 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

By Leonel Alvarez, Erin Piddington and Nick Tarantino

The Chicago Loop Alliance is offering local artists the chance to display their work around the loop.

Pop-Up Art Loop is a program that fills empty spaces downtown with free art galleries.

Similar “pop-up” galleries have been showcased in cities around the world, such as London, Los Angeles and New York.The Chicago Loop Alliance saw success in these cities and believed a program like Pop-Up Art Loop, could benefit Chicago in many ways.

“There has been a lot of excitement from the community as well as from the artist that are a part of it and property owners can also see a benefit to it,” said Michael Perry, the Programming Project Coordinator for the Chicago Loop Alliance.

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