Since the construction of the new dining pavilion in 2007, Ravinia Gifts has opened a new walk-in store with a new line of great product, but of all of the travelling coolers, Ravinia posters, wine glasses, shirts and blankets, one item's sales continue to blister the fingers of Ravinia Gifts cash register attendants--the jelly ring (pictured below).

This light up ring, made of a few flashing LED lights and some jelly material, has become the top seller,
in units, at Ravinia Gifts. When we started carrying the jelly ring, we never guessed it would become such a hot item. Grandparents come in, purchase a few and say 'they're for the grandkids', but we know that when they walk out of our store they put them on their hand right away and light them up. On pop nights, we have had throngs of kids come in and raid the jelly ring display, virtually buying us out. During the concerts, as the sun goes down, the jelly rings become more visible and sales start to escalate, and by the end of the night, when I look out over the north lawn, I can see the beacon of the jelly ring emanating from the sea of picnickers.

Jelly Ring Fun Facts:
-The jelly ring first appeared at Ravinia Gifts during the summer of 2007.
-Ravinia Gifts sells over 15,000 jelly rings in any one given season to people of all ages.
-The most jelly rings sold in one evening was at this year's Music of ABBA concert. Over 1,000 were sold!
-Two different men, on separate occasions, actually proposed at Ravinia using a jelly ring.
-Pink is the NEW color this season and proving to be the most popular. In the past we have had white, green, blue and red, and white and blue jelly rings.
-jelly rings can last up to one year if you take proper care. Hint – put them in the freezer at night.

Next time you stop in, ask for me and I'll give you the jelly ring tour and tutorial. You can also buy the jelly ring online - here.

Jennifer Wood
Manager of Retail Operations

Update on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 10:01AM by Matthew Dolkart

Sisters Cory Littles and Angie Fletcher enjoy an evening on the lawn with their new jelly rings at this year's Steve Miller Band concert.This photo was submitted to backstage@ravinia.org in response to the above blog post. If you have photos of jelly rings, picnics, park happenings or just you and your friends having fun at Ravinia Festival that you would like to share, please submit them to backstage@ravinia.org with a brief description. Thanks again, Cory and Angie!

Matthew Dolkart
Development Writer