Park News

Our First International Winner of Season Poster

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The Ravinia Women’s Board today announced the first-ever international winner of its annual Ravinia season poster competition. The winning design came from 18-year-old Teodora Šćepanović, a senior at the Bogdan Šuput School of Design in Novi Sad, Serbia. She will receive a $1,000 cash prize and her design will be featured in the promotion of the upcoming 2016 Ravinia season, distributed among hundreds of Chicagoland stores and public spaces, and sold exclusively at Ravinia Gifts.
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Here’s Mindy Moore, Who Makes Ravinia Events Something, Well, More

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Interview with Mindy Moore, Director of Group Events at Ravinia Festival and Here’s Chicago’s January 2016 Chicago Hospitality Professional of the Month!

What do you love about planning events in Chicago?
Planning events is Chicago is the greatest.  We have the most creative resources that are on the cutting edge and trendy with enough conservatism to get the messages across.  We  are centrally located, have the best hotels, best food and beverage and musical opportunities.  Our close-knit community will always welcome the newcomers and take the time to teach and share our experience.  Plus, they are all my friends!

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Creating The "From The Lawn" Hashtag

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Over the past four months, I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing so many unique, diverse, and loyal Ravinia customers and performers. Whether it was a young couple in love, a group of friends who have been coming here for years, or Ramsey Lewis surrounded by the love and support of his family, their thoughts, stories, and joy echoed the very sentiment that brought me here looking for an internship.  

As the 2015 Ravinia season came to an end, I found time to reflect on the #FromTheLawn campaign and compiled a list of some of my favorites from the season.

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Couple Cleverly Celebrates Their Love and Memories at Ravinia

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The September 6 O.A.R. concert was especially memorable for Sarah and Nick of Waukegan; it doubled as their wedding day, complete with ceremony and reception on Ravinia’s gorgeous lawn. Ravinia is a popular formal wedding venue, but this couple earned points for creativity by fashioning a wedding experience completely unique to themselves. We got in touch with the happy couple to learn more.

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Seven Highlights from the 2015 Summer Season

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As an intern at Ravinia this summer, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Ravinia is much more than just concerts. In reality, Ravinia is about the experience, the tight community culture, and all the small things we do here that may (or may not!) go unnoticed by the concert-goers, but help make it an exciting place to be a part of.

As the 2015 season comes to a close and nostalgia starts to set in, I wanted to relive some of those moments from this summer. Join me on a trip down memory lane with my 7 favorite moments from the 2015 season.

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CEO Welz Kauffman Goes Where No Man Has Gone Before

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Every Monday morning, Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman boldly goes to the WGN TV studios for the on-air “Ravinia Minute” with announcer Mike Toomey. He previews the events Ravinia offers in the coming week. This week, his delivery was "Spock on” as he got into character to discus the Aug. 16 presentation of J.J. Abrams’s 2009 Star Trek, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing the score live. See what it takes for an Earthbound CEO to beam up to the Enterprise.

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Ravinia CEO Is Lookin’ Sharp as Edward Scissorhands on WGN

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Every Monday, Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman appears with announcer Mike Toomey on WGN’s “Ravinia Minute” segment which airs in the 9 a.m. hour every Monday on WGN-TV. Each week Welz highlights upcoming events at the festival and presents them in very creative fashion. Today, he took a stab at something new, costuming up as

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Dean Richards and Bill Zwecker Talk Movie Music at July Concert

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Dean Richards and Bill Zwecker

Entertainment journalists Dean Richards of WGN TV and Radio and Bill Zwecker of Fox News and the Chicago Sun-Times have seen it all—and heard it all, too. They’ll share their insights and experiences at a special discussion before the July 14 performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra of Danny Elfman’s music from the films of Tim Burton. This unique discussion with two of the most famous faces in Chicago is free and open to ticketholders of the evening’s concert. Topics will include the

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Three Improvement Projects Under Way

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This fall Ravinia is working on three projects recently approved by Highland Park City Council: rebuilding the north bus turnaround to make it safer and more efficient, reducing noise and exhaust; refacing the back of the Harza Building to match the south entrance; and widening the south parking lot gate to the same width as the street that feeds it, removing the bottleneck. For more information: click here