If we were only 30 years younger, we'd be all over this contest by the Legoland Discovery Center, which is looking for its first MiniMaster Builder. more ›

Geja's is such a great spot for Valentine's day, and they are running a whole series of amazing deals in the week leading up to the big love holiday. On February 7th, bring in proof of years married (defined by geja's as "wedding license, cocktail napkins or anything else that shows your names and the year married" so we don't think you have much to worry about) and each year gets you 2% off your food. So, if you've been married for 10 years, 20% off. more ›

Hey, Chicago bakers, get off your duffs and win us $10,000, will ya? We just found out that there are only a few more days to enter the Scharffen Berger and TuttieFoodie.com Chocolate Cupcake Adventure Contest. The contest is nationwide, but Chicago is home to the absolute best home bakers in the country, obv. Let’s bring that prize money home! Contestants 18 years or older submit an original cupcake recipe in order to win $10,000, a trip to New York to distribute their cupcake from a truck, and a feature in the Food Network Magazine. Second and third prizes aren’t too shabby either, coming in at $7,000 and $3,000. more ›

There are few better uses for the Midwest's finest bounty, the apple, than pie-making. The Granny Smiths, Honey Crisps and Red Delicious are filling out bushels at the city's Farmer's markets just in time for the upcoming Bucktown Apple Pie Contest, where a single winner will take home top prize for the tastiest, best-looking creation. Benefiting The Friends of Holstein Park, the contest requires a $15 registration fee and two identical homemade pies due the day of judging. Contestants can choose which pie to present for the tasting and appearance portions of the judging (the interview and swimsuit portions--for pie!), after which judges will score pies based on appearance, crust, filling and overall flavor/taste. more ›

The Chicagoist food and drink team finds butchering pretty damn fascinating and it's a long range goal here to eventually match knives with Rob Levitt of mado. The self-taught butcher's frequent classes at his Wicker Park restaurant are highly anticipated and frequently are packed. more ›

Stephanie Izard is getting ready to open her new restaurant, Girl and the Goat. It's been said so often that it should be put on an endless loop, we know. But she really is thisclose to finally opening. more ›

Libraries have long been fighting the stuffy, academic stereotype and seeking ways to engage the community and incite a spark for learning and discovery in young people. The Chicago Public Library (CPL) has done a particularly good job of this in 2009, first with CHIPUBLIB.ORG Design Contest and now with the Sound Off music competition. more ›

California's Murphy-Goode Winery has been making headlines in recent months with its "A Really Goode Job" contest. The winery is offering a six-month contracted job to one lucky social media expert; the official title is "Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent." The winner gets a salary of $10,000 a month and room and board at Murphy-Goode's compound in Healdsburg, CA. All he or she has to do is report/blog/tweet on Sonoma County wine country, the process of winemaking and promote Murphy-Goode's selections even further than the contest is already generating. more ›

Youth boxing phenom Tracy Rollins was billed to lose in the program - and surprised a lot of the crowd by unanimously winning his bout Friday at St. Andrew's Gym (Addison & Paulina, 8p.m.). The youngster, who at 16 was facing veteran boxer Ramon Valenzuela in his first-ever senior Chicago Golden Gloves championship (he's the five-time junior national champion), felt confident before the fight - and the look on his face after said he felt vindicated. more ›

When it comes to watching sports, are you the ultimate couch potato? Really? If so, ESPNZone is giving you a chance to prove it. On January 1, four contestants will have the opportunity to prove that they can outsit anyone and win the title of Ultimate Couch Potato. more ›

The Sun-Times takes a break from reporting actual news to ask an important question: which team has the hotter fans, Cubs or White Sox? more ›

Movie attendance is down 10% this year. Bad word of mouth when it comes to this year's mainstream releases perhaps? Moviemaking competitions are a great way to put our money where our mouths are, and here are some worth shooting for: more ›

We didn’t grow up in a big city, so as parents we’re a little perplexed about the whole urban trick-or-treating thing. We’ve even heard that it’s taboo to go door to door in any neighborhood not your own (seriously?). Luckily, there are plenty of places in Chicago to celebrate and get your kids' hands on some candy. The Lincoln Park Zoo hosts its annual Spooky Zoo Spectacular Saturday. Kids trick or treat in the zoo's... more ›

Voting for Lollapalooza's Last Band Standing contest officially began on June 1, and Chicago is already leading the pack. Although the standings are always changing, when we last checked the leader board, four out of the top 10 bands were from our fair city, with Evanston-based Rachel Metter at the top of the list with 1727 votes at press time. The band's profile says it has "gained a fan-base among high school students in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago, following the recent release of their dynamite single, 'Intentions.'" Sadly, Chicago reps 100th place as well, with the ironically titled Elgin-based Rejection Letter coming in at last place with a whopping 127 votes to its name at press time. more ›

Scientists announced that they have found a 4-mile-square fossilized rain forest near Danville, IL. They say it was preserved by a major ancient earthquake and that it has a bunch of big leaf impressions, trunks of extinct trees, and tree-sized horsetail plants. LaSalle Bank getting bought by Bank of America? Not so fast... HowToOpenThings is a new local online venture where site members have contests to get videos created that demonstrate how to open... more ›

Much like the French, many people gearing up for tomorrow’s election are nervous about the results; the vote on the 17th is, without doubt, one of the most significant contests to take place in our city in years. With a dozen council seats up for grabs, and voter distrust and anger at an all-time city high, it’s no wonder that the Machine is uneasy. While the future of the City by the Lake is at... more ›

Saturday night, the Chicago Fire won their first season opener in five years. The game time temperature was a frigid 31 degrees but that did not deter nearly 15,000 fans from coming out to Toyota Park to cheer on the Fire. The fans were barely in their seats before the Fire netted the game winner. In the fourth minute midfielder Justin Mapp(right) drove down the sideline and crossed a ball to Logan Pause who flicked... more ›

The media elite and tenured intelligentsia are making you feel like an unwashed plebian if you aren’t fawning over Fermilab or Millennium Park. And you’re sick of your relatives braying on about thrilling tourist traps like Medieval Times and Six Flags. You know better, don’t you? For the rest of the month, the Illinois Tourism Bureau gives you the chance to make your alternative views heard… and then promptly drowned out by the voters who... more ›

Two aldermanic races that are shaping up to be real contests in the city have drawn a lot of attention not only from locals, but also from organizations that would like to put a dent in Daley's grip on the city. Two higher-profile candidates, Greg Brewer and Scott Waguespack, have gotten endorsements from labor groups that are itching for a fight with the mayor and his allies on the council. In the 32nd Ward, things... more ›

It’s taken us a week of mourning, but we’re finally able to talk about the death of Chicago jazz vocalist Anita O’Day, who suffered cardiac arrest last Thursday in Los Angeles at the age of 87. more ›

If you think you overate this Thanksgiving weekend, you might feel a bit better after learning how much Patrick Bertoletti threw down his gullet. The 21-year-old culinary arts student at Kendall College won the annual turkey-eating contest at Artie’s Deli in New York last Wednesday, the Sun-Times reported. Bertoletti took first place after eating 4.8 pounds of turkey – and beating the second-place contestant by a whole pound. more ›

If the CTA seemed a little more crowded at 6:46 yesterday morning then perhaps it’s because the U.S. just passed the 300 million mark in total population. Or maybe it was last week. more ›

We’re busy people, and you probably are, too. So if you’re not getting out to the clubs to see enough live music, this edition of Friday Afternoon Diversion is for you. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah haters will want to skip this clip of the band's recent appearance at the Vic. Turn down your speakers a little for this Wolf Parade clip from Metro back in August, when they peformed a new song called... more ›

The Chicago Fire won their fourth U.S. Open Championship and hoisted the Dewar Cup after defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 on Wednesday night. In winning this game, the Fire continue a perfect 12-0 home record in U.S. Open competition. The Fire are also the most successful MLS team in U.S. Open Cup history, winning four titles and owning a 24-5-2 record. The Fire continued to play a dominating style of soccer in which... more ›

This week brings an embarrassment of riches for art lovers. Longer, warmer days inspire artists, collectors, and curious bystanders to hook up, talk art, and put some serious coin in a few dealers’ and artists’ pockets. Everyday through Friday we’ll be featuring the highlights of another spring festival, helping you stay sane in these frenzied days of wheeling and dealing. more ›

We’re not scared of big books. In fact, we love big books, the bigger the better. It’s like those restaurant contests where you win something if you eat that big, huge cheeseburger. We always know we can eat it and we see it as challenging more than daunting. more ›

Kristen Romanowski, Fourth Annual Chipp Inn Spelling Bee Champion more ›

All you gotta do is go to the CBS2 Web site; register; watch cbs2 @ your desk, Chicago's first web-only newscast, and listen for a keyword; and enter the keyword in a form. The contest runs all week and each day you enter a keyword you get a chance to win. more ›

Halloween is gone and our "Stubbs the Zombie" giveaway is also finished. more ›

Chicagoist will fess up right now and say that of all of the things we are good at, keeping up with fashion trends is not one of them. We're classic dressers -- and snark never goes out of style. more ›