Saturday, October 26 Great Pumpkin Party10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Complimentary

The Chicago French Market will be hosting its annual Great Pumpkin Party sponsored by the Chicago French Market, Fulton River District Association and Concenta. Children and parents alike get into the act for an unforgettable and safe Halloween experience. The day begins with a pumpkin decorating activity for the kids, followed by a market-wide costume parade and best costume contest that will be judged by age group, followed by market wide trick or treating. Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes. Reservations are recommended to assure that the Market will have enough pumpkins on hand to decorate. RSVP to parents@fultonriverdistrict.org

Save the Date! October 26 - Chicago French Market's Great Pumpkin Party!

 

The Chicago French Market will be hosting its annual Great Pumpkin Party sponsored by the Chicago French Market, Fulton River District Association and Concenta. Children and parents alike get into the act for an unforgettable and safe Halloween experience. The day begins with a pumpkin decorating activity for the kids, followed by a market-wide costume parade and best costume contest that will be judged by age group, followed by market wide trick or treating. Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes. Reservations are recommended to assure that the Market will have enough pumpkins on hand to decorate. RSVP to parents@fultonriverdistrict.org

Annual Harvest Festival at Westfield Old Orchard October 27 & 28

Westfield Old Orchard will once again celebrate the imminent arrival of fall with the Annual Harvest Festival.  In partnership with the Wfamily event series, Westfield invites you to enjoy a weekend full of autumn activities the entire family can enjoy.  Family-friendly entertainment will include arts and crafts, face painting, games and balloon sculptors.  Later, children can celebrate Halloween early by participating in the annual costume contest and trick or treating at participating retailers.

Celebrate the season from noon – 4 p.m., October 27 and 28 at the north end of the shopping center near the Koi Pond.  Westfield’s Annual Harvest Festival is free and open to the public, no reservations are required.

Spooky Halloween Drink Deals in Chicago

Finish October with a Halloween costume and drink deals to celebrate this Saturday, October 31 in Chicago. First, visit Birch River Grill in Arlington Heights, which celebrates Halloween with spooky drink specials offered only on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31. Specials include a Vampire’s Kiss, Grey Goose Vodka, Sapphire Gin, Patron Tequila, dry vermouth, tomato juice and a pinch of salt ($9); the Gremlin, Crown Royal and lime juice ($6); Devil’s Advocate, Bacardi Limon, Triple Sec, sour mix, cranberry juice and a splash of grenadine ($6); and Wicked Witch Cider, Captain Morgan and hot apple cider ($6).

Then, head to the West Loop for Dine's Halloween deals. Sip on $3 Domestic Beer Bottles (Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite, MGD, Coors Light), $3.50 Warsteiner Bottles, $2 Hamm’s Cans, or try the special $5 dollar shots, the Pumpkin Pie Shot or the Vampire Shot.

For more information on Birch River Grill (75 W. Algonquin Rd., Arlington Heights; 847-427-4242), visit http://www.birchrivergrill.com/. Follow Birch River Grill on Twitter and become a Facebook Fan.

For more information on Dine (733 W. Madison St., Chicago; 312-602-2100), visit http://www.dinerestaurant.com/. Become a Fan on Dine on Facebook.

Photo: Getty Images

Halloween Kids Party @ Green City Market

The annual Halloween Kids Party at Green City Market takes place 9 a.m. to noon next Saturday, October 31. Festivities kick off with a special Halloween-themed Kids Tour of Green City Market followed by a 9:30 a.m. sample tastings prepared especially for kids by some of the best pastry chefs in Chicago: Tony Galzin (MK), Toni Roberts (C-House), Nathaniel Meads (Fritz Pastry), Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate), Elissa Narow (Chef Instructor, The Illinois Institute of Art Chicago) and Allison Levitt (Mado).

A Kids Costume Contest begins at 11 a.m., judged by Joel Espe from Hawks Hill Ranch and Green City Market's Lyle Allen. There will be a Club Sprouts kids cooking demo by Courtney Treutelaar from Common Threads at 11:30 a.m. The Bristol chef Chris Pandel provides a chef demo for adults at 10:30 a.m. For additional information, email Green City Market at admin@chicagogreencitymarket.org.

Don't forget...

Green City Market moves to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (2430 N. Cannon Drive) on November 7, 2009  and will run every Wednesday and Saturday through December 23 (in the outdoor tent).  There will be no market on November 28. It moves inside to the South Gallery on January 16, and runs bi-weekly on Saturdays, February 13, February 27, March 13, March 27, April 10 and April 24, 2010. Winter schedule times are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Birch River Grill Announces October Dining Deals

With temperatures dropping, it's time to head indoors to Birch River Grill to sample chef John Ayaleanos' award-winning Wild Game Chili, made with grilled tender bison ranch sirloin, Broadleaf Farms wild board, sausage, smokey tomato sauce and heirloom beans ($6 cup/$9 bowl).


October Prix Fixe Menu
Celebrate the beginning of fall and go easy on the wallet with Birch River Grill’s $20 prix fixe menu, offered daily after 11 a.m. in addition to the restaurant's regular menu in October.

Begin with an appetizer, choosing from the BRG Salad, baby greens, shredded Michigan carrots, beefsteak tomato wedges and seedless cucumber slices; the Granny Apple Onion Soup, paprika Parmesan croutons, Wisconsin Swiss and provolone cheese; or the Soup of the Day.



Entrée selections include a choice of either: Nueske Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin Chop, kiln dried sour cherry sauce, smashed Yukon gold potatoes and steamed green beans; Seared Herb Rubbed Tilapia, wild and saffron rice pilaf, butter glazed broccolini and lemon vinaigrette; or Basil Pesto Cream Linguine, sundried tomatoes, baby spinach and shaved Grana Padano Parmesan.

Finish off with Berry Sorbet, served with fresh berries, for dessert.

Dining Deals
The whole month of October, on Mondays – Fridays, Bud Light drafts are only $1.99 all day and appetizers are only $1.99, from 4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. The appetizers include Buffalo Hot Wings, carrots, celery sticks and Wisconsin blue cheese dipping sauce; Mozzarella Cheese Sticks served with a chunky marinara; Cheese Quesadillas, Wisconsin Monterey and cheddar cheese, cilantro cream and pico de gallo; Beer Battered Onion Rings served with a ranch dipping sauce; Popcorn Shrimp with a spicy Asian dipping sauce; Potato Skins, four skins filled with melted Wisconsin cheddar, crisp pepper bacon, sour cream and green onions; and Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms along with a horseradish sipping sauce.

Sweetest Day Celebration
Birch River Grill celebrates Sweetest Day on Saturday, Oct. 17, with a sweet table. The sweet table will be a Chef’s selection of desserts with coffee and tea offered with the purchase of an entrée on this day.

Halloween Drink Specials
Birch River Grill finishes off October right with spooky drink specials offered only on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31. Specials include a Vampire’s Kiss, Grey Goose Vodka, Sapphire Gin, Patron Tequila, dry vermouth, tomato juice and a pinch of salt ($9); the Gremlin, Crown Royal and lime juice ($6); Devil’s Advocate, Bacardi Limon, Triple Sec, sour mix, cranberry juice and a splash of grenadine ($6); and Wicked Witch Cider, Captain Morgan and hot apple cider ($6).

Birch River Grill serves rustic American gourmet comfort food at 75 W. Algonquin Rd. in Arlington Heights. For reservations or more information, please contact Birch River Grill at (847) 427-4242 or visit www.birchrivergrill.com.

Agh!-mazing Halloween at Kurman Communications

This past week has been fantastic at Kurman Communications; Eve (840 N. Wabash, Chicago; 312-266-3383) opened for lunch to rave reviews and fantastic coverage (if we do say so ourselves!) in JuliB, Thrillist, UrbanDaddy and Daily Candy - just to name a few.

The Crowne Plaza Glen Ellyn-Lombard (1250 Roosevelt Road, Glen Ellyn, IL; (630) 629-6000) celebrated the launch of their green hotel with a fabulous Wizard of Oz-themed bash (read more about it here!), hundreds of guests, and the presidents of both villages arriving to cut the ribbon.

October may be finished, but we are still super busy with lots of treats up our sleeves.

Halloween is truly one of the best holidays - when else can you dress up like someone (or something) entirely different, get away with strange fashions or fun wigs, and eat sweet upon sweet? Not to mention, this is probably one of the most gorgeous Halloween's Chicago has seen in about 38 years!

We at Kurman donned our Halloween best and decided to pose for some shots to show you all how we rock it on this holiday. Thanks in part to "Mom" (Cindy Kurman) we made sure to get some great shots. Even Truffle decided to let his hair down for the day - the usually deliciously-scented bichon came to the office as a skunk, and did so still smelling lovely.

Check out Truff-the-Skunk and Cindy "Mom" Kurman, Lee "Scary Scream-Guy" Barrie, Stephanie "Barbie Doll" DeMeester, Catherine "Eizer You IN o' OUT" Patterson and Brittany "Glamour Cat" Bellgardt.

Happy Halloween - it's back to work!

Gluten-Free on TV

Yesterday, Deerfield Bakery's gluten-free baker, Lisa Albertson, demonstrated how to make her tasty gluten-free Halloween sugar cookies on WGN-TV's midday news. With the help of anchor Micah Materre, Lisa showed how easy it is to make the cookie dough and decorate the sweet treats with natural organge icing and chocolate ganache.

Deerfields' gluten-free treats are the perfect solution for those on a gluten-free diet looking for tasty, high-quality baked goods. Even people who aren't on gluten-free diets will enjoy these soft, tasty cookies.

To celebrate Halloween, Deerfields is offering these Halloween cookies in individual 2-0z. packages for just $2.29 from now through October 31. You can even purchase Deerfields' gluten-free flour mix for $4.95 and use the easy recipe on the back of the package to make these cookies at home.

In case you missed the segment, you can view it here: http://www.wgntv.com/pages/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3029069.

Micah loved the cookie she sampled. I was lucky enough to try one, and trust me-- these taste just like regular sugar cookies!

For more information on Deerfields' gluten-free line, visit http://www.deerfieldsglutenfree.com/.