Midway Airport

Air Carnival at Chicago’s Airports

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Courtesy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaalarchief/

Via Flickr Commons

This summer, passengers at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway Airports will be treated to an “Air Carnival” with games, prizes, puppet shows, crafts, face painting and other activities.

The festivities have already begun at Midway Airport and coming up on Tuesday, June 16 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. will be an opportunity to make key chains for Father’s Day (at Viva’s Hallmark) and on Friday Friday, June 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., temporary tattoos will be offered (at Kidsworks in the Midway Boulevard food court).

On Tuesday, June 30 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. kids will be able to make Fourth of July hats at Relay, Concourse B near Gate B8.

During July, cookie-making and face painting, zoo animals, an introduction to musical instruments and puppet shows are on the agenda with all-day carnivals scheduled for July 30 and 31.

Here’s a link to the full schedule of activities for Midway Airport’s Air Carnival.

The schedule is still being developed at O’Hare International Airport, but at the end of July (on the 28th and 29th) the carnival in Terminal 2 will include stilt walkers, pinball games, video dance, airbrush tattoos, puppet shows, games, prizes and more.

All the activities are free.

Air Carnival

Yoga: now at Chicago’s Midway Int’l Airport

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Midway Yoga Room

September is National Yoga Month, which makes it great timing for the Chicago Department of Aviation to open the promised yoga room at Midway International Airport.

Located on Concourse C, Midway’s new yoga room has a sustainable bamboo wood floor, floor to ceiling mirrors on one wall, exercise mats and an area to store personal articles and garments. There are frosted windows on one side of the room to let in natural light and to provide a bit of privacy. There’s also a wall-mounted video monitor showing yoga exercise techniques and nature scenes, all with an audio plays soothing sounds.

Next door to Midway’s yoga room there’s a new room set aside for mothers who’d like some privacy while nursing a baby.

Midway mothers room

But, since it is National Yoga Month, let’s get back to yoga.

Here’s a list of other airports that offer yoga rooms for travelers:


Chicago O’Hare International Airport -opened in December 2013. You’ll find it on the Mezzanine Level of Terminal 3 Rotunda, near the airport’s urban garden.

San Francisco International Airport has two yoga rooms.
SFO YOGA ROOM

SFO’s Yoga Room in Terminal 2 (which was the world’s first yoga room in an airport) is closed until November 4, 2014 to accommodate a construction project. The airport’s second yoga room, located in Terminal 3, Boarding Area E, remains open.

AT Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, there’s a yoga studio located near Gate D40 in the hallway connecting Terminals B and D.

There’s also a space set aside for yoga at Burlington International Airport in Vermont.

Burlington yoga

At all of these airport yoga studios, soothing ambiance – and mats – are provided.

Meanwhile, at Helsinki Airport in Finland, Finavia’s TravelLab initiative has been testing out a variety of yoga offerings, including a Yoga Gate, yoga lessons and the sale of yoga-related items, including mats and clothes.

The summertime project also surveyed passengers about the whether or not they’d be interested in paying for taking a yoga lesson at the airport. Would you?

Helsinki_Airport_Yoga_Kainuu_TravelLab

(All photos courtesy of the respective airports)

St. Patrick’s Day at O’Hare & Midway Airports

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Chicago’s O’Hareand Midway  airports will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Celtic dance and musical entertainment, as well as “Shamrock Specials” at airport restaurants and shops.

Today  – (Thursday, March 13) from 5 to 6 p.m., dancers from the Sheila Tully Academy of Irish Dance will perform at O’Hare International Terminal 5, post security and just outside of the new duty free store.  At Midway, Catherine O’Connell will sing with musicians at Reilly’s Daughter, located in the Midway Boulevard Food Court at 5 p.m.

 OHARE CELTIC

The fun continues Friday, March 14 with performances at O’Hare and Midway by the  Trinity Irish Dancers.

Here’s the schedule for O’Hare:

  • Terminal 1: 6:10 to 7 p.m. Lower level baggage claim near Door 1E

  • Terminal 2 : 5 to 6 p.m. Post security next to Wicker Park Seafood and Sushi

  • Terminal 3: 5 to 6 p.m. Post security near the entrance to the L Concourse
  • Terminal 5: 6:10 to 7 p.m. in the lower level meeter/greeter area across from the Information Booth

At Midway, the dancers will perform from 4 to 6 p.m. post security in Concourse A near the Battle of Midway exhibit.

And on St. Patrick’s Day, Monday, March 17, concessions throughout both airports will offer “Shamrock Specials” that will include green beer, green kettle corn and discounts on green merchandise and Celtic jewelry.

 

Chicago airports get their own radio stations

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Farmer listening to radio - courtesy U.S. National Archives

Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports now have their own radio stations.

The 24-hour “AIR Chicago” was created for the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) by Clear Chanel Airports, a division of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., and features smooth jazz music interspersed with airport traffic and weather reports, business news, information about the airports and advertising.

Clear Channel has the indoor advertising contract at the Chicago airports “and this was an opportunity to start a different kind of branding, get more people interested in what we do at the airport, and reach out to a lot more people,” said Karen Pride, CDA spokeswoman.

Pride said the CDA has already recorded “vignettes” about holiday travel that will begin running on AIR Chicago in December and is working on others that might cover everything from sustainability efforts underway at the airports to the art and live music programs offered. There might also be opportunities for airline partners to record messages.

“There are a lot of applications that could be integrated into AIR Chicago,” said Pride. “The possibilities are endless.”

The AIR Chicago programming can be found on iHeartRadio.com and the iHeartRadio app, on the CDA’s website, and on Clear Channel’s local HD2 digital station, WKSC-FM/103.5 KISS FM.

While AIR Chicago is the first 24-hour radio station dedicated to information about the Chicago airports, it is not the first airport radio station. Some airports, such as Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, have low-power AM radio stations broadcasting airport parking and traffic information, with the audio also available online. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport offers a web radio player showcasing northwest music.

Music and art mash-up at O’Hare & Midway airports

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Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports are participating in the city-wide Chicago Artists Month 2012 celebration with airport events that match music groups with artists.

Performances on tap for today (Friday, October 19th) from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in O’Hare include the Breezy Rodio Duo playing reggae while artist Kenneth Amorio creates oil paintings. At Midway, artist Quinton Foreman will create art while Chicago Samba plays music.

Look for the Artist Month stages at O’Hare in Terminal 1 on the lower level baggage claim area near Ciao’s concession, in Terminal 2 past security next to Wicker Park Seafood and Sushi Bar and in Terminal 3 past security near the entrance to Concourse L. The stage in International Terminal 5 is on the lower level meeter/greeter area next to the gift store.

At Midway, the stage is in the lower level baggage claim area next to the information booth.

Chicago airports celebrate “Taste of Chicago”

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Chicago’s yummy summer event, a “Taste of Chicago,” kicks off Wednesday, July 11 and even if you just have a stopover at O’Hare or Midway International airports, you can do some nibbling.

From Wednesday through Sunday, many restaurants and retail stores at both airports will be offering “Taste” specials to travelers.

At O’Hare, Macaroni Grill (Terminal 3, H/K Concourse) and Eli’s Cheesecake Cafe (Terminal 1, Concourse B) are among the participants. At Midway, a taste-special tiramisu at Luigi Stefani’s is among the offerings.

How will you know which restaurants are participating? Look for the sign posted above.

Gardening at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway Airports

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A Green Gardens exhibit is on view at O’Hare and Midway International Airports through Monday, April 9 that “re-purposes” some of the floral displays that were on view at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show held at Chicago’s Navy Pier in March.


A series of window façade replicas with window box floral displays from Chicagoland nonprofits, are featured at both airports and, at O’Hare, there’s a replica of the White House Kitchen Garden, with raised beds to show off the ideas of growing fresh, organic, local food that are part of the First Lady Michelle Obama’s childhood anti-obesity initiative.

Vertical hydroponic gardens, which demonstrate how vertical gardens can provide compact and efficient growing space, reduce noise and improve indoor air quality, are on display at both airports.

At Midway, the Green Gardens exhibit is located on the upper level ticketing area. At O’Hare, the exhibit is in Terminal 2, post-security, next to the Kids on the Fly children’s play area, and in Terminal 3, between Concourses H/K and L, post-security.

Photos courtesy: Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA)/kp

Bee farming at O’Hare Airport

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Bee farmers seem to be busy as their bees these days, setting up beehives on hotel rooftops and, now, at some U.S. airports.

A growing number of Fairmont Hotels in North America, including the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle, the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto and the Fairmont Vancouver Airport have their own hives and honey-producing bees.

Close to a dozen airports in Germany host bee hives and monitor them for signs of pollution caused by air traffic.

Now comes word that Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is hosting 33 hives belonging to Sweet Beginnings, a non-profit group that helps ex-offenders and others find permanent jobs.

The group hopes to set up hives next at Midway Airport and eventually sell the airport-made honey at shops inside the airport.

Sweet!

Discounts for moms at O’Hare and Midway airports

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To celebrate Mother’s Day, many concessionsaires at O’Hare and Midway International Airports in Chicago will be offering discounts for mothers on Saturday May 7th and Sunday, May 8, 2011.

To prove you’re a mom, show a photo of your kid or kids (or any kid or kids… ) at the time of purchase and you’ll receive a 15% discount on selected food, beverage and retail items at participating concessions displaying this sign.

Tidbits for travelers: Holiday entertainment, free parking & more

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Entertainment in Chicago

Airports around the country are expecting long lines and lots of extra travelers this weekend, but in Chicago, both O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport will be offering up some entertainment to help move things along.

Chicago airports feature Chicago Jazz Festival entertainment

To give travelers a taste of this weekend’s Chicago Jazz Festival, there will be live performances at both O’Hare and Midway on Friday, September 3 from 2 to 5 p.m. Look for the stages set up past the security checkpoints at O’Hare in Terminals 1, 2 and 3, and on the lower level Arrivals area in Terminal 5; and in the baggage claim area at Midway.

The Chicago Children’s Museum will also offer a workshop for kids at O’Hare’s “Kids on the Fly” play area in Terminal 2 on Friday, September 3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Free parking in Tampa

And as Steve Huettel of the St. Petersburg Times reports, at Tampa International Airport airport officials have decided to continue offering free first-hour parking in both the short and long term garages.

“Currently, no matter how long drivers stay in the garage, the first hour is free. Under the new policy, it’s free only if drivers leave before the hour is up. Otherwise, they’ll pay $3 starting Oct. 15.”

Free is free though, and it’s good news that – for now – this perk is staying in place.

Saving energy in Portland

In Oregon, Portland International Airport has installed moving walkways that only move when someone approaches. Popular in Europe and Asia, the four energy-saving, auto-start walkways are in the pedestrian tunnels connecting the parking garage to the terminals and are said to be the first such walkways installed anywhere in the United States.

Portland International Airport auto-start moving walkway