Some local songwriter has memorialized the unique Chicagoan winter activity of reserving snow-free parking spots with chairs, tables, and other bits of furniture ... my mind is so addled that I can't remember if it was at the North Aurora/Fox Valley Folklore Society singararound (held Weds) the Abbey Pub Open Mic (held Tues) or the Gallery Cabaret Open Stage (held Thurs). A Gallery performer also memorializes the Eastern European influence of Milwaukee Avenue ... Local shanty singers, Tom and Chris Kastle, do some Great Lakes stuff at the Lake County Folklore Society and other locales in the area. Check it out!
Cheers,
Brian