Suggestions for passing Border Control and Customs

O'Hare airport - Alex Zonis

USk Chicago welcomes all our guests to our city for the 8th International Urban Sketchers Symposium.

Given the level of stress about passing the Border Control on arrival, we collected information from official websites and suggestions from our friends in legal profession. We also included some observations from personal travel experiences.

Disclaimer: We are sketchers and not lawyers. The suggestions we share with you are our understanding. They are not legal or official recommendations. We hope that our international guests will find them helpful, but they are not a guarantee.

During an interview with a Border Control officer, please keep these in mind.

1. Emphasize your trip is a visit
2. State that the purpose of your visit is to participate in Urban Sketchers Symposium
3. State period of time you plan to stay in United States
4. Have a receipt of payment for the Symposium
5. Have proof of a return ticket
6. Have hotel reservation info or info about where and with whom you are staying  
7. Have a proof of a job back home, if it applies to you. A letterhead with company name stating your return date to work, if possible.
8. State that you have family back at home, if it applies to you
9. If traveling to additional destinations before or after the Symposium, have a copy of your itinerary
10. If asked about your health, answer that you are generally healthy
11. The Border Control officer may ask you to unlock your phone and/or give access to your laptop. Allow the officer access to your device. If you have private or sensitive data on your device, make a backup copy of your drive at home and delete this data from the device. You can restore it back at home or download from cloud/network after you passed border processing.
12. Do not carry questionable items, meats, seeds

During Border Control and Customs process, please be patient and polite, follow all of the directions asked and supply any documents to give the Border Control a clear idea that you are only visiting. Answer all questions truthfully and concisely; long explanations may create more questions. Humor does not work well with border officers, the border entry officers are generally focused on their jobs and are not chatty. Keep in mind: border agents are overworked, underpaid and sometimes stressed because directions they receive can change quickly and unpredictably.

We wish you safe and easy travels and cannot wait to welcome everyone in Chicago!

Eats and Drinks for Symposium

USk Chicago after sketching in Chinatown

Chicago is a foodie town! We have everything: from food trucks to 5 star restaurants, from hotdogs to every cuisine in the world.

We love to eat and we love to eat well. And we want our Symposium guests to eat well too. We prepared a selection of eating and drinking establishments close to the Symposium and tried to have something for every budget and every taste. 

Bon Appétit!

Eats

Budget: 

At a counter - Don Colley

Goddess and the Baker and Peaches and Greens 

33 S Wabash Ave 

all day cafes of baked goods, salads, soups, beer and wine

Freshii

111 W Jackson blvd (closet to Roosevelt, but has several locations
health conscious menu of salads, soups, burritos and more

Naf Naf Grill 

28 S Wabash. 

Modern middle eastern; quick bites, schwarma, falafel

Good Stuff Eatery

22 S Wabash 

creative burgers with vegetarian options

Potbelly Sandwich Shop

several locations, 300 S Michigan location is the same building as the American Academy of Art

Counter served soups, sandwiches and salads

Mariano’s Lake East 

333 E Benton Pl (upper Randolph)

Unique Grocery store with many prepared food stations

The Walnut Room

111 N State st. 7th floor
Macy's building is a Chicago landmark from 1907

Latinicity

108 N State St

Mexican, Latin American. A food court with many stations.

Moderate prices:

Pizano's Pizza & Pasta

864 N State St 

Pizza Restaurant

Brightwok Kitchen

21 E Adams St

Asian Fusion, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian

Nandos Peri Peri

22 S Wabash

South African inspired cuisine 

Ema

74 W Illinois

Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern cuisines with a Californian influence 

RPM Italian 

52 W Illinois 

Italian small plates 

Ramen San

59 W Hubbard 

Ramen & Asian style small plates

Hub 51

51 W Hubbard

Diverse menu from sushi to burgers

The Gage 

24 S Michigan ave  

Inventive American eatery with a long list of beers

The Berghoff 

17 W Adams

117 year old Chicago icon serving traditional German and Contemporary cuisine

Cochon Volant

100 W Monroe St

French, Breakfast & Brunch, American

Mercat a la Planxa

638 S Michigan Ave, Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel

Sushi and small plates

Sofi Restaurant

616 S Dearborn St

Italian

Umai

730 S Clark St

Japanese, Sushi, drinks

McDonald's - Harold Goldfus

Expensive:

Trattoria No. 10

10 N Dearborn St

Italian

Everest Room

440 S Lasalle in the Chicago stock exchange building . 

French prix fixe menu and stunning views of the city

Terzo Piano

159 E Monroe. Tucked away in the Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago 

Italian, Mediterranean

Russian Tea Time

77 E Adams St

Coffee & Tea, Russian, Vegetarian

Boleo

122 W Monroe St

Cocktail Bars, Argentine, Peruvian

Adamus

10 s Wabash

Latin contemporary with gorgeous decor

Outside the Loop

Magnificent mile : 835 N Michigan Ave

Foodlife food court - lower level Water Tower Shopping center, 15 food stations to choose from - one bill

Little Italy:

Tufanos 1073 Vernon park circa 1930
old School Italian, delicious food in large portions (budget to moderate priced)

Pilsen (artist's studio area) :

Pleasant house 2119 S Halsted

Rustic cafe with a British twist. The meat pies are the best!

Chinatown:

Ming Hin 2168 S Archer ave

Famous for their Dim Sum available 8am-4pm and 9pm - 2am late night bites!

Greektown

Greek Islands on 200 S Halsted. So many great restaurants in this area! Hard to choose!

West Loop:  

This area is a huge corridor of restaurants that attract foodies day and night so it is generally very busy

Drinks

Bars / taverns

At a bar - Adriana Gasparich

Designated tavern hangout for our Symposium is:

Exchequer Restaurant and Pub

226 S Wabash (steps from Roosevelt!).

Serving cocktails, pizza, ribs and more

Open 11-11pm and 12am on weekends
Discount with Symposium Badge!

Buddy Guy’s Legends

700 S Wabash Ave

Jazz & Blues, Music, Sandwiches. Go there for an excellent blues scene, very Chicago.

The 95th Floor

875 N Michigan Ave - Hancock center

Good drinks and best views of the city. Go there for drinks and views, but go somewhere else to eat – touristy and overpriced for what you get.

Drawing Room

12 S Michigan Ave
Coffee, cocktails, American fare

Three Dots and a Dash

435 N Clark St

Asian Fusion, Tiki Bars

Plymouth Rooftop Bar & Grill

327 S Plymouth Ct

Cavanaugh’s in Monadnock Building

53 W Jackson Blvd

Amazing chance to be in the one of the first skyscrapers ever built. It is constructed entirely from stone. Historic landmark and architects' dream.


Not to overlook:

Stan's Donuts
26 E Roosevelt Rd

Stan's Donuts - MJ Ernst

Postcards from Chicago: #5 Marina City Towers

by Wes Douglas

As we look forward to the 8th International Symposium, I will continue to take you on a virtual tour of my favorite views of Chicago which I have named "Postcards from Chicago." Each week I will post a different scene of Chicago – some may be familiar to you and some may be less familiar – and by the time I am done it should be time for the Symposium. To help me illustrate the popularity of this sculpture, I am happy to feature the work of Chicago Urban Sketchers Alex Zonis, Don Yang, Joel Berman.

The Marina City complex was designed in 1959 by architect Bertrand Goldberg and completed in 1964 at a cost of $36 million, financed to a large extent by the union of building janitors and elevator operators, who sought to reverse the pattern of “white flight” from the city’s downtown area. When finished, the two towers were both the tallest residential buildings and the tallest reinforced concrete structures in the world. The complex was built as a city within a city, featuring numerous on-site facilities including a theatre, gym, swimming pool, ice rink, bowling alley, several stores and restaurants, and, of course, a marina.

Marina City was the first urban post-war high-rise residential complex in the United States and is widely credited with beginning the residential renaissance of American inner cities. Its model of mixed residential and office uses and high-rise towers with a base of parking has become a primary model for urban development in the United States and throughout the world, and has been widely copied throughout many cities internationally. Marina City construction employed the first tower crane used in the United States.

HASHTAG PROJECT: SHOW CHICAGO ONE DRAWING AT A TIME

HASHTAG PROJECT: SHOW CHICAGO ONE DRAWING AT A TIME
by Andrew Banks & Wes Douglas

With the planning of our 2017 International Symposium well underway, the collective use of Twitter and Instagram by USk Chicago will help draw attention to our community and create buzz and awareness of our event.  By no means are these intended to replace our Facebook group.  Rather the use of Twitter and Instagram are intended to re-direct people back to our roots in the Facebook group.  For those who are completely new, don’t worry, they are both user friendly.  Here are some “benefits” and basic “how to’s” to get you started:

Step 1: Sketch your favorite Chicago scene, from observation on location.

Step 2: Scan/photograph your sketch and post it to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Step 3: In your captions, tell us where the sketch is from, make sure to tag @uskchicago (in Instagram), @usksymposium (in Instagram), @usk_chicago (in Twitter), and include the hashtags: "#uskchicago2017" and "#uskchicago"

NEED MORE INFORMATION AND STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTION?

TWITTER (https://twitter.com/usk_chicago)
Follow @USk_Chicago 

Twitter is a short form blog where users make posts called "tweets".  Tweets are 140 characters or less. 

How to use Twitter
1) Download Twitter App on your smartphone.  Or, sign up for an account on your computer.
2) "Tweet" - post text or photos

Examples of Tweets:
"Heading out to sketch with @USk_Chicago today"
"A sketch from today's @USk_Chicago sketch meet"
"Found this @USk_Chicago blog post helpful"

3) "Re-tweet" - sharing other's posts
A re-tweet shares another user's tweet with your followers.  For example USk Chicago (@USk_Chicago) could re-tweet one of your sketches.

4) Follow other people, groups or organizations (individual urban sketchers, other urban sketchers chapters, artists communities, organizations, businesses etc...)

5) Hash tags (#)
Hash tags make your post searchable.  When a hash tag is placed in front of a word, that word is sent to a database that can be viewed by anyone searching for that word.
For example, #urbansketchers.  Other urban sketchers around the world use this hash tag when they tweet.
When you search #urbansketchers you will find thousands of other tweets related to urban sketching.

6) Tag (@)
When tagging (@) another user in your post, the user you tagged will be notified that you tagged them.  So, when you tweet your sketches, help USk Chicago know that you are tweeting your sketched by including "@USk_Chicago" in your Tweet.

INSTAGRAM (https://instagram.com/uskchicago)
Follow @USkChicago & @USkSymposium

Instagram is another type of short form blog dedicated to posting and viewing photographs and short video clips.  Unlike Facebook where you can make folders to organize images, an Instagram account holds all of your photos in one location.  

How to use Instagram
1) Download Instagram App on your smart phone
2) Post your sketches/pictures to Instagram
3) Hash tags (#)

Include these hash tags (#) in your caption:
#USkChicago
#USkChicago2017
#Urbansketchers

4) Tag (@) in your caption
@USkChicago (Urban Sketchers Chicago) 
@USkSymposium (International Symposium)