GREEN TIE BALL DOES CANDYLAND RIGHT

The Chicago skyline is intoxicating by the way the skyscraper’s silhouettes shoot up majestically to the clouds. The wide and clean avenues are either adorned by green trees and flowers or by thousands of sparkling lights. The Millennium Park, the Navy Pier, the beaches, the countless museums, the Magnificent Mile’s stretch along the lake and the design of the downtown area make Chicago one of the most beautiful cities in the U.S. Chicago thrives in a setting which is constantly evolving, expanding and growing with the advancing times. One way of keeping this city in constant renewal is through fundraising.

On Saturday, September 17th, at A. Finkl & Sons steel plant (2011 N. Southport Ave.) the fundraising annual gala for Chicago Gateway Green took place. It was christened The Green Tie Ball and its theme for this year was “Candyland”. The Green Tie Ball is co-chaired by Monica Kasley of The Kirandt Group and Alexi Giannoulias of Broadway Bank.

This event is a very popular attraction. It draws over 3,500 attendees yearly. This year at the Green Tie Ball, 90 of Chicago’s top restaurants participated, making this ball one of the prime culinary events in the US.

There were also musicians and DJs performing on several stages, along with a variety of games. The biggest attraction and the highlight of the soiree was a raffle held at the event and the prize was a custom-designed $30,000 necklace. “This year’s piece will be even more exciting than last year’s 4-carat emerald diamond pendant,” said Michael Holtzmann of Holtzmann’s Jewelers, donor of the piece. If you didn't win that exclusive piece, candy jewelry was also available. So if you don’t want to miss the fun, don’t forget to add this event to your next year’s calendar.

Chicago Gateway Green is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the beautification of Chicago, primarily through the Expressway Partnership program, into which proceeds from fundraising initiatives are added. In its sixth year, the Expressway Partnership has helped to plant over 1,200 trees; 45,000 shrubs and mixed perennials, and 40,000 bulbs; spread over 65,000 square yards of mulch; and picked-up over 325,000 lbs. of litter on approximately 150 acres of land. This year, over 800,000 of new plant materials will be installed on the Kennedy expressway connecting O'Hare airport to downtown in one contiguous design of undulating mow lines as well as flower and plant beds. Over 75 Chicagoland businesses (including BP, National City Bank and ComEd, Mid Town Tennis, Harry Caray's and The Chicago Cubs) currently support THE EXPRESSWAY partnership to help make Chicago a pleasure to live in and to visit.

For more information, visit www.greentieball.org.

by Kasia Koniar