When Mini Met Maxi -- Yale Reunions That Is

Dear F,
Please join us for a Class of 1961 mini-reunion in Chicago, October 1-4, 2009. The reunion will highlight architecture built since the last mini-reunion in Chicago such as Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago's new Modern Wing, as well as a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright homes, a Mies van der Rohe-designed college campus, theatre, interesting food and stimulating lectures about Chicago. The fall weather in Chicago should be quite nice then with warm days and cool evenings. Please also note that on October 2, the International Olympic committee will choose the site for the 2016 games and Chicago is one of the four finalists.

1. Hotel
We will be using the Whitehall Hotel, a European-style boutique hotel located on Delaware Place just off Michigan Avenue that served us well six years ago. Because of the recession, we have been able to obtain a nightly rate of $169. We have reserved a group of rooms until August 10. Please call directly to the Whitehall for room reservations at 1-800-948-4255 and mention the 1961 Yale Reunion. The Whitehall is likely to have additional rooms available after August 10. Please call one of us if you need advice on hotels in Chicago.

2. Program Schedule
Thursday October 1 begins with a dinner at 7:30 p.m. at Ditka's, a restaurant a half block away from the Whitehall Hotel. Mike Ditka was co-captain with Mike Pyle of the offense for the 1963 NFL champion Chicago Bears. We are hoping that both Mike's will be with us that evening. Look for our Mike's picture on the wall.

Friday, October 2 will focus on Millennium Park (opened in 2004), which is across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago and its new Modern Wing. We will begin with a continental breakfast at Ditka's followed by lectures on Daniel Burnham (2009 is the centennial of his world famous plan for Chicago), the greening of Chicago (more green roofs than any other city) and local political corruption where we also lead the country! This will be followed by a guided tour of Millennium Park, featuring a Frank Gehry music pavilion, beautiful gardens and two extraordinary pieces of public art by Anish Kapoor and Jaume Plensa. We'll then walk across a Renzo Piano bridge into his new Modern Wing of the Art Institute where we will lunch in a room overlooking Lake Michigan and Millennium Park. We will hear from the curator of Contemporary Art before docent-led tours of the world-renowned Impressionist and

Post-Impressionist galleries. The rest of the afternoon is free to return to Modern Wing, to explore other galleries in the Art Institute or to do as you wish in Chicago. Check out the PBS Newshour's coverage of the New Modern Wing at: www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2009/06/extended-interviews-chicago-art-institute.html and Millennium Park at: http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/

Dinner that evening will be in Old Town at the Adobo Grill, a Mexican restaurant specializing in regional food from Oaxaca.

On Saturday, October 3, buses will take us to the Mies van der Rohe-designed campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology. The Class Council meeting and a continental breakfast will be held in Rem Koolhaas's delightful Campus Center, which encloses a Chicago elevated train above. Professor Adam Green, who spoke to us with great acclaim at the last Chicago mini and is now teaching at the University of Chicago, will give a talk on "Obama and Black Chicago". The lecture will precede a tour of the Campus Center, a Helmut Jahn dormitory and Crown Hall, which is the Mies jewel of the campus, a National Historic Landmark, and home to the IIT School of Architecture. Box lunches will be served in Crown Hall.

The afternoon offers two choices: a Frank Lloyd Wright tour led by Henry Kuehn Y'61 or an August Wilson play. Henry will take us to FLW-designed homes, his studio in Oak Park and the Avery Coonley House in Riverside, recently restored, but not available to the public. The bus will travel along some of Chicago's grand boulevards planned by Daniel Burnham and will go by other Frank Lloyd Wright homes as well as parts of Riverside, a beautiful village designed by Frederic Law Olmstead, before returning to the hotel in the late afternoon. The Wilson production is "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", performed at the University of Chicago's Court Theatre, one of the best theatre companies in Chicago. The play is set in Chicago in the 1920's and was first directed on Broadway in 1984 by Lloyd Richards, a long-time collaborator with Wilson and then dean of the Yale School of Drama. The bus will take us from the IIT campus to the theater in nearby University of Chicago and return us to the hotel by late afternoon (around 6:30 p.m.).

Dinner that evening will be at Kendall College, a top-rated culinary college with a backside view of Chicago's skyline. Kendall College has a sustainable garden, fresh "farm to table" food and an inventive menu. Those staying at the hotel will travel by bus to and from the dinner. Local classmates can drive directly to Kendall College.

For those of you who want to spend Sunday in Chicago, we will give you a menu of suggestions regarding museums, architecture, restaurants, etc.

3. Costs
The cost of the weekend will be $400. That includes all of Friday's activities, continental breakfast at Ditka's, lunch and dinner plus Saturday morning's continental breakfast and activities at the IIT campus, lunch, choice of either the Frank Lloyd Wright tour or the production at Court Theatre, and dinner.

For those who can join us on Thursday, the cost of the dinner will be $75. The cost includes wine but other drinks can be obtained from a cash bar.

For local classmates who do not wish to attend the entire weekend's events, a la Carte pricing for the Friday night and Saturday night dinners is included on the Registration Form.

THE DEADLINE FOR REGISTERING FOR THE CHICAGO MINI REUNION IS SEPTEMBER 15, 2009. THE REGISTRATION FORM IS INCLUDED WITH THIS LETTER. PLEASE INDICATE ON THE REGISTRATION FORM YOUR CHOICE OF SATURDAY AFTERNOON TOURS WHICH WILL BE BINDING.

In the event you need to cancel, full refunds will be given until September 17, after that refunds will be based on the class' recoverable costs.

We hope that you can join us for a fun and interesting weekend. Please contact us if you have questions.

Andy Block Rich Carr Mal Kamin

312-543-6657 312-255-1648 312-933-8951
akbscb@aol.com kennycarr66@yahoo.com mskamin@aol.com

_________________________________________________________________________________


Yale Class of 1961 Chicago Mini Reunion

October 1-4, 2009

Registration Form




Yes, I (We) am coming to the 1961Chicago Mini Reunion.
Name:
Spouse/Guest Name:

Name for Name Tag:

Spouse/Guest Name for Name Tag:

Address:

Telephone:

E-Mail:

Staying with friends:

Contact Number:

B. Please reserve _____ place(s) for me for the weekend activities at $400 per person $______
(Includes continental breakfast, lunch and dinner Friday; continental breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday)

C. Thursday Evening
I (We) wish to dine at Ditka's for $75 per person (wine included, cash bar for other drinks) $ _____

D. For local classmates and friends:
Friday night dinner at Adobo Grill for $75 per person, drinks included $ ______
Saturday night dinner at Kendall College for $90 per person, drinks included $_____

E. Total cost for my (our) choices $ ______

Choices for Saturday afternoon:

Either the Frank Lloyd Wright tour of Oak Park and Riverside _____

Or August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" at the Court Theatre _____



Please make checks payable to "Yale University-Class of 1961"

OR

If you prefer to pay by credit card, please fill out the portion below.


Total amount to be charged $ _______

Please circle: Master Card American Express Visa

Card Number: Exp Date:

Signature:

Date:

Mail to: Yale 1961 Chicago Mini Reunion, Association of Yale Alumni, P.O. Box 209010, New Haven, CT 06520-9010 or FAX: 203-432-0587

THE DEADLINE FOR REGISTERING FOR THE MINI REUNION IS SEPTEMBER 15, 2009.

CANCELLATION POLICY: IN THE EVENT YOU NEED TO CANCEL, A FULL REFUND WILL BE GIVEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 17. AFTER SEPTEMBER 17 REFUNDS WILL BE BASED ON THE CLASS' RECOVERABLE COSTS.
Questions? Please contact Barbara Burt at the Association of Yale Alumni 203-432-8016 or barbara.burt@yale.edu.







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Yale Class of 1961 P.O. Box 209010 New Haven CT 06520-9010