Candies you didn’t know were made in Illinois

Chicago has been known as the candy capital of the world for over 100 years. In addition to local confectionaries, like Margie’s Candies pictured here, many name-brand candies that you know and love got their start here.

Lemonheads were invented by the Ferrara Pan Candy Company in the 1960s. Salvatore Ferrera immigrated to Chicago at the turn of the 20th century to set up a confectionary shop. Still in operation today, the Ferrera Candy Company’s headquarters are in Chicago and a candy store in Forest Park sells the sour treats.

Mars Inc. — which makes Snickers and M&Ms — operates multiple facilities in Chicago and surrounding neighborhoods. The company relocated from Minneapolis to Chicago in 1929 and opened a plant that still exists today. Forrest Mars Sr., the son of the founder of Mars Company, introduced one of the company’s most popular candies in 1930 – the Snickers bar, named after the Mars family’s favorite horse. The company later invented M&Ms and started production for them in 1941.

The name Wrigley is synonymous with Chicago for many people thanks to Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. What also may come to mind is Wrigley Gum, which is made in Chicago. The company was founded in 1891 by William Wrigley, Jr. In addition to gum, the company also sells mints and candies.

Tootsie Rolls are also made in Chicago. Leo Hirschfield founded the company, Tootsie Roll Industries, and began production on the candy in 1907.

The next time you unwrap a Snickers or a Tootsie Roll, or pop a Lemonhead or M&M in your mouth, think about how they’re made right here in Illinois!

Halloween in Illinois: the Wilkes Family Halloween Display

Since 1998, the Wilkes family has put on elaborate Halloween displays in their front yard for their whole neighborhood to enjoy. Now, decades later, the Wilkes family has garnered national attention with one million followers on TikTok, over 637,000 followers on Facebook and 77,000 on Instagram. This has enticed people from across the state and the country to visit the Wilkes Family Halloween Display.

Their tradition started while the family lived in the western suburbs of Chicago. Now in Bensenville, they have managed to maintain the tradition. Each year a different theme is selected for the display. They have honored countless horror movie classics including the “Halloween” franchise, “IT,” “Saw” and many more. Each year the display grows creepier, eerier and more elaborate than the last!

This year, the family partnered with the Village of Bensenville to present their most elaborate display yet. The display has moved from their front yard to downtown Bensenville to provide the best possible experience for visitors and to allow for a larger area of fright. The display includes various animatronics, photo areas and different sections dedicated to iconic horror movie characters.

When visiting the display, expect to see the infamous couple Chucky and Tiffany, the slashers Jason, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger, as well as other notorious characters.

The display, located at 12 S. Center St. in Bensenville, is open and free to the public. The hours of operation are dusk until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and dusk until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Live actors are present Fridays and Saturdays. The display will operate through Oct. 31.

For more information, visit the Wilkes Family Halloween website.

Happy haunting!

Chicago’s International Film Festival – the longest running competitive film festival in North America

The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual festival held every fall. It was founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, and is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America.

This year, the festival takes place from Oct. 11-22, and is the 59th installment of the festival.

Kutza started the Chicago International Film Festival as an alternative to the commercial Hollywood movies that dominated Chicago’s theaters. Seeking out the best of international cinema, the festival has made it possible for a world of film previously unavailable in Chicago.

This year, there are more than 100 feature films and 60 shorts films from around the world. There are 60 movies in English being played at the festival this year, from animation, documentaries, comedies, dramas, horror and more.

This year’s line-up of movies is full of contenders for Academy Awards and box office hopefuls.

Some highlighted films at the festival this year include “The Boy and the Heron” directed by Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki, “Eric LaRue,” which is actor Michael Shannon’s directorial debut, “All of Us Strangers” from David Fincher, and “Poor Things” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

There was also a free block party, in commemoration with the festival, on Wednesday Oct. 11. The party took over Southport Avenue with live music, festival highlights, food, and goods from local vendors.

The Chicago International Film Festival is a great opportunity every October to enjoy a bit of Chicago’s culture and explore new films.

The Lake Michigan sea monster – real or a hoax?

Chicagoans have reported spotting a sea serpent in Lake Michigan for more than 100 years. The monster is described as “eel-like,” and somewhere between 30 and 60 feet in length.

However, it has also been pointed out that the “sea-serpent deception” has been used often to draw tourism to towns. For example, months after a sea serpent was alleged to be spotted in 1904, an observation was made that more people were using Lake Michigan as a summer resort than ever before.

The Great Horned Serpent is a legend told by many Native American tribes. The creature is said to resemble a huge dragon or snake, is covered in large scales, and has prominent horns and long teeth. The creature is also said to have supernatural powers, such as the ability to control the weather, shapeshift, and turn invisible.

When settlers from Europe started showing up in the Great Lakes region in the late 1600s and early 1700s, stories of monstrous beasts started to creep through surrounding settlements.

In August 1867, three articles were published in newspapers about sightings of a strange creature in Lake Michigan.

A shift in believability started to appear within reports on the Lake Michigan monster, starting in 1885.

H.R. Brinkerhoff, a lieutenant for the Ohio Infantry, observed a “very large” black speck among the waves of Lake Michigan in March of 1893. He described his depiction of the monster as having an alligator’s head and being about thirty feet long.

In 1903, a fisherman reported seeing a sea serpent in the lake. However, the Chicago Tribune reported 90 years later that the creature had actually been a sea lion named Big Ben, which had escaped from the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Then in September of 1934, Captain G.E. Stufflebeam of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt spotted the sea serpent. He said that the serpent was wriggling and twisting around, and swimming faster than the ship was going.
Various reported sightings of a sea monster have been made since 1934, but the reports largely dwindled.

But in the summer of 2019, a video went viral of the South Haven Pier, where a large, dark snake-like figure is seen slithering through the water’s current.

The Lake Michigan sea monster has also been the star of a 2018 movie, “Lake Michigan Monster.” This black and white adventure comedy horror film is about an eccentric man that creates a team to track down and kill the Lake Michigan monster out of revenge for the death of his father.

So, what do you think? Is the Lake Michigan sea monster real, or a hoax?