Curated Experiences in Chicago Southland!

What makes a visit successful? Sometimes it is the special things you see and do that don’t happen anywhere else. That was my experience on my recent visit to Chicago Southland’s charming communities. Staying at the beautiful Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino, Hotel and Spa, I was already pampered before ever leaving my luxury surroundings. Scott Rude of Visit Chicago Southland hosted a group of travel bloggers showing us what the area had to offer.

Blue Pearl Candles

Located in charming Homewood, Kim Rowe and her daughter Terrianna established Blue Pearl Candles in 2020. They have been offering Candle Bar classes since 2022. We learned that the name of the business came about because Kim’s favorite color is Blue and her daughter’s nickname is Pearl, thus Blue Pearl Candles!

Scott took our group of content creators to try out the fun Candle Bar to try our hand at candlemaking!

We got the chance to create hand poured candles with our own personal scent. The scent was determined through a process of selection.

We then narrowed the selection down and combined the last three favorites. The combination created a scent distinctly yours. It was a lot of fun and a great project for a family, or a girl friends’ getaway.

I have burned the candle since I returned home and like the scent even better than at the shop. The best thing about this visit was Kim’s faith story.

Kim had been working for other people and the was fascinated by women entrepreneurs. “I watched a video on women entrepreneurs and I was like okay; I’m going to do that.”

She ordered kits got started planning to do this slowly, but with a job loss she decided she had to make it work, and she did by relying on her faith to see her through. Kim has a beautiful sign that states, “Let your faith be bigger than your fear.” This visit was not only fun, but truly inspiring.

A Mural Walk

Public art elevates a community and in Homewood the art of Richard Haas, a world-renowned painter sets the community apart. Haas specializes in large illusion murals that tell a story. He came to Homewood in the 1980’s and created a series of murals that is not an art walking tour. The murals are so realistic you can almost walk into the painting.

Gayety’s Chocolate’s & Ice Cream

One of my favorite stops that will be yours to was at Gayety’s Chocolate’s & Ice Cream. Laurene Lemanski, who originally worked here as a teenager is now the owner of what is one of the oldest chocolatiers in Chicagoland. She purchased the business in 2019 after closing in October of 2018.

At Gayety’s they offer amazing chocolate and hand dipped ice cream.

“We started in the 1920’s, the founder was James Papageorge he came from Greece,” Laurene shared. “He came to America worked at a different place then realized I could probably make money doing this.”

The store was passed down in the family and she started working for the family in 1988, this is I the 2nd location of Gayety’s. When the store was closing, Laurene couldn’t bear to have this institution close, and she purchased it and it has been her passion ever since.

We got the chance to see chocolate making in progress. Watching them cut caramels.

Then we watched them dip the caramel in chocolate!

They offer tours for Girl Scouts, school groups and more. Just call ahead to see if a tour is available, it is an amazing thing to watch, then best of all to try the delectable results. Carrie Steinweg and I are especially excited because this is another of the places profiled in our upcoming book, Unique Eats & Eateries of Illinois. The book is to be out this fall and is published by Reedy Press. What a great way to profile places in the Chicago Southland area.

Flossmoor Station

I enjoyed stopping in all these southern Chicago suburbs I had heard about for years yet never visited. The town of Floosmoor was quite lovely with a German architectural feel to it.

While the Flossmoor Station Brewery and Restaurant is a dining stop, it is also a curated stop as well. Located in the 1906 train station, you get a historical atmosphere along with a chance to try their amazing chips (with the homemade ranch dressing) and sample craft brewed ales, lagers, stouts and more. Offering Americana cuisine, you decide whether to sit inside the historic diner, or outside in the beer garden

Sandi Nelson, the manager gave our group a tour and served us chips and beer samples.

When you visit, you can see their small brewery tucked away in the front of the building. On our tour we even spied the brewmaster Jake LaLuke outside preparing for an upcoming event.

You can even take Fido with you because they also have a doggie park. A fun place to take a rest from all the hectic activities and rest a spell.

Lofton Art Glass Gallery & Studio

Earlier in our press trip, we landed in the lap of luxury at Wind Creek’s Chicago Southland. That same “wow” is how I felt when entering Lotton Art Glass Gallery Studio. BEAUTIFUL really doesn’t cover this great stop for your curated travel agenda.

While I felt at home because this is on the edge of the prairie, once I went inside, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the glass. I just hoped I wouldn’t trip!

The late Charles Lotton started the gallery in 1970. In the information provide to us by Scott Rude of Visit Chicago Southland, he shared, “The chemistry of the glass is unique to Lotton Glass. Lotton Art Glass is one of the very few studios in the world to start with elements of earth like sand, soda sash, lime, borax, zinc and metals resulting in some of the most breathtaking colors you will ever see.”

Today, his sons David and Daniel Lotton, and grandson Robert Lagestee, and studio artist Scott Bayless create amazing works of art. Glass is hand blown, one of a kind find glass art. They each have their own signature flowers they do. The artists create vases, bowls, sculptures, paper weights, perfume bottles, AMAZING chandeliers, and custom pieces.

While seeing the art was wonderful, what is fascinating and that makes this a true curated experience that I thought you all may enjoy is that on any given day you can usually see one of the artists at work!

We were able to watch Scott Bayless create some of his amazing artwork.

These are just some of the amazing things you can plan ahead to do in the Chicago Southland. You don’t have to venture all the way into the city to experience an amazing variety of things to see and do. We are all after distinctive experiences, one-of-a-kind things to see and do, and these historic towns provide it all, history, architecture, small town charm, and just plain fun.

When will you book your very own Chicago Southland curated experience?