Chicago Renegade Arts Fair: Cool Stuff on Display and for Sale - Sept. 11 and 12

For a cool arts-oriented trip, check out, Chicago’s Renegade Craft Fair in Wicker Park (along Division Street) on September 11-12. The Fair showcases hundreds of the nation’s best independent artists, designers, and crafters and sells clothing, jewelry, posters, prints, stationery and more, from 11am – 7pm. Admission is free. To keep you entertained, there are also free workshops, raffles, and live entertainment for both adults and kids. And, of course, there's lots of local food and drink. Since the fairgrounds are located just a few miles from both Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field, you can watch a game or take a ballpark tour in-between your shopping forays. This is my idea of a great “fancation.”

The Renegade Craft Fair is still a rather new nationwide event. Chicago premiered the event in 2003 and remains the most active along with San Francisco as each offers two fairs, one in the summer and a holiday fair in December. Vendors must go through a rigorous application process so what you’ll see is a collection of interesting, high-quality and often unusual items. For more information, visit www.renegadecraft.com. And if your schedule doesn’t allow you to visit the Fair, you can shop by category and artist on RCF’s web site.