Since 1904, Ravinia Festival has been Chicago's “sound of summer”, a place where you can meet up with your friends, have a wonderful time and hear some of the greatest music in the world. We've got stars on the stage and stars in the sky, and it's all within your reach. But there's more to Ravinia than merely the world's greatest music. For as many people who walk through Ravinia's gate each summer, there are just as many ways to enjoy what we call “The Ravinia Experience”. For some, it all starts with a picnic picked up along the way, greeting your friends at your favorite spot on the lawn.

    Ravinia Dining

    Whether you want to add a bottle of wine and some cheese to your picnic on the lawn or sit down to a meal, Ravinia has a wide variety of choices and we welcome you to explore them all.

    Ravinia gifts

    There are two locations for your shopping convenience! Visit our Main Store in the Dining Pavilion. There you will find different CDs, jewelry, games and more. Or fill your more immediate needs at the shop located behind the Martin Theatre.

    How to Buy Tickets

    Online

    Tickets for the 2018 season begin to go on sale online on Tuesday April 25. Ravinia Festival's online ticketing makes ordering tickets for your favorite performances easier than ever before. It is available 24 hours a day at www.ravinia.org.

    Click on the date of your choice to select an event, select your seats and add it to your ticket order. Once you have selected all the events you wish to attend, simply enter your payment information and submit your order.

    By Phone

    Phone sales for the 2018 season start on Monday May 22.

    Order tickets by phone by calling 847-266-5100.

    Monday- Friday: 10: 00 am-5: 00 pm

    Saturday/Sunday: Closed

    The idea that you can use humor, laughter, and play to make you healthier probably seems too simple to be true. However, it is really true and simple. The sense of humor, laughter and play plays an important part in keeping you healthy.

    Treat the blues with a sense of humor, which is closely tied to laughter. Laughter is infectious. Have you ever heard a big laugh of a young child and been able to keep yourself from smiling? When laughter is shared between people, it makes them closer to each other and increases their happiness. Smiling is the beginning of laughter and a smile is also just as infectious as laughter is. You can experience something by smiling at everyone around you, and you will feel happier just by sharing a smile, even with a stranger.

    Play is an important part of making sure that we stay healthy. We are often encouraged to make sure our children play, and are told of the benefits of being out playing. However, what we often forget is that it is just as important for old people to make play be part of their life as it's for children. Physical play is important for the old and it certainly helps prevent illness. While the studies are still in the early stages, the studies that have been done have shown that physical play certainly plays a part in preventing cognitive (认知的) falling.

    Reuel Tolkien (1892－1973), the British linguist, writer. He created a fantasy novel "The Lord of the Rings" the well­known trilogy (三部曲).

    Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. When he was 4 years old, his father died and his family moved back to England. Tolkien graduated from Oxford University when he was 23 years old, and participated in the First World War. During the war, Tolkien suffered from "trench fever" and stayed in the hospital until the end of World War Ⅰ. It was the days in the hospital that he began his writing career first.

    After the war, Tolkien became a linguist. He was an editor of the "New English Dictionary" of 1918－1920. However, he was more researching into Anglo­Saxon language which makes his extensive contacts in Britain and the Nordic spread all over the folklore and mythology.

    In 1937, Tolkien completed his first work "The Hobbit". Although this was a fairy tale, it was also suitable for adults to read. Because of good sales, the publisher Allen & Unwin convinced Tolkien to write its sequel. This encouraged Tolkien to complete his most famous works the epic (史诗) trilogy "The Lord of the Rings". The works of writing went on for almost a year with the support from his good friend Lewis.

    At the beginning "The Lord of the Rings" was similar works for children, but after that writing style quickly became serious and dark. "The Lord of the Rings" was one of the most popular literary works in the 20th century in terms of sales and readers' evaluation. Tolkien's influence is important, for the success of "The Lord of the Rings" makes the fantasy novels of this literature genre (体裁) develop rapidly.

A great poem makes you want to get out of your chair and pace around the room. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. But if you haven't developed your. poetry taste in a while, that feeling might be a little hard to tap into. Here are four tips that can help you get there.

Read aloud and out loud

When reading a poem, it is important to remember that it is not just words on a page, but is meant to be heard or read aloud. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. It will enhance the appreciation of the piece.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

Approaching poetry with a perspective of finding connections between the poem and one's own life can be a valuable tool for appreciating the poem more. Connecting to the emotions, memories and even the same life experiences can help to relate more to the poem and in turn, truly appreciate it. Through this connection to the poem, we can better understand the feelings, actions and words of the poem.

Create a dialogue

More often than not, a lot of hidden or "unsaid" messages are delivered in poetry. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. A fruitful discussion about a poem can help readers to understand the poem more, through their different interpretations and opinions.

Write your own poem

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}. As you write your own poem, think about the structure you want to create, the literary devices you want to employ and the emotion you want to arouse. As you write your own poem, you will see your appreciation of the original poem rise, as you gain a sense of the effort that goes into crafting a poem. In this way, it can become much easier to appreciate the poem being read.

A. Find connections

B. Pair poetry with other art forms

C. Writing can be a great way to start your appreciation of a poem

D. It makes you want to throw your hands up and show it to somebody

E. Reading the poem aloud helps you understand the emotion of the poet fully

F. Having a discussion around a poem allows readers to bring out these messages

G. Possessing a critical eye allows readers to appreciate the art of poetry in a meaningful way

Plants are very important to living things. Life can not go on if there are no plants. This is because plants can make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals and human beings can not make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore, animals and human beings need plants to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us. 

If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find that there are two kinds of plants: flowering plants and non-flowering plants. Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit. 

Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. Many of them grow from spores(孢子). Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores fall on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants.