“It’s showtime!”
-Actor Roy Scheider, playing Bob Fosse in “All That Jazz”
I had the good fortune to be in the house at the CAC last Saturday (March 30). Happy new year…the joint was jumpin’ as “Chicago architecture season” moves into full swing. Here’s a snapshot of the action.
River Cruises making their initial voyages (with special kudos to everyone on the upper deck in the face of 30-degree wind chills). Dozens of Docents leading spring-breaking families on outdoor walking tours.
Exhibit Hosts, Guest Services Volunteers, Box Office staff, and Gallery Attendants working in orchestrated harmony to host hundreds of guests. Education Guides leading student field trips, hosting Insiders’ tours, and demonstrating the Mobile Architecture Cart. CAC staff teaching our Teen Fellows the ropes in the Design Studio as they prep for their upcoming New York adventure. The 40 members of the 2019 Docent Class spending the first of many Saturdays in the Lecture Hall.
And Lynn Osmond leading personal tours as she rightfully and proudly celebrates her and our vision for the Center fully coming to fruition.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
More like opening night on Broadway. Or baseball’s Opening Day. The actors and players have put in the behind-the-scenes hard work of rehearsals and spring training, and now it’s time for the curtain to rise or the first pitch to be thrown.
The Docents and Volunteers have spent months training, rehearsing our roles, meeting new colleagues, and meeting among ourselves inside the CAC. The staff has done yeomen’s work preparing us for our first peak season in the new Center.
Let’s all savor the moment. And look ahead with great anticipation to the coming months as we welcome literally thousands of guests to our home and extended neighborhood.
To quote WXRT DJ, ultimate Cubs’ fan and Chicago’s omnipresent ambassador, Lynn Brehmer: “It’s a great day to be alive!